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Wrestlers Start Quest For Gold

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By EDDIE DANIELS

edaniels@tampatrib.com

Published: February 6, 2009

WESLEY CHAPEL - Crunch time has officially arrived.

Wrestlers from across Pasco County and the state begin their quest for championship gold in Lakeland with the start of the FHSAA Wrestling Championships. The district tournament is up first.
Sunlake will host the Class 1A-District 6 tournament, which includes Gulf, Hudson, Pasco, Wiregrass Ranch and Zephyrhills. That tournament will feature seven wrestlers who are ranked in the state. Sunlake's Jarrett Baker (No. 3) has the highest ranking of anyone, according to Scout.com's wrestling rankings.

The 2A-5 meet will be held at Dunedin and features Land O' Lakes, Ridgewood, River Ridge and Wesley Chapel. Of the close to 100 wrestlers participating in that tournament, 15 are state-ranked.

As for the last remaining Pasco County team, Mitchell, it will travel to East Lake for the 3A-6 tournament. The Mustangs may have an easier road as only six wrestlers participating are ranked in the state.

The top four wrestlers in each weight class will advance to the following week's two-day regional wrestling tournaments. Those in the 3A-6 tournament will advance to the Royal Palm Beach/Jupiter regional; 2A-5 winners head to Kissimmee Poinciana; and 1A-6 winners travel to Palm Coast Matanzas.

BIG GOALS: Moments after earning his second SAC title in as many years, Sunlake's Baker revealed he wants to accomplish a milestone neither head coach Matt McDermott nor assistant Matt Smith have witnessed.

Baker said he has plans on making it to the state tournament - undefeated.

"I'm trying to be their first," he said.

It's a lofty goal, but Baker isn't shy nor is he under any pressure in his attempts to attain that goal.

"It's extra motivation," he said. "To me, there's no pressure whatsoever. It's like whatever you do, it's not a life or death situation. Right now this is pretty much helping me get to college. That's the only thing I'm worried about; trying to get to college."

HOME-MAT ADVANTAGE: By a span of roughly 40 minutes, Eric Madden became the first Wiregrass wrestler to be crowned an SAC champion. Madden earned the distinction with his 8-4 decision against Gulf's Nick Califiore in the 130-pound weight class. Five matches later, teammate Zack Morales joined him.

BACK AND FORTH: Wiregrass Ranch's Zack Morales and Sunlake's Deven Johnson are very familiar with each other. They faced off three times last season - Johnson won each of those encounters. And entering the SAC's 160-pound final, they met twice this season.

It was a split between the two. Morales won the first meeting via a pin and Johnson earned a one-point decision the second time around.

In dramatic fashion, Morales broke the deadlock with a pin at the 5-minute mark of the match, earning his first SAC title.

"I didn't expect to pin him this time, but I came through," Morales said, still catching his breath.

Last season, Morales collected a third-place finish during the SAC tournament.

"This was my biggest rival and this was huge to me," he said. "Last year, he was a year ahead of me and he beat me three times last year. I worked all summer."

NOTHING NEW: With gauze clogging his left nostril, Kevin Engle laughed off the blood. The Land O' Lakes 125-pounder was fresh off a grueling 8-6 victory against Josh Isom of Gulf in the SAC final.

The injury occurred early in the match and despite the discomfort, Engle never gave up his point advantage.

"Actually, I get a bloody nose a lot," he said. "Every other match probably, so really, it's nothing new. I was just waiting for the official to call injury time to be honest with you. It was like that for most of the first period."

It was the first time Engle and Isom have met. Ironically, during a joint practice between Land O' Lakes and Gulf at Gulf, Isom, according to Engle, told him he would see him in the final.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Here are the individual and team standings from the Sunshine Athletic Conference wrestling tournament held at Wiregrass Ranch High School:

TEAM STANDINGS: 1. Gulf 382; 2. River Ridge 252; 3. Wiregrass Ranch 222; 4. Mitchell and Sunlake 203; 6. Land O' Lakes 170; 7. Pasco 131; 8. Zephyrhills 76; 9. Wesley Chapel 74; 10. Hudson 67; 11. Ridgewood 62.

FINALS: 103 - Carpenter (G) p. VanDam (Z) 1:58; 112 - O'Connor (G) maj. dec. McKay (L) 15-7; 119 - Ayers (G) maj. dec. Hynes (Z) 9-0; 125 - Engle (L) dec. Isom (G) 8-6; 130 - Madden (WG) dec. Califiore (G) 8-4; 135- Peterson (S) dec. Centanni (G) 6-0; 140 - Kostakis (M) p. Stack (L) 1:26; 145 - Hitchcock (RR) dec. Hicks (P) 16-15; 152 - Jackson (G) maj. dec. Vanatta (RR) 5-3; 160 - Morales (WG) p. Johnson (S) 5:00; 171- Horning (RR) dec. Ritter (G) 6-5; 189 - Baker (S) p. Gallagher (G) 1:40; 215 - Brosnan (M) dec. Whittington (S) 11-9; 285 - Bernardi (RR) dec. Coss (G) 11-9.

Coaches who want to add their team's information can contact Eddie Daniels by calling

REGIONAL TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

CLASS 3A-DISTRICT 6

WHERE/WHEN: East Lake, 1300 Silver Eagle Drive, Tarpon Springs/Saturday, first round, 10 a.m.; finals, 5 p.m.

ADMISSION: $5 per session if there's two sessions or $6 is there's one session

PARTICIPANTS: Countryside, East Lake, Largo, Mitchell, Palm Harbor University, Pinellas Park, St. Petersburg, Sarasota, Sarasota Riverview

CLASS 2A-DISTRICT 5

WHERE/WHEN: Dunedin, 1651 Pinehurst Road, Dunedin/Saturday, first round, 11 a.m.; finals, 5 p.m.

ADMISSION: $5 per session if there's two sessions or $6 is there's one session

PARTICIPANTS: Central, Dunedin, Groveland South Lake, Land O' Lakes, Ridgewood, River Ridge, Springstead, Tarpon Springs, Wesley Chapel

CLASS 1A-DISTRICT 6

WHERE/WHEN: Sunlake, 3023 Sunlake Blvd., Land O' Lakes/

Saturday, first round, 10 a.m.; finals, 3 p.m.

ADMISSION: $5 per session (two sessions)

PARTICIPANTS: Gulf, Hudson, Orlando Bishop Moore, Orlando Lake Highland Prep, Pasco, Sunlake, Wiregrass Ranch, Zephyrhills

(813) 948-4214 or via e-mail.

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