Northeast Florida Matmen staff report
HAGERTY — Starting the day with a win and ending it with one is never entirely a bad thing.
For Gainesville on Saturday, the Hurricanes bookended a trio of losses against some solid competition with a pair of victories, winning 42-36 over Lyman in the first dual of the day and stopping Lake Howell, 42-39, to take seventh place out of 10 teams in the event.
“Both duals that we won came down to the last weight class,” Gainesville coach Patrickk McDonald wrote on his Facebook page Saturday night. “(We) won some very tough matches today with some very game competitors. Ultimately, we never backed down from any competition. It’s what I’ve been preaching all year.”
Winter Springs won the event with a 5-0 record, taking a criteria victory over the host Huskies for the title. Olympia downed University (Orlando) 47-27 for third, University (Orange City) beat Atlantic 45-24 for fifth and Lyman stopped New Smyrna Beach 45-29 for ninth.
The Hurricanes’ losses came in the middle rounds, falling to the hosts in the second round (63-12) to University (Orlando) in the third (69-12) and to Atlantic (39-30) in Round 5 after a round off.
Leading the charge for Gainesville (6-4) overall was sophomore Scotty Tacinelli, who was 5-0 in appearances at both 113 and 120. Tacinelli had falls over wrestlers from Lyman, Atlantic and Lake Howell, with a 6-4 win over Hagerty’s Brandon Boyle, one of just three the Hurricanes would get in that dual. Tacinelli was named as the lower weights’ outstanding wrestler for the event.
Elijah Keselowsky (132, 2 pins) and Pierre Toney (182/195, decision) would go 3-2 on the day for Gainesville.
The Hurricanes are back in action on Saturday, competing in Chiles’ Timberwolf Duals round-robin event.
I covered wrestling for 15 years up north and "retired" in 2011. But as I thought I had in 1992, I couldn't stay away. Started Northeast Florida Matmen in 2013, Northwest Florida Matmen in 2015. New initiative this year is to create a space on my sites where ALL Florida results can be stored, searched, reviewed and used by my readers, with NO COST TO THEM.
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