Charlotte advances to state semifinals with region duals title win

BY BRANT PARSONS — No. 4 Charlotte showcased its strength in numbers on Friday, topping No. 5 Tampa Jesuit 42-25 to win the 2A-3 region duals title.

"We have a lot of depth, so we just try to give ourselves the best chance to get eight wins and go from there," Charlotte head coach Evan Robinson said. "Jesuit is a very strong team and in a region that is really built up."

The Tarpons rallied in the middle of the match to take a lead and then held on to win.

Tampa Jesuit opened with three wins as Chancellor Haber (145) and Gavin Young (152) earned bonus point wins to get the match started before Brandon Cody scored a decision win at 160 pounds.

Charlotte then won eight matches in a row to pull away in the dual.

Isaac Schaeffer (170), Jett McCauley (182), Nathaniel Box (195), Cael Newton (220), Nikko Frattarelli (285), Matthew Schuler (106), Camren French (113) and Kaiden Ballinger (120) all earned wins.

French's win, a 3-1 decision over Jesuit's Roman Lermer, was the second of the season for the Charlotte junior over last year's state champion.

"He's just a kid that doesn't stop and if he takes a loss, he's going to come and get you," Robinson said. "He's working and getting better."

Jesuit finished off the dual with three wins from Nathan McGill (126), Jayden Bowles (132), and Draven McCall (138).

Charlotte faces Lake Gibson in Saturday morning's state semifinal.

"We beat last year's state champ in our region and now we have last year's state dual champions," Robinson said. "So we'll see what happens."

Charlotte 42, Tampa Jesuit 25

145: Chancellor Haber (J) p. Carson Bennett (C) 4:50; 152: Gavin Young (J) maj. Nicholas Gjerde (C) 14-5; 160: Brandon Cody (J) dec. James Baltutis (C) 5-1; 170: Isaac Schaeffer (C) p. Landon Cannaday (J) 0:49; 182: Jett McCauley (C) p. Robert Heydrich (J) 0:59; 195: Nathaniel Box (C) p. Luis Trejo (J) 1:39; 220: Cael Newton (C) p. Julian Alonso (J) 0:15; 285: Nikko Frattarelli (C) p. Paul Tanis (J) 0:18; 106: Matthew Schuler (C) by FF; 113: Camren French (C) dec. Roman Lermer (J) 3-1; 120: Kaiden Ballinger (C) dec. Xavier Albo (J) 10-7; 126: Nathan McGill (J) p. Cody Holt (C) 0:31; 132: Jayden Bowles (J) dec. Eric Clary (C) 9-2; 138: Draven McCall (J) dec. Luke Davis (C) 11-8.