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Baker Comes Through

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By EDDIE DANIELS

edaniels@tampatrib.com

Published: January 17, 2009

SPRING HILL Sunlake's Jarrett Baker had a bit of a chip on his shoulder entering the final of the Springstead Invitational last weekend.

In that match against Springstead's Scott Wern, Baker said he was told not to expect a win.

"When we went out there today to shake hands, it took like 10 seconds, he stopped me and said, 'Last time was a fluke, this time I'm pinning you,'" Baker said. The two met earlier in the season at the Kiwanis tournament, and Baker won by pin.

After a hard-fought three periods Saturday, Baker took home the 3-2 decision and his first Springstead Invitational title.

"It gets me pumped," Baker, who reached 24-0 with that victory, said of the prematch words. "It gets my blood boiling."

On his way to the final, Baker, a senior, got a major decision against his first opponent and pinned the next two.

Baker, who in his first season - last season - reached the state tournament and went 2-2, has witnessed a major transformation in his wrestling style.

"Last season I was more like a brawler," he said. "Whenever I wrestled, I was pretty much just doing whatever I could."

Before this season, Sunlake athletic director Matt McDermott took over the wrestling program and brought in former Hernando coach Matt Smith. The addition of Smith has paid dividends as far as Baker is concerned. He went from having a knee pick and a head-and-arm in his arsenal to adding several more moves.

"Jarrett's got a good attitude, is willing to work and get in shape," Smith said. "Right now, we're just working on a lot of setups, so he can get better on his takedowns. He's a real physical young man, and when you have those kinds of tools, it makes it easier to work with."

NOT ALL IN THE FAMILY: Vasili Kostakis has lost to Hernando's Daniel Pritz, but he was not in the mood to allow the family to have a clean sweep last week during the Springstead Invitational finals.

During that 140-pound match, Kostakis beat Daniel's younger brother Zach Pritz.

"It was tough and definitely worked my conditioning," Kostakis said of the 4-2 victory. "Like my coach always says, leave it all on the mat, so I did."

Others are taking notice.

"You know a kid is doing well when other coaches talk to you about him," Mitchell coach Justin Fenton said. "There are a lot of coaches I respect who have popped up. He's doing a great job. Any accolade he gets, he's a great kid. He's a hard worker, he does great in school."

SEAHAWK DUALS: The round-robin tournament hosted by Sunlake High is a dual meet, and each team is guaranteed five duals. The remaining undefeated teams will face each other for the team title.

There will also be awards given to wrestlers who go undefeated in their weight class.

SCHEDULE

WEIGH-IN: 8 a.m.

WRESTLING: 10 a.m.

ADMISSION: $5

TEAMS: Hernando, Middleton, Spoto, Sunlake, Wiregrass Ranch, Zephyrhills.

RANKINGS: Here are the Scout.com Florida Wrestling Rankings for individual wrestlers. Each ranking is broken down by class (1A through 3A).

Class 1A: 103 - Josh Carpenter, Gulf (No. 6); 112 - Richard O'Connor, Gulf (No. 4); 119 - Anthony Ayers, Gulf (No. 5), Nick Hynes, Zephyrhills (No. 6); 145 - Mike Mesasgno, Gulf (received votes); 152 - Ladarius Jackson, Gulf (received votes); 160 - Deven Johnson, Sunlake (No. 8); 189 - Baker, Sunlake (No. 3); Class 2A: 112 - Justin McKay, Land O' Lakes (received votes); 119 - Andrew Agazarm, River Ridge (No. 10); 125 - Kevin Engle, Land O' Lakes (received votes); 145 - Sean Hitchcock, River Ridge (received votes). Class 3A: No one was ranked.

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

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