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PASCO COUNTY PREP WRESTLING PREVIEW

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 22, 2009

TEAMS TO WATCH

GULF: If you were a fly on the wall in the Gulf wrestling room, here's a Cliffs Notes version of what you likely heard: Here's your goal and what is expected of you - Sunshine Athletic Conference, district and region titles. There's a target on your chest; and if you fall short, it's your fault. Why so cut-and-dried? The Buccaneers are stacked. The squad returns five state qualifiers - three of whom placed, including state runner-up at 152 pounds Ladarious Jackson. Travis DeWalt also is known to be greedy with the tournament trophies, and he expects the best.

PASCO: The Pirates were young last season, and at times it showed - specifically with their seventh-place showing at the Sunshine Athletic Conference tournament. The good thing about young players is they get serious experience and return to the mat to put what they've learned to work. With the maturity of this team increasing, Coach Mark DeAugustino could soon shave the beard he sprouted last season to get his wrestlers dedicated to the wrestling room.

SUNLAKE: You add Russ Schenk to any program and that will get you a couple of wins by itself. Then you factor in that the Sunlake wrestlers have made strides as a program and you can't help but keep an eye out for this lot of scrappers. Luke Peterson, an SAC champ and district runner-up has the most varsity successes of the returnees, but don't discount freshman John Ortiz, who has wrestled the past four years for club teams.

LAND O' LAKES: It has been a long time since the Gators could say this, but they have a full lineup. What's the big deal? Well, when you have maybe eight wrestlers in a lineup that calls for 14, that's giving up six points per forfeit. You are losing before the first match happens. Coach Jason Carpenter and his bunch faced those odds last season and still had a .500 dual-meet record. The team also brings back a state qualifier (Justin McKay) and four region qualifiers. Opponents could get bitten.

WIREGRASS RANCH: The Bulls earned a solid base and pushed teams last season. The team collected a third-place finish in the SAC Tournament and had its first state qualifier in Eric Madden. A solid foundation has been poured under the tutelage of Matt Simmons and Rory Conrad. Now, it's time to see what kind of structure the Bulls can build this season.

KEEP YOUR EYE ON

Remember, you heard it here first - one or more from this list of wrestlers will find themselves packing up for a road trip to the Lakeland Center for the 2010 FHSAA State Wrestling Finals.

There have been a few changes made to programs across the county. For the most part, those changes should come with a smooth transition considering the familiarity or experience these coaches bring.

Bill Lindsey, Hudson: Lindsey becomes the third Cobras coach in as many seasons.

Mitch Geier, River Ridge: Geier has been a fixture in the River Ridge wrestling room for some time now. More importantly, he steps into a situation that's pretty good. He will take over a Royal Knights program that he helped make strides last season and boasts two SAC champs and a state qualifier. Most folks call that built-in leadership.

Russ Schenk, Sunlake: After returning to River Ridge for a season in 2008, Schenk was to start on a project at Anclote, building that program. Unfortunately for Anclote, the Sunlake athletic director position opened and Schenk took his encyclopedia of wrestling knowledge to the land of Seahawks. That should make an improving team even better.

Brian Simmons, Wesley Chapel: Simmons returns after missing last season, when he was deployed for his second stint in the Middle East as a member of the Army Reserve. It should be interesting to see how well the wrestlers respond to their old coach.

Rory Conrad, Wiregrass Ranch: Conrad takes over the program for Matt Simmons, who is being deployed to the Middle East. Serving in the armed forces is a Simmons tradition, and he becomes the third Simmons brother to ship out and serve overseas. He is the younger brother of Brian Simmons. Conrad has been an assistant coach for the Bulls for several years, which keeps the continuity in order.

BE CAREFUL

In any sport, there's a team that seems to blossom out of nowhere to turn heads and earn wins. We all know it's not overnight success that does it - it's more like plenty of hard work. Here are the teams in Pasco County, that could open some eyes.

1. Mitchell

2. River Ridge

FACES IN THE CROWD

Here are the remaining teams in Pasco County scrapping for a shot at postseason hardware.

HUDSON

COACH: Bill Lindsey

KEY WRESTLERS: Casey Bridges, Sr.; Dominick Grilli, So.; Brian Houle, Sr.; Pat McCardle, Sr.; Jonathan Paone, Sr.

RIDGEWOOD

COACH: Matt Bullwinkel

RIVER RIDGE

COACH: Mitch Geier

KEY WRESTLERS: Donovan Berardi, Sr.; Jake Horning, Sr.; Landon Vannata, Sr.

WESLEY CHAPEL

COACH: Brian Simmons

KEY WRESTLER: Chad Fee, Jr.

ZEPHYRHILLS

COACH: Troy Hochstetler

KEY WRESTLERS: John Dodd, Sr.; Nick Hynes, Sr.; Nate VanDam, Zephyrhills, Sr.

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