Blue Streaks Impress At SFCC Shootout

AVON PARK -- After an unexpected turn of events left the Sebring wrestling team without a head coach before the SFCC Shootout was set to begin, the Blue Streaks refused to use that as an excuse and made an impressive showing against some of the top talent in the state.

Dave Cunningham stepped down Friday as head coach of the wrestling team after three seasons with the Blue Streaks.

Dressing only five wrestlers on the final day of the eight-team meet on Saturday, Sebring finished the day on a strong note, with Shaanan Spiegel pinning Joseph Jusino of Lake Wales, as the Blue Streaks went 4-1 in its final matches of the meet.

Sebring finished 1-7 for the meet, with its lone win was a 48-18 victory over LaBelle on Friday. The losses -- 45-24 to Clay, 51-15 to Lemon Bay, 62-12 to Golden Gate, 64-9 to Tampa Jesuit, 78-4 to Riverdale and 42-26 to Lake Wales -- came due to forfeits for lack of wrestlers at all weight classes.

Sebring coach Zane Thomas was optimistic about the upcoming season and understands that the kids will get better as the season progresses.

"These kids are working hard and I expect them to continue to improve as we work toward districts," Thomas said. "The team has a tight bond and I'm proud of the way they have come together."

Spiegel is confident in the current coaching staff, as he strives to win a state title this season.

"Coach Thomas and the others have been at practice, so we are familiar with them," the Blue Streak senior said. "It would have been really weird if we would have had new faces coming into this meet." Spiegel was impressive in the meet, getting pins against LaBelle's Jorge Guillen at 152 pounds and Cody Bowen of Lemon Bay and Vince Lombardo of Tampa Jesuit at 160. Spiegel got the lone win against Class-1A defending state champion Riverdale, when he defeated Kyle Thacker 12-1, while his only loss was in overtime to a Clay wrestler, putting his record at 6-1 for the meet.

Dustin Hahn pinned LaBelle's Chris Timms in 42 seconds and earned a 17-2 technical win over Damien Christophers of Lake Wales and finished with a 3-4 record, while Dustin Drummond, who wrestled at 125 pounds, got pins over Brian Miller of Golden Gate and Casey Soileau and added 4-1 and 5-3 wins over Andrew Alizzi of Tampa Jesuit and Gerardo Laurido of Lake Wales.

In the 135-pound class, Michael Polatty pinned Kyler Trammell of Lake Wales and earned a 4-2 decision over Winston Daxbury of Lemon Bay, posting a 2-5 for the weekend, while Jimmy Polatty showed improvement during the meet.

Sebring is back on the mat Dec. 1 when they will compete in the Fort Pierce duals.