A Mustang stunner punctuates state ticket night | Region duals recap
Merritt Island will be making its fourth-straight trip to the state duals tournament at Kissimmee Osceola High School (Photo courtesy of Merritt Island wrestling)
BY BRANT PARSONS — Ahead of its state duals battle with No. 1 Zephyrhills Christian, Merritt Island knew it had an advantage, it would get to face the top-ranked Warriors in its own gym.
On Thursday night, with a spot in the region finals and a trip to Kissimmee on the line, the #4 Mustangs stunned the Warriors 31-30, winning the dual on criteria.
“Our kids are battled tested and had been there before, we weren’t going to back down to anybody,” Merritt Island coach Graham Smith said. “Our strategy was to go after their best kids and it paid off.”
Zephyrhills Christian started the match with upset wins for Ethan Kent at 285 and Nadir Shalaby at 113. Cale Wimberly (106) and Izak Rodriguez (120) also picked up wins to give the Warriors a 20-0 lead.
Then the Merritt Island lineup shift took over the Mustangs would win eight of the last ten matchups, which was enough to tie the score at 30-30 and give them the criteria win based off of most matches won.
Landon Quiroga, ranked #3 at 120 pounds, earned six points at 126 and Alex Giglietti also bumped up to win his match at 132.
With the score cut to 20-9, a pivotal moment in the dual came when freshman Timmy Boda wrestled up a weight class and beat the top-ranked wrestler in 1A at 138.
“Boda set the pace by bumping up and taking out one of their best guys and we just kind of caught fire after that,” Smith said.
Talon Maples (144) and Kyle Gallo (165) would be the last two winner for Zephryhills Christian, bringing their total to 30.
Merritt Island scored a pair of upsets at 150 and 157, with Titus Deyoung and Judge Deyoung both picking up big decision wins.
After Tre Driggett (175) and Courtland Campbell (190) won, it set the stage for the final bout, with the Warriors up 30-24.
“It came down to senior Dominick Smith at 215,” Smith said. “When I told him we needed a pin to win he looked me in the eye and said ‘I got this coach.’ Then he delivered.”
The win evened the match and gave the criteria win to the Mustangs, who are heading to the region finals for the fourth straight year, although it’s the first visit won by knocking off the top team in the state.
“No one outside of our little barrier island picked us, but it doesn’t matter because we are state bound,” Smith said.
Click here to see the complete results from Merritt Island’s win
Nine teams reach region finals for first time
There will be lots of new faces next weekend at the Kissimmee Osceola High School with 9 of the 24 region finalists appearing in their first state duals.
In Class 1A, four of the eight region finalists will be making their debut.
Yulee advanced with a win over last year’s region finalist Baker County, Anclote knocked off Robinson to advance, St. John Neumann continued its successful first year with a victory over Lemon Bay and Key West will be making the drive up to Kissimmee after beating SLAM Academy.
Middleburg topped Lincoln to earn its first date to the dance and Braden River outscored Manatee for the second time this year to book the Pirates’ first battle in Kissimmee.
In Class 3A, George Jenkins will be making its long-awaited debut in the region finals, while putting on a tournament at the same time in its own gym, Douglas earned its first ticket on Wednesday night, and Palmetto got revenge from districts to earn a spot.
District runner-up bounces back to advance
Of the 24 teams at Osceola next weekend, 23 of them started their state duals journey with a district title.
Not Palmetto though.
The Tigers fell to Venice in their district duals final and found them needing to avenge that loss on Thursday to stay alive in the bracket.
Palmetto jumped out early and beat Venice 47-26 to book a spot with the 23 other teams.
Sean Herlihy (113), O’Ryan Anderson (120), and Andre Shiffner (126) opened up a 14-0 advance for the Tigers, a lead they would never relinquish.
Jake Wyatt (138), Nevan Naeau (150), Aiden Carter (165), Garrett Pyle (190), Ryan Reid (285), and Michael Schlegel (106) all scored wins for Palmetto. They’ll face Charlotte on Friday night.
To see all of the results from Palmetto’s nice, click here
Four state champions in one half of the bracket
Their journey to Osceola was not surprising, but the look of the Class 2A bracket should get people excited as each of the four teams in the bottom half have won a state duals title.
Lake Gibson and Tampa Jesuit are the only teams who have a Class 2A duals title with the Braves winning six and the Tigers the other one.
The past four state champions in Class 1A have been Jensen Beach and Somerset and those two will be meeting this year in the Region 2A-4 final.
Thrilling finishes
Trailing 33-26 with two matches to go, Flagler Palm Coast rallied to advance to the 3A-1 region final with a 35-33 win over Buchholz. Ronden Ricks scored the first win for the Bulldogs with a major decision win at 150 pounds. Still down three points, Carson Baert sealed the trip for Palm Coast with a dual-ending technical fall win at 157 pounds.
See complete stats from Flagler Palm Coast’s win here
Yulee’s Michael McNair had an easy take for the Hornets, win his final match at 165 pounds, and his team would win and advance to its first region final. Baker County led 38-36 going into the final match after rallying on their own, winning five straight matches before the final one. But Yulee’s fifth-ranked senior didn’t let the excitement stick around long, earning an early first period pin for Yulee’s 42-38 win.
See complete stats from Yulee’s win here
Class 3A roundup
Also advancing to the region finals in Class 3A is six-time state champion South Dade. The heavy favorites pounded their rivals 54-18 to advance. Kissimmee Osceola survived a scare in the quarterfinals with Fort Pierce Central (35-30) to defeat host Viera 47-24 to punch its ticket. Hagerty is returning to the region finals after beating last year’s region finalist Timber Creek 46-25 and Wellington will be making a familiar trip after topping Olympic Heights 37-27.
Click here to see all of Class 3A duals results
Class 2A roundup
Clay and Charlotte are joining the new teams and defending state champions on Friday. Clay toppled Winter Springs 43-25 and Charlotte was sharp in beating Riverdale 55-18. It will be Clay’s sixth appearance in a region final while Charlotte has advanced here all eight years.
Click here to see all of Class 2A duals results
Class 1A roundup
#2 Mater Lakes, who was the top-ranked team in Class 1A before its on-point win in the district finals against Cardinal Gibbons, stamped its return to Kissimmee with authority, winning the rematch 52-11. Suwannee is back after reaching the state final last year, the Bulldogs ran past Wakulla 55-15 and Hernando reached the region final for the eighth time in eight years of the state duals series.
