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Hynes Is Not Content

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By EDDIE DANIELS

edaniels@tampatrib.com

Published: January 24, 2009

LAND O' LAKES - There's a well-known phrase about assumptions. So well-known that there is no need to repeat it here.

At the conclusion of the Seahawk Duals at Sunlake High, Zephyrhills 119-pounder Nick Hynes stood with a medal in his hands. He received the honor, along with 13 other wrestlers, for going undefeated in his weight class.

The junior put an exclamation point on his day, pinning Spoto's Chris Rainey in the second period of their match. But you can't just assume Hynes was pleased with the performance.

"I wrestled OK, I guess. I didn't do as good as I wanted to," Hynes said. "I didn't feel like I had it today. I won all of my matches, but I wasn't happy with what I did."

For a guy who has placed in the state tournament - sixth in the Class 1A 112-pound weight class - it is understandable that he is driven by perfection. He understands at this point in the season, he has to sharpen his skills if he wants to return to The Lakeland Center for a shot at a state title.

"I feel like I need to improve. This tournament wasn't a very good tournament for me, but I'm going to improve."

In preparation for this season, Hynes added a few things to his training schedule. In addition to running cross country to get in shape for the season, he also added weightlifting. He also participated in a couple of summer wrestling tournaments.

So when things have aligned properly for him on that mat, where does Hynes see himself in wrestling's big picture?

"I'm hoping to go down to 112, and I want to win," he said. "My goal's to win."

BUCS ON TOP: Gulf coach Travis DeWalt took his team to the 20-team Poinciana Duals in Kissimmee to test his squad. He joked that he would rather have a few hard-fought blemishes on his team's record than an undefeated mark without facing good competition.

The Buccaneers left the tournament 9-0, winning the team crown. They have an overall dual meet record of 27-1.

Gulf faced the tournament's top seed, Lakeland George Jenkins, twice in the tournament. The Buccaneers opened the event by defeating the Eagles, 40-39. In the rematch, in the dual tournament's championship, the Bucs came away with a 42-30 victory.

TAPE THUMB, WILL WRESTLE: Some people would have called it quits after breaking a thumb. Especially in wrestling, where hand control can get you a long way.

Sunlake's Deven Johnson isn't one of those people, and it is his senior season. Johnson went 5-0 in the Seahawk Duals.

"When you're on neutral, I can only really use my right hand, and then you tie up on that and it's hard to do things," Johnson said. "A lot my moves deal with locking up on the arms. I wasn't able to do that this tournament."

He broke the thumb at Wesley Chapel's Fraternal Order of the Eagles Wildcat Duals on Jan. 3 when an opponent attempted a shot on his legs for a takedown. The opponent slammed into his thumb, breaking it.

So what was Johnson's remedy?

"I just tape it up," he said.

BULLS STILL RAGING: Wiregrass Ranch earned a third-place finish at the Sunlake tournament, going 3-2. As the season has progressed, Coach Matt Simmons has seen positive signs surrounding his wrestlers.

"We secured a winning season after going - I think we're 12-7 now - and last year we were 2-17. So we've had a pretty good turnaround," Simmons said.

Chalk the improvement up to experience. The veteran wrestlers on the team have taken a leadership role and have taken time to teach the younger athletes.

"It's a good mixture we have right now," he said. "I'm as happy as can be."

RANKINGS: Here are the Scout.com Florida Wrestling Rankings for individual wrestlers. Each ranking is broken down by Class (1A-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 (No. 12);

152 - Ladarius Jackson, Gulf (honorable mention); 160 - Deven Johnson, Sunlake (No. 10); 189 - Jarrett Baker, Sunlake (No. 3); Class 2A: 119 - Andrew Agazarm, River Ridge (No. 12); 125 - Kevin Engle, Land O' Lakes (honorable mention); 145 - Sean Hitchcock, River Ridge (honorable mention).

No one was ranked in Class 3A.

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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