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Highlands Today

Devils Hold Down District

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By CHRIS HOFFMAN

Highlands Today

Published: February 7, 2009

LAKE WALES - Like a caged lion, Avon Park senior wrestler Jace Grimmett lurked around the squared circle at Lake Wales High School prior to his finals match on Thursday with a well of intensity, ready to explode.

"I just pace around to find my focus and it gets me very intense," said Grimmett. "Wrestling isn't an easy sport and you have to find some kind of an edge within yourself that you use against your opponent.

"I guess I'm just getting into the zone."

After his usual warm-up, the AP senior, who wrestles in the heavyweight division, came out strong against Bartow's James Keene and quickly scored a takedown, but the Yellow Jacket senior was wiley enough to stand his ground and the match went into the second round.

But Grimmett (35-3) finally found that zone, as he pinned Keene one minute into the second period to add his name along with nine other Avon Park wrestlers to the champion's list, as the Red Devils won their first-ever team championship at the Class 1A-District 8 tournament.

Grimmett, who hasn't lost since the Clewiston Tournament in December, has owned Keene this season, as all five of the Bartow wrestler's losses have come to him.

"He's a good wrestler, but I just seem to have his number this year," Grimmett said. "I hope to keep this winning streak rolling."
Avon Park coach Lee Elder used some props for motivation during the season and it surely paid off for the four-year program.

"In our practice room, we have the two runner-up trophies displayed so the kids have to see them everyday," Elder said. "They came up to us last week and said they were tired of looking at runner-up trophies and wanted a championship instead.

"Coach Ed Brown and I told them that it was up to them if they were going to be champions or not. They proved they were tonight."

The Devils celebrated with their championship trophy after putting on a dominating performance, taking the title with a team total of 184 points - nearly 50 points ahead of runner-up Harmony of St. Cloud, which finished with 138.5 points.

"I'm really proud of these kids," Brown said. "They put in the time and dedicated themselves this season. The seniors showed that they were true leaders and we've got a good group of young wrestlers trying to make a name for themselves."

Charles Hubbard got the championship ball rolling by earning a 3-2 win over Harmony's Ehan King in the 145-pound weight class despite being ill with a cold, while Alvin Moore showed his superiority over Lake Wales' Joseph Jusino by scoring a 16-0 major decision in the 152-pound class.

Moore (13-1) has missed most of the season due to academic ineligibility, but looked to be in fine form.

Senior James Bland (40-0) continued his undefeated season by dispatching Harmony's Alex Githens in 1:25 in the first at 160 pounds for his third straight district championship.

"James is as dedicated as I've ever seen him," said Brown. "He's confident yet he doesn't take anyone for granted and wrestles everyone with the same intensity. We're all hoping that this is his year."

Kemosi Hatten (38-3) pinned Ridge Community's Rafael Tirado in 1:43 of the first in the 171-pound class and teammate Omar Torres took care of Haines City's Ivan Velez 50 seconds into the second period to cap off the district championship for the Devils.

"We're fortunate to have kids that want to get better every time they step onto the mat," said Elder. "They give everything they have and all that hard work has paid off for them.

"We're going to enjoy this district championship over the weekend, but on Monday, we get back to work."

Isuel Guzman (215 pounds) and John Chittum (125 pounds) took second place and Miguel Perkins (103 pounds) and Josh Sala (130-pounds) took third place in their respective weight classes to earn a spot in the Class 1A regional meet, which will be held Feb. 13-14 at Matanzas High School in Palm Coast.

Sebring's Dustin Drummond (38-3) never wavered from his relaxed demeanor before stepping on the mat against Harmony's Matt Vaughn at the 130-pound class.

"I just stay calm and let the match come to me," said Drummond.

The match was a standoff, with nobody getting the upper hand after the first period, but Drummond scored a pair of takedowns over the final two periods that was just enough to earn a 4-1 decision and a district title for the Blue Streak senior.

"Matt was a really good opponent and I haven't wrestled him since I was a freshman and he's really improved," Drummond said. "He kept snagging my legs and I had to score my points when we were neutral to earn the win.

"I feel I'm where I want to be. This match against Matt is what I needed. It doesn't really help you much if you win every match with an easy pin, but the close matches make you work harder and it gets you prepared for the type of wrestling you'll see at the next level."

First-year head coach Josh Miller wasn't surprised that Drummond wrestled such a close match in the final.

"Dustin is a defensive wrestler and you have to expect matches like this from him," Miller said. "He didn't wrestle his best and I hope he brings his 'A' game next week to regionals. I'll be spending a lot of one-on-one time with him next week to help him prepare."

Sebring freshman Mike Hutchinson (28-4) was a huge surprise for the Streaks, as he won the district championship at 135 pounds with an impressive 9-3 decision over Bartow senior Curtis Fabrizi.

Hutchinson's aggressiveness was the key to his win, as he earned a takedown just seconds into the match and smothered the Bartow senior for the duration to move on to next week's regionals.

"That match came down to who wanted it more," said Hutchinson. "I've really matured as wrestler. I used to get upset after every loss, but now I feel confident and go out really relaxed."

Miller was impressed with his freshman's progression this season and has high hopes that he can duplicate this performance at regionals.

"Mike didn't make any freshman mistakes like being over aggressive and getting out of position, which can lead to a quick loss," said the SHS coach. "We've got to work on his ground game and fine tune some other things before regionals.

"The thing about regionals is you never know about the competition or whether he'll face some stud that is on a roll. Mike is wrestling well and I think he's ready for the next step."

Shane Liskey (215 pounds) defeated Bartow's Matthew Hunt with a 15-7 decision and freshman Brytton Williams (Heavyweight) advanced to regionals with a fourth-place finish.

REGION 2 MEET QUALIFIERS

Avon Park: James Bland, Kemosi Hatten, John Chittum, Miguel Perkins, Omar Torres, Isuel Guzman, Jace Grimmett, Alvin Moore, Josh Sala, Charles Hubbard

Sebring: Brytton Williams, Dustin Drummond, Mike Hutchinson, Shane Liskey

Regionals are set for Feb. 13-14 at Matanzas High School in Palm Coast

Chris Hoffman can be reached at 863-273-2229 pr choffman@highlandstoday.com.

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