2A-2 Preview: Deep Lincoln team looking for big things this season

BY BRANT PARSONS

Kabra Wrestling Rankings are updated every week all season long for Kabra+ members.

Last season: Lincoln won its 12th district title in the last 14 years but it was close as Chiles was 23.5 points behind and Mosley just 15.5 behind Chiles.

How did Kabra do?: We picked Lincoln to win again and we got it right.

Last year’s district tournament results

Last year’s region tournament results

Wrestlers to watch: Zakary Jurado (Lincoln), Porter Loveland (Middleburg), Ryder Luck (Lincoln), Gavin Fisher (Middleburg), Wyatt Leduc (Middleburg), Sammy Passetti (Chiles), Preston King (Lincoln), Joe Tucker (Lincoln), Cooper Hill (Chiles), Nathan Harvey (Middleburg), Luke Rodriguez (Lincoln), Santana Harris (Leon)

The favorite: Lincoln. This might be one of the toughest teams that Lincoln has had during their dominant stretch.

Team to watch: Chiles. Runners-up the last two seasons, the Timberwolves will be the one chasing again.

District duals: Wednesday, December 11 at Middleburg, 2:30 p.m.

District IBT: Friday, February 21 at Chiles, 2:30 p.m.

Lincoln Trojans (#10/#6)

Coach: Mike Crowder (30th season)

Assistant coaches: Jake Burch, Reggie Toombs

See the 24-25 schedule here

23-24 dual record: 19-4

Recent district results: 2024:1; 2023:1; 2022:2; 2021:1; 2020:2; 2019:1; 2018:1; 2017:1; 2016:1; 2015:1; 2014:1; 2013:1; 2012:1

Last state champion: Tristan Sommer, 2013 (152)

Notable losses (Graduation/Transfer): Vaniel Caceras, 36-5, RQ-BR, DC; Caleb King, 44-5, SQ, R3, DC; Jermaine Yarborough, 32-12, RQ-BR, DC.

Notable returning wrestlers: Ryder Luck, Sr., 44-6, SC, R3, DC; Zakary Jurado, Sr., 41-11, 5th, R3, DC; Preston King, Sr., 35-9, SQ, R3, DC; Joe Tucker, Sr., 29-13, RQ, DC; Vincent Crump, Sr., 31-8, RQ, D2; Nick Blanca, Sr., 24-15, RQ, D3; Daniel Clement, So., 12-12, RQ, D2; Michael Davila, Jr., 12-16, RQ, D4.

New wrestlers: Joseph Ganim, Fr. (Transfer from Florida High); Luke Rodriguez (Transfer from Tennessee)

What they are saying: “If everything comes together, it looks like this could be one of our best groups ever, which is awesome when I really think about it. The expectations are high. And the one good thing about these guys is that they always put the work in, no matter what the expectations are, they’re still grinding it out.”

On duals expectations: “We’ve had a lot of heartbreak at that level and I know there are so many teams that are out there that are good, that are grinding for it too. But I do like our changes. I think we are hard to beat, especially if everything comes together the way it looks like it could and everybody falls into the right weight classes.”

On Ryder Luck: “He hasn’t stopped working. He hasn’t stopped doing anything. That is such a hard thing to find at that weight class. He’s a kid that’s going to wrestle all offseason and do all the work and we all hope for a kid like that. He lost a really tough match this summer (8-5 to North Fort Myers’ Seth Tshiams) and the next day, Ryder was in the room working on the problems.”

Outlook: Luck won the school’s first title in a decade and is back to defend his title. The Trojans should have strong IBT and duals team this year with a chance to make it to 2A state dual final.

The Florida High School Wrestling Season District Previews

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Class 3A: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16

Class 2A: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16

Class 1A: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16

Girls: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16

District Predictions: All 64 projected final IBT standings

Other content: Transfers | Coaching changes | Tournament schedule | Dual schedule | Team schedules

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Rankings: Class 3A | Class 2A | Class 1A | Girls | Team

Middleburg Broncos (#9/#9)

Coach: Coll Robertson (4th as HC, 5th total at school)

Assistant Coach: Joe Isham

23-24 dual record: 18-8

See the 24-25 schedule here

Recent district results: 2024:2-2A3; 2023:3-2A3; 2022:5; 2021:3; 2020:6; 2019:5-2A3; 2018:3-2A3; 2017:2-2A3; 2016:1-2A3; 2015:2-2A3; 2014:2-2A3; 2013:5-2A3; 2012:6-2A3

Notable losses (Graduation/Transfer): Tucker Cody, 61-2, 3rd, RC, DC; Grady Woodard, 49-9, 7th, R2, D2; Dylan Johns, 33-23, RQ, D2.

Notable returning wrestlers: Wyatt Leduc, Sr., 56-4, 4th, RC, DC; Gavin Fisher, So., 61-4, 4th, RC, DC; Porter Loveland, Jr., 18-1; Nathan Harvey, So., 42-22, SQ, R4, D2; David Hall, Jr., 30-15, RQ, D2; Sean Blouin, Jr., 38-21, RQ, D2; Daniel Raines, Jr., 23-8, D5.

New wrestlers: Christopher McKeel, Jr., 16-14, RQ, D3 (Transfer from Oakleaf); Micah Thomas, Jr., 28-18, SQ, R4, D3 (Transfer from Oakleaf); Colt Daigle, Fr.; Terry Milam, Fr.; Christian Mann, Fr.

What they are saying: “These guys are hungry. They have all moved on from last season's success, or they aren't satisfied with how they did last year, and have spent countless hours preparing for this season. They're excited for the season to start and are eager to compete.”

On Wyatt Leduc: “We are looking for a healthy season and a state title. He won’t be satisfied with anything less. He’s put in the work and gone the extra mile. He’s been lifting and he started to have fun with wrestling last year and the results showed. He’s lifted and wrestled all summer and just enjoyed the process.”

On team goals: “Last year was the highest the school has ever finished in the state tournament (tied for 5th), so we are excited about that. It will be hard to replace Tucker and Grady, but that’s kind of what we’re trying to build as a team where we can slot guys in to replace our big guns.”

Outlook: Last year’s team was the most successful finish at the state tournament but they still feel like they can do more.

Chiles Timberwolves (NR/#21)

Coach: James Marschka (20th as head coach, 22nd at school)

Assistant coaches: Kyle McGill, Garrett Marschka, David Lunn

23-24 dual record: 12-5

Recent district results: 2024:2; 2023:2; 2022:3; 2021:5; 2020:5; 2019:3; 2018:4; 2017:2; 2016:3; 2015:4; 2014:4; 2013:3-3A1; 2012:3-3A1

Last state champion: Kyle McGill, 2021 (195)

Notable losses (Graduation/Transfer): Ethan Jackson, 39-11, RQ, DC; Langston Tillman, 35-13, RQ, DC; Luke Pickels, 26-9, RQ, D3; Patirck Brooks, 8-9, RQ, D2.

Notable returning wrestlers: Jacob Johnston, Sr., 38-4, RQ-BR, DC; Cooper Hill, Sr., 30-6, RQ-BR, DC; Sammy Passetti, So., 29-18, SQ, R4, D3; Jason Marsala, Jr., 36-16, RQ-BR, D2; Hayden Smith, Jr., 34-22, RQ, D3; Jovon Calixte, Sr., 12-22, RQ, D4; Ethan Toomey, Sr., 19-17, RQ, D3.

New wrestlers: Lawson Thorne; Andrew Hutton

What they are saying: “We’ve got some solid kids that I think are going to do well individually and score some points and win some medals at tournaments and put us in a decent spot. We might not have anything crazy this year in terms of super high finishes, but I think we’ll have a pretty solid above-average team. We’ll see how many of them surprise me.”

On having a few holes in lineup: “We’ve just got to fill some spots. We have to do some heavy recruiting but I’m still excited about what we have coming back.”

On getting to coach with his son Garrett this year: “It’s great to have him around. He’s a great kid and a hard worker. I really enjoy having a little bit more time to spend with him in the wrestling community because I know he’s going to be moving on before too long.”

Outlook: After last year’s second place finish in the district, the Timberwolves believe they have a solid duals team coming back and will hope to find some guys in the room to take the next step individually too.”

Ridgeview Panthers

Coach: Steve Inman

Recent district results: 2024:2-2A3; 2023:2-2A3; 2022:4; 2021:3-1A4; 2020:3-1A4; 2019:3-2A3; 2018:1-2A3; 2017:3-2A3; 2016:4-2A3; 2015:5-2A3; 2014:4-2A3; 2013:6-2A3; 2012:3-2A3

Last state champion: Matthew Rodriquez, 2021 (132)

Notable losses (Graduation/Transfer): Raymond Goforth, 38-11, SQ, R4, D4; Rayhn Hutchinson, 36-12, RQ, D2; Ryan Murphy, 26-11, RQ, D3; Braylon Hawkins, 22-17, RQ, D4; James Laycock, 43-16, RQ-BR, D3.

Potential notable returning wrestlers: Preston Lewis, Sr., 34-18, RQ, D3; Bailen Culver, Sr., 12-3; Roman Ortiz, Jr., 35-12, RQ, D3; Timothy Danz, Sr., 14-17, RQ, D4.

New wrestler: Joseph Sneed, So., RQ, D3 (Transfer from Orange Park)

Leon Lions

Coach: Chuck Ringel

Recent district results: 2024:5; 2023:6; 2022:8; 2021:7; 2020:7; 2019:4; 2018:5; 2017:5; 2016:2; 2015:2; 2014:5; 2013:4; 2012:4

Last state champion: Gabe Beyer, 2016 (HWT)

Notable losses (Graduation/Transfer): Noah Summerlin, 20-8, RQ-BR, DC.

Potential notable returning wrestlers: Santana Harris, Sr., 22-6, RQ-BR, DC; Liam Sheeran, Jr., 12-11, RQ, D3; Charles Bosby, Sr., 22-18, RQ, D4; Andrew Londot, Jr., 16-9, RQ, D4.

Columbia Tigers

Coach: Peter Whittington (Ninth season)

Assistant coaches: Brett Millard, Lisa Tillman

Recent district results: 2024:6; 2023:5; 2022:6; 2021:2; 2020:1; 2019:2; 2018:2; 2017:3; 2016:4; 2015:3; 2014:2; 2013:3; 2012:2

Last state champion: Chace Curtis, 2016 (120)

Notable losses (Graduation/Transfer): Landon Slater, Jr., 30-21, RQ, D2 (Transfer to Suwannee); Arthur Vanderpool, Sr., 34-16, SQ, R4, D2 (Transfer to Suwannee); Tyler Phinney, Jr., 15-25, RQ, D4 (Transfer to Suwannee)

Notable returning wrestlers: William Zhane Smith, So., 25-21, RQ, D2; Ty Tillman, So., 20-22, RQ, D3; Kevin Fink, Sr., 26-22, RQ, D4; Douglas Andrews, So., 2-16, RQ, D4.

Gainesville Hurricanes

Coach: Luis Mendez (2nd season)

Assistant coach: Albert Alvarez

See the 24-25 schedule here

Recent district results: 2024:7; 2022:7-2A4; 2021:8; 2020:8; 2019:5; 2018:3; 2017:4; 2016:5; 2015:5; 2014:3; 2013:1-2A4; 2012:1-2A4

Last state champion: Trae-von O’Neal, 2016 (113)

Notable losses (Graduation/Transfer): None

Notable returning wrestlers: Franco Macias, Jr., 13-14, RQ, D3; Zaivrin Chess, So.; Levi Powell, So.