3A-6 Preview: Competitive district tightens behind Palm Harbor University
BY BRANT PARSONS —Palm Harbor University has won four straight district titles and will try to keep that streak intact in the biggest district in 3A.
Steinbrenner and Strawberry Crest should be the teams chasing PHU.
"We will still be pretty deep as a dual team because we fill the roster and all of our kids are pretty good,” Steinbrenner coach Paul Noble said. “We start very few freshman and I think if you're not starting a bunch of freshman, you're probably in a pretty good situation.”
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Last season: Six district champions led Palm Harbor University to a 54.5-point win.
Last year’s district tournament results
Last year’s region tournament results
Wrestlers to watch: Cody Anderson (Strawberry Crest), Landon Bates (Palm Harbor University), Alexander Strickland (Strawberry Crest), Baxter Hoffman (Steinbrenner), Anthony Lucarini (Strawberry Crest), Devin Blunt (Strawberry Crest), Jonathan Lattimore (Armwood), Juniper Severin (Palm Harbor University)
The favorite: Palm Harbor University. Even with some losses from last year’s team, they are still the team to beat.
Team to watch: Steinbrenner. Sure, three state placers are gone, but the Warriors have been building a base that can reload.
District duals: Jan. 3 at Armwood
District IBT: Feb. 16 at Armwood
Kabra Says: Three state tournament wrestlers have moved on from Palm Harbor University, but the core of the team is strong and I think they’ve got enough returning to score a fifth-straight district title.
Palm Harbor University Hurricanes (#20 IBT | #16 Dual)
Coach: Matt Avramidis (3rd season)
Recent district results: 2023:1; 2022:1; 2021:1-3A7; 2020:1-3A7; 2019:2-3A8; 2018:1-3A8; 2017:1-3A8; 2016:2-3A8; 2015:1-3A7; 2014:1-3A7; 2013:1-3A7; 2012:1-3A7
Last state champion: Dylan Sparkman, 2021 (126)
Notable losses (Graduation/Transfer): Connor Reeves, 39-9, SQ, R3, D2; Joseph Cuttitta, 50-5, 4th, RC, DC; Anastasios Karistinos, 18-7, RQ, D4; Malachi Ortiz, Jr., 33-5, 4th, R3, DC (Transfer to Tampa Jesuit); #7-120 Juniper Severin, Sr., 22-6, RQ-BR, DC (Transfer to Tarpon Springs).
Notable returning wrestlers: #13-120 Zach Berry, So., 37-13, SQ, R4, DC; #15-144 Jackson Bond, Sr., 32-13, RQ, D2; #17-150 Athos Karistinos, So., 31-11, RQ-BR, D2; #20-132 Titus Herron, Sr., 30-11, RQ, DC; Mason Bass, Sr., 18-10, RQ, D4; Brady Messick, Jr., 17-12, RQ, D4; Zachary Horner, Jr., RQ, D3; Yosef Walsh, Sr.; Aedan Randazzo, Jr.
New wrestlers: #3-150 Landon Bates, Jr., 53-6, 3rd, R3, DC (Transfer from Countryside); Micheal Cross; Chris Moore.
What they are saying: “We have a great group of kids who put in a lot of work this offseason. I am excited to see them perform.”
Outlook: The Hurricanes return eight region qualifiers from a year ago and should battle for a fifth-consecutive district title.
Strawberry Crest Chargers (#11 | #15)
Coach: Justin Weaver
Recent district results: 2023:3; 2022:5; 2021:4; 2020:5; 2019:1; 2018:1; 2017:1; 2016:3; 2015:2; 2014:3; 2013:8-2A9; 2012:3-2A9
Last state champion: Cullen Telfer, 2015 (113)
Notable losses (Graduation/Transfer): Frank Font, 41-10, 6th, RC, DC; Alzider Ortiz, So., 41-13, RQ, D2 (Transfer to Zephyrhills Christian)
Potential notable returning wrestlers: #2-215 Cody Anderson, Sr., 42-4; #5-175 Alexander Strickland, Sr., 46-8, SQ, R2, D2; #7-165 Anthony Lucarini, Jr., 19-7, RQ, DC; #9-150 Devin Blunt, Sr., 35-11, SQ, R4, DC; #17-190 Zander Spurway, Sr., 31-12, RQ, D3; Braden Schwarz, So., 16-29, RQ, D4.
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Steinbrenner Warriors
Coach: Paul Noble (17th season)
Assistant coaches: Brian Busch, Jake English, Zamir Ode
22-23 dual record: 25-5
Recent district results: 2023:2; 2022:2; 2021:6-3A7; 2020:3-3A7; 2019:2-3A7; 2018:2-3A7; 2017:1-3A7; 2016:3-3A7; 2015:3-3A7; 2014:3-3A7; 2013:3-3A7; 2012:3-3A7
Last state champion: Colin Bradshaw, 2022 (120)
Notable losses (Graduation/Transfer): Colin Bradshaw, 25-3, 2nd, RC, DC; Reid Noble, 46-5, 6th, R3, DC; Garrett Krsul, 52-6, 4th, R3, DC; Ben Geraghty, 27-15, RQ, D2.
Notable returning wrestlers: #6-190 Baxter Hoffman, Sr., 43-10, SQ, R3, DC; #16-126 Joey Vitale, Jr., 14-8; #20-138 Daniel Busch, Sr., 37-12, RQ, D3; Gabe Oden, Jr., 25-20, RQ, D3; Jackson Cooney, Sr., 35-14, RQ, D2.
New wrestler: Darian Monserrate, Jr. (Transfer from Strawberry Crest)
What they are saying: "We're not really emphasizing results, especially early in the year. We've kind of moved away from that already and we just emphasize getting better every week and evaluating what you're doing. When you have 50 kids in your program and 3-4 coaches, the kids have to learn to take some ownership in their own learning and wrestling. We expect to be a completely different team by the end of the year as we are at the beginning. We have talented kids and we're going to be tough and and I expect the kids to really excel by the end of year."
On last year's seniors: "Three state medals is pretty hard to replace with a state champ included in that bunch. They just set a standard that was pretty high and I think that standard had been coming."
On getting prepared: "We spend more time wrestling and more time working in positions that we're not good at and getting kids comfortable with that whole mindset of putting yourself in a position you're not good at and working on that versus being in a position you're good at. Kids are like adults and they want to do what they're good at and everyone wants to show off what they're good at and they tend to ignore their weaknesses."
Outlook: The Warriors said goodbye to quite a senior class last season but the cupboard is not bare with the likes of Hoffman, Busch, and Vitale in the room. Look for this team to find its footing as the season grows.
Sunlake Seahawks
Coach: Sergio Matos
Recent district results: 2023:4; 2022:7-2A5; 2021:6-2A8; 2020:5-2A8; 2019:4-2A8; 2018:3-2A8; 2017:10-2A8; 2016:8-2A8; 2015:11-2A8; 2014:11-2A8; 2013:3-2A8; 2012:2-2A8
Notable losses (Graduation/Transfer): Noah Myrick, 27-10, RQ, D4.
Potential notable returning wrestlers: #12-132 Rafael Pacheco, Sr., 26-12, RQ-BR, D4; #15-132 Marco Rivera, Jr., 26-10, RQ, D2; #20-106 Zeke Johnson, So., 28-11, RQ, D4; #20-113 Ashton Horvath, Jr., 17-11, RQ, D3; Daniel Locascio, Jr., RQ, D4; Dominic Minnillo, So., 5-6, RQ, D4.
East Lake Eagles
Coach: Rob Golombek (3rd year as HC, 10th at East Lake)
Assistant coach: Joe Marzo
22-23 dual record: 14-7
Recent district results: 2023:6; 2022:3; 2021:2-3A7; 2020:2-3A7; 2019:1-2A9; 2018:2-2A9; 2017:3-2A9; 2016:1-2A9; 2015:2-3A7; 2014:2-3A7; 2013:4-3A7; 2012:2-3A7
Last state champion: Dan Roberts, 1999 (160)
Notable losses (Graduation/Transfer): Paul Arzate, 27-13, RQ, D3; Isaac Green, 31-12, RQ, D3; Carsen Brandt, 30-12, RQ, D3; Cam Taylor.
Notable returning wrestlers: Mark Veltre, Sr., 27-14, RQ, D3; Trey McCormick, Sr.; Levi MacCullough, Sr.; Max Perz, So.; Parker Buckley, So.; Matthew Werthmiller, Jr.; Aiden Smith, Jr.; Connor Bowen, Jr.; Carter Van Allen, Sr.; Drew Hess, Jr.
New wrestlers: Jackson Golombek, Fr.; Noah Pearce, So.; Nick Rimel, Fr.; Cam Collora, Fr.; Danny Mahoney, Jr.; Aaron Zebert, So.; Gabe Adbe, So.
What they are saying: “Last year was a big rebuild, so I only see the team improving and making a mark this season. I anticipate a very successful future with this core group.”
Outlook: Last season was the first time Eagles finished outside of the top three in the district since 2013 and the rebuild that began last year should continue to show improvement in this one.
Sickles Gryphons
Coach: Terry Brockland (26th season)
Recent district results: 2023:5; 2022:6; 2021:3-3A7; 2020:5-3A7; 2019:6-3A7; 2018:10-3A7; 2017:5-3A7; 2016:8-3A7; 2015:5-3A7; 2014:6-3A7; 2013:6-2A9; 2012:7-2A9
Last state champion: Jegan Gabbidon, 2002 (130)
Notable losses (Graduation/Transfer): Ben Heinzelmann, 30-5, RQ, D2; Bishop Taylor, Sr., RQ, D3 (Transfer to Mitchell).
Notable returning wrestlers: #17-175 Abraham Le, Sr., 35-9, RQ, D3; Brandon Restrepo, Jr., RQ, D3; Christian Gennaro, Sr., RQ, D4.
What they are saying: “We should have a more experienced team this year.”
Outlook: Eight of the nine athletes that placed in districts last season were underclassmen.
Mitchell Mustangs
Coach: Michael LoGuidice (4th season as HC/6th overall)
Assistant coaches: Cameron Mills, Booker Colson
22-23 dual record: 17-14
Recent district results: 2023:8; 2022:5; 2021:7-2A8; 2020:8-2A8; 2019:10-2A9; 2018:9-2A9; 2017:9-2A9; 2016:10-2A9; 2015:2-2A9; 2014:3-2A9; 2013:5-2A8; 2012:5-2A8
Notable losses (Graduation/Transfer): None
Notable returning wrestlers: #20-150 Colin Brown, Sr., 31-24, RQ, D4; Roman Acevedo, Sr., 35-12, RQ-BR, D4; Syrus Brown, Sr., 36-19, RQ, D3.
New wrestler: Bishop Taylor, Jr., RQ, D3 (Transfer from Sickles).
On the senior class: It's been a little ride with them. When I first got the job, a lot of them were freshmen and now seeing them grow up to be the men that they are means a lot to see them not only go out there and wrestle, but graduate as well. They definitely have a lot of potential to go far and they've been working hard all four years."
On scheduling and hard district: "At the end of the day, the cream will rise to the top and you shouldn't always be looking for the easy way out in life in general - and for sure in wrestling, that's not going to get you anywhere. So we ran the room year-round and I encouraged them to go to different camps and tournament and we're going to go to hard tournaments during the year too. We're going to go outside of Pasco and to places like Lake Gibson and George Jenkins."
On testing his athletes: "I always try to put my wrestlers in positions, not to fail, but to challenge themselves and just see how well they do against the better wrestlers. That way we fix things before it's too late."
Fast fact: After not having a SAC individual champion since 2015, the Mustangs have had at least one conference champion in each of the past two seasons.
Outlook: The is LoGuidice’s fourth year as head coach and he’ll have his first group of four-year seniors this season.
Plant Panthers
Coach: Jay Powers
Recent district results: 2023:10; 2022:4; 2021:5-3A7; 2020:4-3A7; 2019:5-3A7; 2018:4-3A7; 2017:4-3A7; 2016:6-3A7; 2015:6; 2014:4; 2013:8; 2012:9
Last state champion: Will Putnam, 2018 (285)
Notable losses (Graduation/Transfer): Stephen Kofron, 16-6, RQ-BR, D3.
Potential notable returning wrestlers: Parker Milling, Jr., 14-23, RQ, D5; Koda Sciuto, Sr., 14-5, RQ, D2.
Alonso Ravens
Coach: Michael Heldt
Recent district results: 2023:7; 2022:7; 2021:4-3A7; 2020:6-3A7; 2019:4-3A7; 2018:7-3A7; 2017:8-3A7; 2016:9-3A7; 2015:9-3A7; 2014:7-3A7; 2013:2-3A7; 2012:7-3A7
Notable losses (Graduation/Transfer): None
Potential notable returning wrestlers: #15-190 Owen Beach, Sr., 32-8, RQ, D2; #16-215 Levaun Hall, Sr., 27-6, RQ, DC; Jizrahel Sajous, Jr., RQ, D4.
Armwood Hawks
Coach: Adam Cain (1st season)
Assistant coaches: Ty King, Lane Best, Natalie McWilliams
Recent district results: 2023:9; 2022:8; 2021:8; 2020:8; 2019:3-2A7; 2018:4-2A7; 2017:9-2A7; 2016:8-2A7; 2015:7-2A7; 2014:8-2A7; 2013:5-2A9; 2012:6-2A9
Last state champion: Donoven Hough, 2013 (113)
Notable losses (Graduation/Transfer): None
Notable returning wrestler: #8-285 Jonathan Lattimore, Jr., 22-9, SQ, R4, DC.
What they are saying: "We're not going to be an easy win anymore"
On turning the program around: "So I'm big on culture. The past few years have been pretty down and the culture has been just hey, come and wrestle and do whatever you want, because there wasn't anybody holding them accountable. Now, last year, when I came in and had a little more say, we started holding the kids accountable. What was the expectation was understood. So when there was a missed practice, or they were missing equipment, they forgot something, they knew there was going to be a consequence for the action instead of oh, well, we'll figure it out. And that started helping turn the culture around. I also brought in about six football players. So the the culture from football, they brought that over the discipline, the love of practice, is really what started changing everything around."
On making sure there is some fun: "I think that it's huge. Especially with wrestling. It's so tough. Practices are tough. The matches are tough. If there's nothing that makes it fun, you kind of you have kids burnout. A lot of these kids, it's their escape from whatever they got going on outside in the classroom. So you have to make something fun, or have some type of fun to where you're not just beating them into the mat the whole time."
Outlook: Cain takes over a program that has had four straight down years but the team is young, resilient and ambitious. Cain is going to be looking for athletes that are driven and have good character.
Wiregrass Ranch Bulls
Coach: Jamey Ketler (4th season)
Assistant coaches: Kevin Jacques, Kelly De Curtis, Eric Smith, Dan Simkins, Donavan Eury
22-23 dual record: 4-11
Recent district results: 2023:11; 2022:7-2A6; 2021:7-3A7; 2020:8-3A7; 2019:8-3A7; 2018:9-3A7; 2017:9-3A7; 2016:10-3A7; 2015:9-2A8; 2014:6-2A8; 2013:9; 2012:7
Notable losses (Graduation/Transfer): Devin Lanier, 26-4, RQ-BR, D2.
Notable returning wrestlers: Gauge Kinley, So., 8-12; Lorenzo Sanchez, So., 5-8; Pete Simkins, So., 9-13; Sathwick Yarlagadda, Jr., 2-6; Ben Bonner, Sr., 9-5; Sean Williams, Jr., 10-14.
What they are saying: "We don't ever talk about wins or losses, we talk about just doing the right things. We show up at every practice, we always try to keep it simple and just try to get 1% better every single day. It's about making it the practice every day, keeping your grades up, and if you can do all the little things, then they start adding up to the big things. And that's what we focus on. We focus on winning a whole bunch of small battles, like grades and making it to practice and, all those little things. And if you start winning enough of those little things, then you'll start winning in all the big things."
On healing after injuries: "We spent a lot of time healing and recovering. We had an unusual number of kids get hurt. So we spent a lot of time in the offseason trying to recover and train. So we're excited to see how we bounce back. We're excited, we're anxious to get out there."
On starting to have kids from club: "We developed our club a couple years ago when we learned that there was really not much of a feeder program. Having our wrestling club really start to pay off dividends is really going to be a pretty determining factor for us to see how that's going. This is going to be the second year now that we're gonna have a class of incoming freshmen that are coming to us already prepared to hit the ground running. We're looking forward to seeing how this is going to work out for us."
Outlook: The team struggled through numerous injuries last year but brings back most of its wrestlers. A large group of this team has been working all offseason and freshman from the club should add even more depth to the lineup.
Largo Packers
Coach: Kurt Montanye (6th at Largo, 13th overall)
Assistant coaches: Kevin Quirk, Sam Geraci, John Lauser, Emily Bidwell
22-23 dual record: 13-13
Recent district results: 2023:12; 2022:9; 2021:6-2A9; 2020:5-2A9; 2019:9-2A9; 2018:10-2A9; 2017:10-2A9; 2016:9-2A9; 2015:9-2A9; 2014:8-2A9; 2013:2-2A10; 2012:4-2A10
Last state champion: Howard Hoffman, 1996 (135), Jason Taylor, 1996 (189)
Notable losses (Graduation/Transfer): Milo Klaustermeier, Jr., 24-21, RQ, D2 (Transfer to Seminole)
Notable returning wrestlers: Nate Lauser, Jr.,13-13; Eliezer Valentin, Jr., 13-9; Anthony Olguin, Sr.; Kyle Stockhuasen, So.; Jose Pierre, So.; Reece Holder, So.
Outlook: The Packers are a young team but the wrestlers that are here are invested in the program.
Wharton Wildcats
Coach: Dwayne Davis
Recent district results: 2023:13; 2022:6-2A6; 2021:8-3A7; 2020:7-3A7; 2019:10-3A7; 2018:5-3A7; 2017:7-3A7; 2016:2-3A7; 2015:4; 2014:5; 2013:7-3A7; 2012:4-3A7
Notable losses (Graduation/Transfer): Jesus Arozecemena, 30-9, RQ, D2.
Potential notable returning wrestlers: None