New additions giving Swamp Challenge boost

Jason Carpenter had a simple goal when it came to today's Swamp Challenge - really make it a challenge.

Carpenter, in his second season coaching at Land O' Lakes, added Brandon, Alonso, Sebring and St. Cloud to the lineup, among others. Brandon was the first new addition to confirm, and Carpenter expected teams to line up for the opportunity. Apparently, the reputation of the Eagles made others nervous.

"It kind of scared away a lot of people," Carpenter said.

Guess that's what happens when you win 20 state titles, including nine in a row.

That said, Carpenter isn't worried about the level of competition.

The first pool consists of Brandon, Land O' Lakes, Sebring, Wesley Chapel and Zephyrhills. The second pool is made up of Alonso, Clearwater Central Catholic, Pasco, St. Cloud and Wiregrass Ranch.

The dual-meet tournament begins at 10 a.m., and admission is $5 for the day.

Once each team is finished with pool play, it will cross over and compete against the team in the opposite pool.

"It's great for upcoming years," Carpenter said of the tournament. "You have a name tournament. This weekend you have the Durant tournament, the East Lake tournament, you have the Citrus tournament. All of those tournaments have great teams in them, and we're trying to always up the level of our competition."

No room for hurt feelings

The Gulf wrestling room can be rough for someone having a bad day. Here's how the room breaks down:

You have the Class 1A state runner-up at 152 pounds in Ladarious Jackson; Anthony Ayers (fifth in state); R.J. O'Connor (sixth in state); state qualifiers Josh Isom and Jacob Ritter; Jarod Carpenter (45-3 last season until an injury before regionals); and Mike Mesagno.

"Unfortunately, I think they share my passion, as far as being competitive," Gulf coach Travis DeWalt said. "And oftentimes, somebody's feelings get hurt on any given day. So if you're not having a great day, it can sometimes become a challenge to keep them motivated."

That competition in the wrestling room was transferred into success last weekend in Ocala.

During the Ocala Forest Invitational, the Bucs (169.5 points) took third out of a field of 24, just behind Suwannee (187) and Durant (174). Making the feat impressive is the fact they took only 11 wrestlers, and five made it to the finals. Jackson and Ayers took home individual titles. Ayers was given the tournament's Outstanding Wrestler title.

"I think it's more of a business type of attitude in terms of what we want to accomplish," DeWalt said. "They go on scout.com, they know where they're ranked and they see all that stuff, so they understand the bar is pretty high and they don't like falling short."

Tweaking things

New Sunlake wrestling coach and athletic director Russ Schenk admits his entrance into the wrestling room is a lucky move.

He has entered a program that has had its foundation properly set. Now, Schenk wants to add to it.

"My philosophy is there are about 1,000 ways to teach different techniques," Schenk said. "There's no right way, very few wrong ways. It's whatever works for you.

"So I go in and I try to tweak the situation just so you can help somebody get better. I don't try to change anybody's style, I don't try to make them do it my way, because everybody's got different styles."

Instead, Schenk prefers to coach a wrestler using the techniques he is best at, then attempt to elevate him to a higher level.

Schenk has worked his magic at River Ridge, Tarpon Springs, Berkeley Prep and Culver Academy in Indiana. Expect that magic to follow him to Sunlake.

Speaking of Sunlake

Schenk is looking to hire an assistant coach. He said it would be easy to plug someone in, but he wants someone who will be there for the long haul.

"I want to get a guy who is going to be in here for a long time," he said. "I need to find somebody who is established and wants to stay in the area.

If you're interested, give Schenk a call at (813) 346-1032.