State title hopefuls Shaanan Spiegel of Sebring and Avon Park junior James Bland were ousted from the winner's bracket with a pair of losses on Friday night during the evening session at the Class 1A state wrestling tournament at the Lakeland Center. ...more

February 16, 2008

LAKELAND –– Sebring's Shaanan Spiegel and Avon Park's James Bland moved one step closer to state titles on Friday by dominating their opponents in the second round of the Class 1A state wrestling tournament at the Lakeland Center. Spiegel (46-1) scored a 14-2 major decision over Tommy Oetting of Matanzas of Palm Coast to propel himself into a semifinal match against Baker County of Glen St. Mary's Joshua Trippett (31-6) in the 152-pound class. Bland overcame an injured knee to score a technical fall against Tampa Prep's Wes Jarrell to set up a 160-pound class showdown with junior Luke McGurrin of Jacksonville Bolles (40-1), one many coaches say could be the best match of the tournament. But first, Bland will have to contend with a knee injury that swelled up after his second-round match. The AP junior suffered the setback when Jarrell dove for Bland's legs and his head hit by the junior's knee. ...more

February 16, 2008

LAKELAND –– Both the Heartland's regional wrestling champions won their opening matches by pin on Thursday at the Class 1A state wrestling tournament at The Lakeland Center. Avon Park junior James Bland continued his undefeated season with a pin in the second period over Matanzas junior Shane Dennis in the 160-pound class, while Sebring senior Shanaan Spiegel needed just two periods to dispatch junior Mike Hawthorne of Robinson in the 152-pound class. Bland is now 41-0 on the season, while Spiegel is 45-1. In a hotly contested 172-pound match, Calvary Christian sophomore Dominick Pierre narrowly defeated Avon Park junior Kemosi Hatten in the final seconds of the third period, sending Hatten (39-5) to wrestlebacks. All three wrestlers will compete today. Second-round competition begins at 10 a.m., while wrestlebacks kick off at 2 p.m. ...more

February 14, 2008

AVON PARK –– After winning the 152-pound weight class at the Class 1A-Region 2 wrestling meet on Saturday, Sebring senior Shaanan Spiegel wasn't overly excited. The talented Blue Streak grappler was satisfied with his performance, but with this being his third and final trip to the state meet, winning an elusive state title was foremost in his thoughts. "It feels good to win," said Spiegel. "I wrestled pretty well except for a couple of small errors. "I'm satisfied because this is my second consecutive regional championship, but my goal is to win a gold medal at state. "I didn't wrestle very well at state the last two years and I'm determined to do better, because this is my last shot." The two-day regional meet was held at South Florida Community College and it attracted 34 teams, with the top four wrestlers from each weight class advancing on to the state meet, which begins on Thursday in Lakeland. ...more

February 11, 2008

AVON PARK — Sebring senior Shaanan Spiegel walked through South Florida Community College's Panther gym, watching all his fellow wrestlers in competition, with his mind set on nothing but his upcoming match. "I just take it one match at a time," Spiegel said. "But I've been here before. This is nothing new and a lot of times my experience gives me the edge I need." Spiegel (152) turned off his iPod and entered the squared circle against Space Coast's Gage Mullins. Less than four minutes later, he walked off with minimal sweat and maximum effort given to dispatch the final opponent of the day. ...more

February 10, 2008

SEBRING — Staying poised in front of a crowd can be tough for a 13-year-old in an evening gown and high heels. But what worries Celeste Breylinger more is making the judges fall in love with her hog, Cledius. Breylinger has her sights set on both a beauty pageant crown and a blue ribbon for the hog competition at the Highlands County Fair. The annual Highlands County tradition returns to Firemen's Field from Friday, Feb. 8 through Saturday, Feb. 16. ...more

February 7, 2008

The Heartland will be well represented at the upcoming regional wrestling meet as 12 local wrestlers qualified with their performances at Friday's district meet. ...more

February 1, 2008

AVON PARK — "It's tough when you don't have the numbers," SHS coach Denny Hays said after his Blue Streaks made a good showing against arch-rival Avon Park in Tuesday's dual meet, but wrestling is a numbers game. The Red Devils had the higher number on this night with a 46-28 team win over Sebring, but the Blue Streaks can walk away knowing they have quality and not necessarily quantity this season. ...more

January 24, 2008

KISSIMMEE –– With the district tournament only 11 days away, the Avon Park and Sebring wrestling teams are flexing their muscles at the right time. The Red Devils went 8-1 in the 20-team, two-day tournament at Poinciana High School over the weekend to finish in third place. Junior heavyweight Jace Grimmett led the way with a 9-0 record and was selected the meet's outstanding upper weights wrestler. "Jace did a tremendous job," said Avon Park assistant coach Lee Elder. "He continues to improve with each match. ...more

January 22, 2008

SEBRING –– There was no holiday hangover for many of the Heartland's prep wrestlers, as Avon Park placed third in the team competition and Sebring's Shaanan Spiegel continued his dominance on the mat at the annual Spiegel Memorial Tournament on Saturday at Sebring High School. Spiegel waltzed through the tournament with relative ease, scoring a pin three minutes into his first match against Port Charlotte's Kile Grilz and scoring a pair of technical falls en route to the gold medal in the 152-pound weight class. ...more

January 7, 2008