Tarpons will face Fort Myers Riverdale in Class 2A-3 final
PALMETTO
If what happened at Palmetto High on Saturday happens next weekend in Kissimmee, Evan Robinson wouldn’t mind a bit.
Charlotte High’s wrestling coach watched his team go 5-0 to take first place Saturday at the 12th Annual Tiger Duals, and Robinson hopes it was a harbinger of things to come. The Tarpons wrestle for the Class 2A-Region 3 dual title Friday at Kissimmee Osceola High against Fort Myers Riverdale. A win sends Charlotte into Saturday’s state semifinal.
“It was a good day to keep our guys rolling and going and doing some stuff,” Robinson said after his team upped its record to 14-1. “We got five good matches in. Now we go home and rest up for next week.”
After winning its pool Saturday morning, Charlotte went 3-0 in the championship bracket and clinched first with a 53-27 win over Tampa Riverview. The Tarpons jumped to a 30-0 lead before the Sharks closed the gap to 36-27 with three matches remaining. But Donnie Cataldi scored a technical fall at 113 pounds before Vincent Grimaldi sealed it with a pin at 120.
“(Riverview) had shifted momentum,” Robinson. “Thank goodness the lightweights came through and did some damage. Donnie, even though he’s only a sophomore, he’s very experienced, and he knows when he needs to draw blood.”
The Tarpons had eight wrestlers go 5-0 — Cataldi, Grimaldi, Lucas Willis (132), Cody Rice (138), Bryce Peterson (145), Anthony Cavanaugh (152), Yvens Candio (160) and Jose Valdez (182).
Most importantly, the Tarpons came out of the tournament healthy heading into Friday’s regional final.
“You’ve got to have the matches. You can’t stay stale,” Robinson said. “They did a nice job controlling themselves (Saturday) and doing some nice things, and work on the stuff we’re working on. Hopefully it pays off next week.”
The area’s next-best finishers were the host Tigers, who won their pool before finishing fourth in the 16-team field. Palmetto fell 45-36 in the third-place match to Largo Pinellas Park.
“We’re learning,” said Tigers coach Bryan Wilkes. “The matches really start counting in February. We want to win, but we’ll walk away from this knowing what we have to work on, and we’ll start working on that Monday.”
Andrew Duncan (220) and Brendan Valley (145) went undefeated for the Tigers.
“I’m excited about the team,” Wilkes said. “We’re young.”
The match between the Tigers and Pinellas Park was delayed for about 15 minutes when Scott Woodson, a 182-pounder from Pinellas Park, was knocked unconscious when he his head hit the mat. Woodson also complained about some discomfort in his neck, and was taken to an area hospital. He gave the crowd a thumbs-up after he was strapped to a stretcher.
Other area wrestlers who finished 5-0 on Saturday were Bradenton Christian’s Leo Campbell (195), Booker’s Dakari Rivers (113), Braden River’s Brandon Tackett (106) and Lakewood Ranch’s A.J. Henry (285) and Chase Sharp (225).