1A-5 Preview: Hernando and Weeki Wachee could repeat last year’s exciting finish
BY BRANT PARSONS — Weeki Wachee won its first district title in seven seasons last year and the Hornets are hoping it's just the beginning.
“The kids know what they have to work for,” Weeki Wachee head coach Joe Felice said. “They know what they want to do for the season and they've tasted a little bit of success. I think they just really want to go and win it all and they're working hard and they're trying to win it all."
It won’t be easy as their top rival in the district is expected to give them another run for the title after falling as short as you can without winning it last year.
Hernando is younger to start the season, but by the end of the year, the Leopards will be right back in the hunt.
“We are very young but they have worked very hard this offseason,” Hernando head coach David Pritz said. “We will get better each and every week and will look like a different team come the postseason.”
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Last season: Ryan Cruz won the 170-pound weight class and Weeki Wachee held off a charging Hernando to win by a half-point.
Last year’s district tournament results
Last year’s region tournament results
Wrestlers to watch: Tim Gray (Crystal River), Nicholas Guy (Weeki Wachee), Ricky Bowermaster (Weeki Wachee), Shaw Garrett (Hernando), Kyle Pearson (Hernando), Joel Velazquez (Crystal River), Kenneth Pritz (Nature Coast), Kaden Etheridge (Nature Coast), Ben Goyeneche (Nature Coast), Peyton Godfrey (Crystal River)
The favorite: Weeki Wachee. The champions return seven region qualifiers from a season ago and have young wrestlers ready to step in.
Team to watch: Hernando. The runners-up line-up will feature seven region qualifiers from a year and a group hungry to get back on the top.
District duals: Dec. 13 at Weeki Wachee
District IBT: Feb. 15 at Hernando
Kabra Says: I’m told that Weeki Wachee loves to prove me wrong but this time they might want to prove me right as I think they’re just enough deeper than the rest to win.
Weeki Wachee Hornets (#13 IBT | NR Dual)
Coach: Joe Felice (10th at school/12th overall)
Assistant Coach: Patrick McHugh
22-23 dual record: 15-5
Recent district results: 2023:1; 2022:3; 2021:5-1A6; 2020:2-1A6; 2019:2-1A6; 2018:2-1A6; 2017:2-1A6; 2016:1-1A6; 2015:3-1A6; 2014:5-1A6; 2013:7-1A8; 2012:8-1A8
Notable losses (Graduation/Transfer): Bryson Zeller, 24-10; Addison Breeding, 44-9, SQ, R2, DC; Ryan Cruz, 8-4, RQ, DC; Jisir Allen, 39-11, SQ, R2, D2; Cameron Jung, 21-24, RQ-BR, D2; Justin Boyle, 14-15, RQ, D2; Mykel Theriault, Jr., 31-17, RQ, D2 (Transfer to Springstead)
Notable returning wrestlers: #3-106 Nicholas Guy, Jr., 29-8, 8th, R2, DC; #4-144 Ricky Bowermaster, Jr., 26-10, SQ, R3, DC; #12-190 Jordan Jandro, Sr., 32-17, RQ-BR, D2; Dante Sauter, Sr., 22-20, RQ, D3; Dominic Pace, Jr., 11-16, RQ, D3; Diego Maysonet, So., 13-20, RQ, D4; Eryk Marcuccio, 11-8, RQ, D4; Ryder Richardson, Jr.; Daniel Young, Jr.; Jonathan Eastham, Jr.; Jake Lawson, Sr.
New wrestler: Levi Chancey, Fr. (Transfer from Zephyrhills Christian).
What they are saying: "It's probably our most maybe experienced team. Even though we're still young. It's probably the first year we've had three-year wrestlers coming back, which is is nice to have. So we're still young grade level, but experienced in wrestling level, which is a nice thing to have. We're just excited to get out there.
On team depth: "I think we feel that we have a pretty strong team for duals. For IBT, we're going to need a little work here and there. We have a lot of kids coming back that are going to surprise as I don't think people recognize their name but they will as the season goes on."
On success breeding success: "Our program is just growing in leaps and bounds. We're looking at maybe he's having 70 kids in the room this year. As we continue to win, we continue to draw more and more kids in which is a great thing. I would never complain about having as many kids as we can have in there."
Outlook: This team believes in itself and is starting to realize what it can accomplish after winning the district title last season. Look for another tough lineup through every weight and the team competing for more district honors.
Crystal River Pirates (#16 IBT | #16 Dual)
Coach: Guy Touchton
Recent district results: 2023:3; 2022:4; 2021:5-1A7; 2020:8-1A7; 2019:1; 2018:1; 2017:1; 2016:1; 2015:2; 2014:2; 2013:2-1A8; 2012:3-1A8
Last state champion: Bobby Fischer, 1993 (160)
Notable losses (Graduation/Transfer): Blaine Reed, 42-9, 4th, R2, DC.
Potential notable returning wrestlers: #2-215 Tim Gray, Sr., 55-6, 3rd, R2, DC; #8-175 Joel Velazquez, Sr., 54-11, SQ, RC, DC; #10-157 Peyton Godfrey, Sr., 42-16, SQ, R2, DC; #18-144 Lucas Addington, Sr., 24-19, RQ, D3; #19-157 Mason Cosgrove, Sr., 28-22, RQ-BR, D3; Aiden Reed, So., 13-19, RQ, D3; Benjamin Williams, Jr., 26-26, RQ, D3; Houston Erlandson, So., 10-20, RQ, D3; Bryce Blankenship, Sr., 19-36, RQ, D4; .
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Hernando Leopards (#20 | #20)
Coach: David Pritz (12th season)
Assistant coaches: Kenneth Day, Brian Pena
22-23 dual record: 15-1
Recent district results: 2023:2; 2022:1; 2021:1-1A6; 2020:1-1A6; 2019:1-1A6; 2018:1-1A6; 2017:1-1A6; 2016:2-1A6; 2015:6-1A6; 2014:6-1A6; 2013:5-2A7; 2012:4-2A7
Last state champion: Devin Williams, 2023 (285)
Notable losses (Graduation/Transfer): Jordyn Valle, 38-9, 4th, R3, DC; T.J. Rodier, 45-12, 6th, R3, DC; James Gadson, 44-11, 4th, R2, D2; Jayshawn Nantce, 44-11, 6th, R2, DC; Devin Williams, 41-3, SC, RC, DC; Kenneth Pritz, Jr., 33-11, SQ, R2, DC (Transfer to North Carolina).
Notable returning wrestlers: #5-157 Shaw Garrett, So., 42-13, SQ, R3, DC; #6-126 Kyle Pearson, Sr., 37-12, SQ, R3, D2; #19-190 Kian Blyss, So., 8-7, RQ, D2; #20-175 Morgan Johnston, Sr., 29-18, RQ, D3; JCael Helm, So., 15-14, RQ-BR, D3; avaris Jones, So., RQ, D3.
New wrestler: Isiah Daniels, Jr., 35-10, RQ, D2 (Transfer from Fivay); Jesse Thomas; #17-144 Jacob Fetzner; Terrance Shields; Wiley Blair.
What they are saying: "We're definitely young this year and we could potentially have like 9th and 10th graders in the starting lineup, or something crazy like that. We're gonna wrestle more duals and try to get guys more matches. I think we'll be a better team come the postseason. We have some young guys, but they worked hard this summer so I think we'll progress pretty good throughout the season."
On scheduling: "I think the balance is key. We're going to the Knockout and we are going to Clay's tournament, so we're hitting up a few tough IBTs. We're also going to hit up a handful of dual tournaments. So regardless whether they're winning or losing, they're gonna get eight or nine matches in a weekend. That's kind of the balance we went with on the boys side. We'll have some tournaments to challenge them and then some tournaments, where they're gonna get guaranteed matches, which is what they need."
On the culture: "I think the culture is pretty strong. Even with a young team, we're not going into the season expecting to lose. The older guys will lead by example and then the young guys, the young guys know what's expected of them.
Outlook: The Leopards should be a significantly better team at the end of the season and if the growth develops as expected, they’ll be in the hunt for a district crown.
Nature Coast Technical Sharks
Coach: Mark Murray (5th season)
Recent district results: 2023:3; 2022:5; 2021:9-1A6; 2020:4-1A6; 2019:3-1A6; 2018:3-1A6; 2017:4-1A6; 2016:4-1A6; 2015:3-1A6; 2014:2-1A6; 2013:2-2A7; 2012:3-2A7
Last state champion: Brandon Vovan, 2013 (160)
Notable losses (Graduation/Transfer): Colson Mackay-Johnson, 10-10, RQ, D2; Lance Erickson, 32-14, RQ, D4; Christian Hili, 23-23, RQ, D4; Richard Keegan, 29-12, RQ, D2; Jordan Niesen, 30-16, RQ, D5; Aaron Borgia, 15-19, RQ, D4.
Potential notable returning wrestlers: #10-144 Kaden Etheridge, Jr., 35-13, SQ, R4, D2; #12-120 Ben Goyeneche, So., 34-9, SQ, R4, D2; #19-106 Tyler Baer, So., 21-14, RQ-BR, D2; #19-132 Dominic Buckwalter, So., 35-9, RQ, D2; Andrew Williams, Sr., 29-16, RQ, D3.
Brooksville Central Bears
Coach: John Bloomfield
Assistant coach: Don Duncan
Recent district results: 2023:6; 2022:6; 2021:6-1A6; 2020:7-1A6; 2019:6-1A6; 2018:7-1A6; 2017:7-1A6; 2016:8-1A6; 2015:10-1A6; 2014:8-1A6; 2013:6-2A7; 2012:5-2A7
Last state champion: Michael Mallin, 1997 (189)
Notable losses (Graduation/Transfer): Reece McCue, 5-8, RQ, D4.
Potential notable returning wrestlers: #15-157 Mannix Tesch, Sr., 13-7, RQ-BR, D3; Tyler Palmer, So., 1-11, RQ, D4.
Dunnellon Tigers
Coach: Chance Luckey
Assistant coach: William Richardson
22-23 dual record: 3-17
Recent district results: 2023:5; 2022:8; 2017:6; 2016:4; 2015:9; 2014:4; 2013:6-1A8; 2012:5-1A8
Notable losses (Graduation/Transfer): None
Notable returning wrestlers: Jhonerin Dominguez, Jr., RQ, D4; Lucas Mattassini, Jr., RQ, D4; Ryland Richardson, Jr., RQ, D3; Sam Whitten, So.
What they are saying: “We are a second-year program trying to expose the kids in our community to the great sport of wrestling.”
Outlook: Richardson returned last season after coaching at Dunnellon from 2002-2010. He stepped into the assistant role this season and Chance Luckey takes over as the head man.