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The high school wrestling season reached a significant milepost last week with district duals tournaments held, including the 1A-5 District Duals on Jan. 7 at Nature Coast.
The final that day came down to the host Sharks and Hernando, with the Leopards pulling out a 57-18 victory to take home the district crown. Hernando dominated throughout the tournament, blanking The First Academy 83-0 in the opening round and rolling past The Villages in the semifinals 42-29. Nature Coast defeated Mount Dora 52-27 and Weeki Wachee 42-37. The Hornets downed Central in the opening round 75-6.
On Jan. 8, the county’s other wrestling program finished second in the 2A-5 District Duals at Tavares. The Eagles faced River Ridge in the final and led 40-36 heading into the final match. Arthur Winstanley was able to pin Ryan Mongold in the heavyweight bout in 1:00 to give the Knights a 42-40 triumph.
For Springstead in the final, Evan Bozek pinned Frank Muir in 1:11 at 144 pounds, Brian Burch pinned Anthony Acosta in 0:34 at 150, Daniel Quinones pinned Joey Hyatt in 0:21 at 157, Aden Juan took down Martyn Gargano in 1:24 at 165, Darrius Rodick won by major decision over Jake Stanjeski 14-5 at 175, Kaleb Johns pinned Jordan Bonacasa in 3:53 at 215 and Savannah Valle won by forfeit at 106.
In their first match, the Eagles defeated Tavares 42-39. Valle got the pin over Cody Kohler in 3:00 at 106, Giovani DeLape pinned Angel Romero in 1:38 at 132, Bozek pinned Marcelo Ricardo in 3:30 at 144, Burch pinned Adrian Castillo in 2:18 at 157, Quinones pinned Preston Magann in 3:35 at 165, Aden Juan pinned Artavius Riley in 0:33 at 175 and Rodick pinned Jayson White in 0:52 at 190.
With Christmas break over, basketball and soccer teams were back at it in full force. Springstead’s boys’ soccer team returned to the pitch on Jan. 8 and suffered just its second loss of the season, 6-1 at Mitchell in a battle of two teams who had just one loss apiece. The Eagles bounced back with an 8-0 thumping over host Fivay on Friday and are now 12-2.
Springstead girls similarly lost to Mitchell in their first game back after the break, 7-0 on Jan. 6, but rebounded with a pair of shutouts, 5-0 over Crystal River on Jan. 8 and 6-0 at Leesburg on Friday, to improve to 9-7. Freshman Amanda Soults scored three goals against the Pirates and had a goal and an assist versus the Yellow Jackets. Chrisandra Rogers and Peyton Crump both had two goals against Leesburg.
Weeki Wachee won 7-0 over Central on Jan. 8 behind three goals by Adrianna Johnson and two by Lesly Palacios. The Hornets stood at 3-12 following that victory. Nature Coast’s lone match was a 0-0 tie with Citrus on Friday, putting the Sharks at 8-4-2.
In girls basketball, Springstead rolled to a 49-15 win over Hernando on Friday. Sophomore power forward Brooke Smith had her first double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 rebounds. The Eagles followed with a 53-29 victory against St. Augustine on Saturday to make their record 13-4 on the season.
Weeki Wachee finished the week 12-4 with a 52-46 win at Lecanto on Jan. 7 and 54-11 victory at Crystal River on Friday. Joelys Rodriguez scored 16 points to go with eight steals, three assists and a block against the Panthers, while Genesis Beal scored 11, and Reese Halter had 10 points and eight rebounds.
On Jan. 8, Nature Coast beat Hernando 43-37, with Jaida Grier falling just shy of a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds. Gabby Dross also had 12 points and Madelyn Depetrillo added 11. Ayana Kincade scored 27 points for the Leopards, who ended the week at 7-7.
Springstead’s boys topped Hernando on Friday 58-43, getting 13 points, 10 rebounds and two steals from Alejandro Arenas, and 11 points, 10 rebounds and three steals from Zion McKenzie. Orlando Feliberty added 11 points and two steals for the Eagles (9-6).
Joseph Rivera scored 19 points to go with three steals to lead the Leopards (11-5), and Daniel Merizalde had 10 points and three steals.
Weeki Wachee earned its second win of the season on Jan. 8, besting Belleview 86-53. Jayden Parent scored 23 points to go with eight steals, seven assists and six rebounds. Logan White chipped in 22 points, five rebounds and two steals, while Alex Wilson scored 17 points and Conner Boyle had 10 to go with five rebounds and two steals.
