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State wrestling: Titles elude North Suncoast grapplers

 
Pasco’s John DeAugustino, top, attempts to escape Brandon’s Kyle Norstrem in the 2A 126-pound title match. Norstrem wins the closely contested match as Brandon wins its 27th state title.
Pasco’s John DeAugustino, top, attempts to escape Brandon’s Kyle Norstrem in the 2A 126-pound title match. Norstrem wins the closely contested match as Brandon wins its 27th state title.
Published March 6, 2016

KISSIMMEE — Pasco sophomore John DeAugustino took the Class 2A state meet's best wrestler — five-time state champion Kyle Norstrem of Brandon — to the wire Saturday in his fourth matchup with the Virginia Tech commit.

DeAugustino had lost to Norstrem in the finals at Brandon's Ippolito meet, districts and regionals, but he put forth his best effort in the 126-pound championship match in the state meet at the Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee.

Nortsrem hit a single-leg to go up 4-2 heading into the final period. He scored a quick escape and then during an exchange where DeAugustino got a takedown, nearly had back points. Norstrem got out and scored a takedown, all in five seconds. It took a long conference from the referees and protests from both coaches before finally settling on a 7-4 Norstrem lead with 1:14 left in the match.

"I felt like (John) should have had back points with that takedown," Pasco coach Mark DeAugustino said of his son. "I'm not saying John would have won, but it was a tight match with a minute to go."

Norstrem will move on to college wrestling, while DeAugustino has two more years to go after a state title. The final score was 11-6 for Norstrem.

"He's (John) been doing that all year," Mark DeAugustino said. "Kyle loves wrestling John, says he goes all the time, nonstop. Of course, so does Kyle."

Anclote's Zack Adams became the first state finalist in the school's history over the weekend. Adams, only a three-year wrestler in his first state meet, shattered the expectations even of his longtime coach Nick Radner. Radner, no longer a coach at Anclote, had high praise for Adams.

"I had a feeling this year would be it. I knew he would place, but I had no idea he'd get to the finals," Radner said.

Adams made the 160 finals, upsetting just about every wrestler along the way, but he drew Bryce Rodgers of Lake Highland Prep (55-2) and was outmatched. Adams fought hard and didn't give up the pin, but he fell 21-6 on a technical fall.

"It was all the hard work in the wrestling room and outside the room that prepared me for this," Adams said. "I'm still happy I made the finals."

Land O' Lakes' Jesse Seidl took the hard road to winning third place in 2A. The senior dropped his first match to eventual 170-pound champion Laurence Kosoy and had to battle back in four matches to move into placing. Seidl outlasted Brian Almeida-Torres in a 10-8, double-overtime grudge match in the third-place semifinals, only to battle Gavin Hoard to the buzzer for third place. Seidl led into the third period, but Almeida-Torres scored to tie it at 2 only to have Seidl score a takedown in the very last second of the match to win it 4-2.

"It takes everything you've got (to battle through the consolation bracket). It makes you think about how much you love wrestling," Seidl said. "I knew if I scored (in the last match), he (Almeida-Torres) would break. We were both exhausted, especially me from that last match, but it was the last match of my career. I was just gonna go all out."

Seidl bested both wrestlers he lost to at regions on his way to the third-place title.

Wesley Chapel's Emmanuel Torres (138) drew the unenviable task of wrestling defending state champion and eventual 138-pound champion Frankie Bruno of Brandon in the semi­finals. Torres fell 8-1, then fought his way back into the fifth-place match, scoring a 3-1 overtime victory against Hadley Vadyak of Fort Myers.

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"He likes high crotches. He tried a high crotch on me, I sprawled, I spun with him and he had his stomach to the mat, then I got a 'Merkel' to get the takedown," Torres said.

Hernando's Abel Terkovich (195) took sixth in 2A, Weeki Wachee's Donte Young (170) also took sixth.