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News-Sun photo by DAN HOEHNE The referee awaits making the pin call as Sebring's Andrew Cooper works to get it done in his first-round match against Ridge Community's Nicholas Alexander in Friday's District Tournament.

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published: Sunday, February 07, 2010

Four Streaks reach wrestling regional

By DAN HOEHNE

daniel.hoehne@newssun.com

SEBRING - The season-long growth of a young Sebring wrestling squad continued Friday in the District 6-2A tournament as the team saw four wrestlers advance and gave them a first-hand look at a team they have aspirations of emulating in the near future.

"It was about what I expected," head coach Josh Miller said. "This was, by far, the toughest district in our region with a team like Lake Gibson and some of the other Polk County schools. The guys really worked hard and I'm proud of them."

The presence of the Lake Gibson alone ratcheted up the standard of the meet, as the Braves, having just won the Brian Bain Polk County Invitational last weekend, advanced a grappler to the championship round in every single weight class - doing a fine impersonation of state power Brandon.

But one Streak was up to the challenge as sophomore Cody Spiegel came out on top of a hard-fought, 7-4 decision over Logan Ennis in the 135-pound weight class championship match.

Spiegel had advanced with a first-round bye and then a quick pin, in just 1:05, of Lake Region's Luis Morales in the semifinals.

Also reaching the finals was the team's lone senior, Michael Polatty in the 140-pound weight class.

Polatty topped Winter Haven's Cajuste Grauberson on a technical fall at 2:56 in his first round match before shutting out Bartow's Trey Williams, 6-0, in his semifinal match.

Lake Gibson's Cash Cotrell proved a bit too much for Polatty on this day, taking the class championship, but Polatty had long since secured his bid to the regional meet.

Cody Kennedy and Andrew Cooper each took fourth-place finishes for Sebring, qualifying them for regionals as well.

Kennedy, in the 103-pound weight class, pinned Haines City's Brenn Hines in 3:49 to take his opening match before getting pinned by Skyler Moody of Lake Gibson to move him into the consolation bracket.

From there he worked his way back into the mix with a pin of Ridge Community's Jasmine Hill to reach the third-place match - a rematch with Hines that didn't go much better than the first time around - but by reaching the match itself, Kennedy had locked up his invitation to the next level.

Cooper's path was similar as he pinned Ridge's Alex Nicholas in 1:10 of the opening round before falling to class champ Luke Graves of Lake Gibson.

A pin of Kathleen's Ray Otero, in 3:15, then stamped his ticket by reaching the third-place match before settling for fourth with a loss to Bartow's Oscar Cabarcas.

"We've seen so much improvement throughout the year," Miller said. "The kids who didn't advance worked really hard out there and will continue to work hard and support their teammates, practice with them and help them get ready for regionals."

Those would be the rest of his young squad including Ryan McNew, Chris DeJesus, Josh Figur, Vicente Moore, Terrence Taylor and Dylan Brown who Miller sees good things from the next couple seasons.

"If they stick together, stay as one," he said. "The next one or two years, Sebring, like we see with Lake Gibson, will be a force to reckon with."

For his wrestlers who's season continues, Miller knows the journey only gets tougher.

"Now it gets twice as difficult," he said. "From here, it was the top four out of eight wrestlers. There, it will be the top four out of 16.

"The guys who got fourth will have a tough road, as they'll be matched up with number one seeds in their first rounds," he continued. "The first or second-place finishers will face the lower seeds to start off, so their tougher matches don't come until later. But at this level, they're all tough, really, since you're only facing other kids that placed."

Perhaps it serves as a symbol of how difficult the next step will be in that the Region 2-2A meet takes place at, of course, Lake Gibson, Friday and Saturday, Feb. 12-13.