TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Gulf Taking Tough Road

ADVERTISEMENT

By EDDIE DANIELS

edaniels@tampatrib.com

Published: January 10, 2009

LAND O' LAKES - The path to success for Gulf coach Travis DeWalt is a pretty simple route.

Sure, his team is the proud owner of an 18-1 dual-meet record, with its only loss to Citrus by eight points.

Last week, the Buccaneers went to the St. Petersburg Catholic Duals and won that, beating up on Jesuit in the process and earning the team title with a 47-24 win against Alonso.

But in his mind, that record means nothing if his group reaches the postseason and is shell-shocked.

For that reason, after this weekend's Springstead Invitational, he is taking his squad to the Poinciana Duals in Kissimmee.

"Let me tell you something, we're going to the Poinciana Duals next week and we're going to have another 10 duals, so we're due," he said laughing. "I'm a realist. I try to throw the wolves at them. I don't want them 40-0 and get to the state tournament and see competition at a whole new level. I want them exposed to the toughest kids we can find them.

"It won't do us any justice if we lie to each other. If we look at life through these flowery set of goggles, we're not going to get better at all."

The team has compiled that 18-1 dual-meet record with only two seniors on the roster.

SEAHAWKS SOAR: Sunlake opened some eyes last week when it won the team title at Wesley Chapel's Wildcat Duals. Making the victory sweet was the fact the team beat Wiregrass Ranch 42-29 in the team championship. The victory avenged a loss earlier in the season.

Coach Matt McDermott has seen hints of his team's improvement as the season has progressed.

"Before the Wesley Chapel tournament, we'd been showing improvement all year," McDermott said. "That was over Christmas holiday, and that's a pretty frustrating time. The kids who participated in the tournament wrestled well and through the break and came to practice. They definitely improved over the break.

"They wrestled well, and we're just trying to keep looking for improvements until district."

He also hopes this weekend at Springstead will yield some steps in the right direction for his team.

"We've been talking to them about getting on the podium," he said. "This is a good tournament to sort of gauge where they are as far as the regional or even district, as far as qualifying. They've got to get used to getting on the podium in individual tournaments."

The Seahawks entered the Springstead Invitational having two of their wrestlers score promising seeding positions. Jarrett Baker (189) was seeded No. 1, while teammate Devon Johnson (160) was No. 2.

ROYAL METAMORPHOSIS: River Ridge has a 7-1 dual meet record after adding Tarpon Springs to its pile of victims Thursday night. Surprisingly, this has been accomplished with a group of nine first-year varsity wrestlers.

Needless to say, it has been an interesting ride for Royal Knights coach Russ Schenk.

"It's just a process they go through," he said. "They get beat because of technique and then eventually they get more mat time, it comes around. It's just a matter of time. We always preach it's not how you start the year, it's how you finish. At the end of the year, when it comes district time, you set the goal: top four wrestles some more."

RANKINGS: Longtime wrestling guru John Lawton is at it again. He has polled many around the state and has compiled lists of the area's top wrestlers. Here is the breakdown of those in Pasco County who were mentioned in the Scout.com 2009 Rankings Ladder:

Class 1A - 103: Josh Carpenter, Gulf, 6th; 112: Nick Hynes, Zephyrhills, 3rd; Richard O'Conner, Gulf, 4th; 119: Anthony Ayers, Gulf, 6th; 145: Mike Mesagno, Gulf, received votes; Jarrett Baker, Sunlake - 8th.

Class 2A - 112: Justin McKay, Land O' Lakes, received votes; 119: Andrew Agazarm, River Ridge, 12th; 145: Sean Hitchcock, River Ridge, received votes; 160: Landon Vannatta, River Ridge, 12th.

Gulf is the lone Pasco County squad to crack the team standings. The Buccaneers were No. 8 in the Class 1A poll.

Coaches who want to add their team's information can contact Eddie Daniels by calling (813) 948-4214 or e-mailing edaniels@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT