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Conference Title Is 1st For Mitchell

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By EDDIE DANIELS, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 28, 2008

WESLEY CHAPEL - Midway through an interview Saturday evening, Mitchell wrestling coach John Stanjeski stopped answering questions.

Behind reporters, his team stood along the wall inside the Wesley Chapel gym celebrating. The joy was so much, Stanjeski couldn't take being away from his team any longer.

It was understandable, considering the Mustangs had just claimed the first Sunshine Athletic Conference wrestling tournament title in the program's history.

"It feels great any time you can make the kids feel better about themselves and they're getting a lot of confidence," said Stanjeski, in his third year as the Mustangs' head coach. "It's an unbelievable feeling. It's good to be together and be with the kids and I really enjoy that. I put 15 years into this and it's my first time I was able to bring it to a conference champion."

Mitchell collected 234 points followed by Gulf (206), River Ridge (199), Pasco (149.5) and Sunlake (108).

The Mustangs had seven wrestlers in the finals with two, Shea Taylor (145) and John Sacco (152), claiming titles.

"It feels great. I was really hoping for it," said Sacco, who finished third last season. "When I wrestled a couple of years ago, we had a shot to win it, but we didn't and this being my senior year, winning it was real big."

Prior to the tournament, Mitchell and River Ridge were the tournament favorites. Neither team wanted to claim the title as front-runner, instead passing it off to the other.

"It was disappointing not to wrestle our best, but Mitchell's a great team," River Ridge coach Russ Schenk said. "They showed that by putting seven guys in the finals and I'm excited for Coach Stanjeski to finally win conference, especially in his last year. It's nice.

"We got third, lost to Stanjeski, a great coach; second place was Gulf coach Travis DeWalt, a great coach. So you don't feel too bad losing to those guys."

DeWalt called himself a realist and figured his team would be somewhere in the hunt for a top-four spot, but the No. 2 finish likely wasn't what he expected, considering the Bucs squad has just three seniors and one junior.

Gulf, which had won three of the last five titles, surprised the field by placing 13 wrestlers, six of whom won titles or were runner-ups.

RESULTS

TEAM

Mitchell (234), Gulf (206), River Ridge (199), Pasco (149.5), Sunlake (108), Hudson (97.5), Zephyrhills (94), Wiregrass (78), Land O' Lakes (57), Wesley Chapel (47), Ridgewood (46).

FINALS

103 - Carpenter (G) maj. dec. Agazarm (RR) 11-3; 112 - Stupar (RW) inj. default Ayers (M); 119 - Fleming (RR) p. Scutro (M) 1:18; 125 - Penix (P) dec. Isom (G) 8-1; 130 - Holding (G) p. Madden (WG) 4:42; 135 - Przybysz (G) tech. fall Daye (H) 4:20; 140 - Kunkle (Z) dec. Kostakis (M) 8-4; 145 - Taylor (M) dec. Jackson (G) 4-2; 152 - Sacco (M) dec. Johnson (S) 15-9; 160 - Germano (H) maj. dec. Whittington (S) 9-0; 171 - Brown (H) maj. dec. Lorentsen (M) 11-2; 189 - Perez (P) tech. fall Baker (S) 4:49; 215 - Stroud (P) dec. Gallagher (G) 4-0; 285 - Colello (RR) p. Doman (M) 5:11.

THIRD/FOURTH PLACE

103 - Stames (Z) maj. dec. Houle (H) 17-8; 112 - Biondo (RR) dec. Hynes (Z) 7-3; 119 - O'Conner (G) maj. dec. Engle (LOL) 17-4; 125 - Naccarto (M) tech. fall Peterson (S) 2:30; 130 - Bassous (M) dec. Barranco (RR) 14-7; 135 - Long (G) dec. Perri (RR) 9-3; 140 - Hitchcock (RR) dec. Mesagno (G) 8-6; 145 - Hicks (P) p. Stanger (S) 2:16; 152 - Morales (WG) maj. dec. Custodio (RR) 16-6; 160 - Vannata (RR) p. Henderson (WC) 2:03; 171 - Ritter (G) p. Attwell (P) 2:13; 189 - Embry (LOL) dec. Brosnan (M) 15-11; 215 - Cassidy (M) p. Soto (RR) 4:17; 285 - McCarthy (RW) dec. Plempel (Z) 4-3.

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