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Wrestlers Make The Best Of It

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By EDDIE DANIELS, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 19, 2008

LAKELAND - The sport of wrestling generally turns people into philosophers, but the beast that is the state tournament can transform your average Joe into a full-fledged Socrates.

It's a change that happens whether participants have been involved with the sport for an extended time or recently introduced. Either way, wrestling gives its participants a different outlook on life.

"That's what life's about," River Ridge coach Russ Schenk said of wrestling at the state tournament, losing and fighting back through wrestlebacks. "You're not always going to be on top. You're going to get beat. You're going to get beat down. It's the ability to get back up, that's what determines who the champions are."

Ridgewood senior Dean Stupar understands the value of remaining focused despite having his goal of becoming a champion snatched away.

In his opening match against Naples Palmetto Ridge's Thomas Gayer, he won via a 15-2 major decision. In his quarterfinal bout, he scored an 18-1 technical fall of Fleming Island's Mark Cornett. He then lost a tight semifinal match to Brandon's Terry Dawson, 6-5.

"I had a good couple first matches, I won big," said Stupar, wrestling at 112 pounds in Class 2A. "Then I go into my semifinals match and I didn't accomplish what I wanted to accomplish, but I wrestled as hard as I could."

Added Ridgewood coach Pete Smith: "His whole goal was first place, first place, first place. He was planning on having a tournament of his life and that's all he could think of and then to have that taken away, that's hard to come back from and he did it. He had to take a little time to get it together, but he came out Friday night and said, 'I'm ready to do it up tomorrow.'"

Of the 15 Pasco County wrestlers to qualify for the 2008 FHSAA Wrestling Finals in Lakeland, 10 placed, with Pasco's Eric Stroud (Class 1A, 215 pounds) as the lone county wrestler clutching gold. Stroud became the Pirates' first state champion since Tanner Orr did it in 2003.

Pasco teammate Ray Perez took second in the Class 1A 189-pound weight class, as did Hudson's Tony Germano at 160 pounds in Class 1A.

"It was a tough one. I just tried my best going for whatever I could do," Germano said. "It's awesome. I love it. Even taking second, I know that's the best I could do and that's what happened."

Hudson's Travis Tindell entered the tournament with a solid shot at a state title, but that all changed when the Class 1A heavyweight was beaten by Richard Jenkins of Panama City Bay in his second match of the tournament. From that point on, Tindell was left to toil in the wrestleback rounds.

Tindell knocked off four wrestlers on his way to a third-place finish, bettering last season fifth place.

"It really made me mad," Tindell said. "Every match I lose, I replay it and replay it and replay it. I can't get it out of mind. So every time I'd replay the loss to Jenkins in my mind, I'd get madder and madder and madder. I just turned my game around."

Socrates probably would have enjoyed sitting in the stands at The Lakeland Center for the three-day tournament. He would have left with plenty of material.

"The feeling you get once you get on the awards stand, you're going to be chasing that feeling for the rest of your life," Schenk said. "And you know what, that's going to be a great motivator. It's going to drive you to be successful in everything you do."

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