By DAN HOEHNE
daniel.hoehne@newssun.com
SEBRING - As the race toward state looms ever closer, Saturday's annual Spiegel Memorial Invitational was one of the last chances for wrestlers to put their talents to the test.
More than 100 wrestlers representing 12 high schools were on hand at the prestigious meet, and the local wrestlers certainly didn't disappoint.
Sebring showed itself strong with a second-place finish and 133 team points, while Avon Park was just behind in third at 124, while the next nearest team total was almost 30 more points behind.
Somerset Academy held down the top spot with a 145-point team total.
The Blue Streaks saw fourth-place finishes from Nathan Franklin in the 120-pound weight class, Matt Juve at 170 and Brandon Fuller at 195.
A third-place finish was had by Jirardo Bautista at 126, while there were four Streaks that finished second on the day.
Freshman Brendan Doty was one step away from the top in the 106 class, as were Casey Rickers at 152, Chris DeJesus at 160 and Nick Brod at 220.
Which left Ty Johnson as Sebring's champion for the day, taking first in the 182-pound weight class.
The Red Devils didn't have quite as many medalists as their Highlands County counterparts, but were quite impressive with their finishes, earning one third, two seconds and three firsts.
Charles Bernard had the third-place finish, in the 132-pound class, while the second-place finishes were had by Dre Neely at 113 and Jose Torres at 120.
Torres was a state qualifier a season ago and looks to have himself in fine form for a chance to go back.
As does Dylan Brown, who placed fifth at the state competition last year and took first Saturday in the 220-pound class.
Johnny Baldridge, a state qualifier two seasons ago, just missed last year and looks to be on pace to get there again this year with his first-place finish in the 126-pound class.
And one more Red Devil has been coming on strong as of late and could well be the latest to join the program's list of state qualifiers as Delroy Blake also took home a title Saturday, in the 195-pound class.
Both Avon Park and Sebring squads will take to the mat at the Polk County Invitational Saturday before then heading to their respective District Tournaments the following Friday.
Regional competition gets under the weekend after that, where the final push toward State will be at hand.
Wednesday, January 23, 2013 - www.newssun.com/WED-1-23-13-Spiegel