Region tournaments mark the last step to state. There are many questions remaining: will Springstead stay strong? Can River Ridge's Landon Vannata continue fight off the infection on his forehead that has forced him to wear a protective mask? Will Wiregrass Ranch continue to flourish? Can Central continue its success? The answers will come this weekend with the strongest advancing.
FHSAA region schedule
Friday: Weigh-ins, 10 a.m.; preliminaries, wrestlebacks (first and second rounds) noon
Saturday: Weigh-ins, 10 a.m., preliminaries, wrestlebacks (third and fourth rounds), 12:30 p.m.; consolation/championship finals, 6 p.m.
Where: 2A-2 – Lakeland Lake Gibson; A-2 – Palm Coast Matanzas
Region assignments
Class 2A-2: Central, Hudson, Land O'Lakes, Ridgewood, Springstead, Mitchell, River Ridge, Sunlake, Wiregrass Ranch, Zephyrhills
Class A-2: Anclote, Gulf, Hernando, Nature Coast, Pasco, Wesley Chapel
Fab Five
1. Springstead: Eric Swensen leads all 14 Eagles into a tough region, where they'll battle Oviedo, Lake Gibson (host) and Riverdale.
2. Gulf: The Sunshine Athletic Conference champions are battled-tested from an elite tournament in Texas. The Buccaneers will send 12 to region.
3. Wiregrass Ranch: The Bulls finished second at the SAC and at district with hopes of improving and building toward next season. Region will provide a great opportunity.
4. Nature Coast: The Sharks were district runnerup for the first time in school history. Scott Cronin won district for the first time at 125 pounds.
5. Central: All 14 Bears will advance to region and showed their depth.
Super Six
Landon VannataRiver Ridge 171
Undefeated at 35-0, Vannata wrestled for the first time in two weeks at district and could potentially face Niceville's Nate Hartley in the region final.
Ladarious JacksonGulf152
The Buccaneer has been a monster all season with a 47-1 mark. Last year's state runnerup could run into Hernando's Zack Pritz again in the region final.
Nick SotoSpringstead 130
The Eagle is 37-0 and one of the leaders, a favorite to win region and state titles.
Cody RossSpringstead 135
Another one of the dominant Eagles, 42-1 on the season and has a potential matchup with Riverdale's Alex Paraschuk.
Anthony AyersGulf119
The Buccaneer is 48-0, another favorite for region and state titles has been solid all season.
Richie BlissSpringstead103
Defending state champion is 40-3 this season.
Others to watch
Anclote: Chris Sorrick (103), Terry Linton (285)
Central: Josh Marquez (103), Anthony Marquez (112), Robert Monsegur (119), David Supple (125), Josh Cleveland (130), Luke Walton (135), Daniel Merced (140), Justin Lane (145), Puerto Rico Nieves (152), Zachary Gehrke (160), Zachary Martin (171), Louis Lantigua (189), Patrick Scott (215), Brad Williamson (285)
Gulf: Forrest Swartsel (103), Jarod Carpenter (112), Josh Isom (130), R.J. O'Connor (135), Spencer Baxter (140), Mike Mesagno (160), Jacob Ritter (171), Friday Carr (189), Chris Palasky (215), Jeff Kruse (285)
Hernando: Jared Young (125), David Ayers (135), Daniel Pritz (145), Zach Pritz (152), Dakota Raney (189), Nick Pascullo (215), Austin Neff (285)
Hudson: Dominick Gilli (171), Jonathan Paone (189)
Land O'Lakes: Justin McKay (119), Brennen Stack (135), Adam Hengoed (215)
Mitchell: Justin Timberlake (125), Max Gebler (140), Derek Wertheim (145), Louis Bruno (152), Garrett Andrasik (160), Leigh Andre (189), Ryan Brosnan (215)
Nature Coast: Sean Nguyen (103), Tyler Forand (112), Robert Anthony (119), Scott Cronin (125), Steven Richardson (130), Carter Bolesta (135), Mitchell Lambert (140), Luke McCarty (145), Brenton Nuby (152), Carlos Carasquillo (160), Peter Holoman (171), Jeff Gilbert (189), Greg Jarque (285)
Pasco: J.P. Gamez (112), Nico DeAugustino (119), Luis Hernandez (125), Zack Jordan (215)
Ridgewood: Daniel Carlisle (103), Justin Grill (125), Jonathan Glenny (130), Kelly Meus (285)
River Ridge: Jesse Barker (112), Sean Speer (119), Andrew Agazarm (130), Earl Burns (152), Jake Horning (189), Donovan Berardi (285)
Springstead: Stephen Pavao (112), Sean Redman (119), Virgil Toms (125), Colton Zimmermann (140), Samuel Colon (145), Shawn Landgraff (152), Thomas Ellerbee (160), Casey Quinn (171), Thomas Gupton (189), Kenaniah Cox (215), Josh Dreggors (285)
Sunlake: Josh Ortiz (103), Wesley Wood (112), Jake Himes (125), Ryan McMillian (130), A.J. Bellavia (135), Luke Peterson (140), Sean Hart (145), Donovan Cooper (160), Jordan Myers (215)
Wesley Chapel: Tony Ruggiero (103), Nick Popolillo (145), Freddie Williams (152)
Wiregrass Ranch: Kyle Koesling (103), David Hill (119), Dylan Koesling (125), Mason Bradford (130), Elliott Morales (135), Christian Campo (145), Emmanuel Long (152), Zach Morales (171), Cody Cottrill (189), Austin Bartleson (215)
Zephyrhills: Nate Vandam (103), Robert Starnes (112), Nick Hynes (119), Joel Morrison (140), Travis McDonald (171), Frank Morrison (215), Stephen Cottrell (285)
Times correspondent Derek J. LaRiviere contributed to this report.
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