

By WALT JACOBS
Correspondent
PT Barnum’s circus was once billed as the Greatest Show on Earth. After last Thursday night’s wrestling event, Coach Nate Litwosky and company may have taken the title. War Eagle Wrestling is a weekly feature included under the Sports tab at the top of our home page.
The atmosphere in Wakulla High’s Gym was absolutely electric when the War Eagles opened their season in a highly anticipated matchup versus the 2A ninth ranked Middleburg Broncos.
The crowd erupted as the War Eagles ran out through a tunnel formed by the Varsity Cheerleaders, while Metallica’s Enter Sandman roared over the loudspeakers. The cheering continued as the team warmed up. After the warmup, each team lined up on their respective sides of the mat. The NJROTC presented the colors and Miss Luna Martinez sweetly sang the Star-Spangled Banner. Upon conclusion of the National Anthem, the dynamic announcer’s baritone voice energetically introduced the competitors from each team.
The large and raucous crowd was at fever pitch when the first bout started. Middleburg delivered the first blow as Keensdee Roseme secured a pin. Wakulla’s Kane Watford responded with a decision over Destin Watson bringing the team score to 6-3 in favor of Middleburg.
Afterwards, Middleburg reeled off 18 unanswered team points to bring the score to 24-3. It appeared that Middleburg was poised to run away with the contest, but Wakulla found new life when Matthew Thaxton, who was trailing 9-1 in the second period, secured a pin over Middleburg’s Dawson Brown. When the match was over, Middleburg lost another team point due to unsportsmanlike conduct.
At 126 pounds, William Harvey put 5 more points on the board for Wakulla with a 17-2 technical fall over Terry Milam. Wakulla’s advance faltered when Middleburg got another pin at 132 pounds, bringing the team score to 29-14. Freshman Colt Sanders got the War Eagles headed in the right direction again with a 12-1 major decision over Chris McKeel. Nate Jacobs continued to close the gap with a 16-4 major decision of his own over Michael Breeding. At this juncture, the team score was Middleburg 29 Wakulla 22. That’s as close as the War Eagles would get.
At 150 pounds Middleburg made their stand and secured a tech fall and followed that up with pins at 157 and 165 respectively to bring the final team score to 46-22.
DUAL RESULTS
175: Keensdee Roseme (M) over Wyatt Brown (W) (Fall); 190: Kane Watford (W) over Destin Watson (M) (Dec 8-4); 215: Porter Loveland (M) over Blake Barodte (W) (TF 16-2); 285: Josh Harris (M) over Mason Blair (W) (Dec 17-8) 106: Jonathan Harp (M) over Brayden Hodges (W) (Dec 12-11); 113: Nathan Harvey (M) over Patrick Cooksey (W) (Fall); 120:Matthew Thaxton (W) over Dawson Brown (M) (Fall); 126: William Harvey (W) over Terry Milam (M) (TF 17-2); 132: Micah Thomas (M) over Caleb Thompson (W) (Fall) 138: Colt Sanders (W) over Chris McKeel (M) (MD 12-1); 144: Nate Jacobs (W) over Michael Breeding (M) (MD 16-4); 150: Wyatt Leduc (M) over Troy Thaxton (W) (TF); 157: Daniel Raines (M) over Aaron Robinson (W) (Fall); 165: Sean Blouin (M) over Bo de Montmollin (W)
DANNY BYRON
TOURNAMENT
On December 6th and 7th, Wakulla traveled to Kissimmee to wrestle in the Danny Byron Tournament. This tournament featured perennial powerhouses such as South Dade, Camden (Ga),and Lake Gibson to name a few. As a team, Wakulla placed 8th out of 21 teams who were represented. Coach Nate Litowsky said, “We followed that up (the home opener) with a fantastic performance at the Osceola Tournament. Our team stayed cool, calm, and collected, outperforming all expectations.” He continued, “Competing as the only 1A school against some of the best programs in Florida, the boys made a statement.”
LET FREEDOM RING GIRLS TOURNAMENT
The Lady War Eagle wrestling team competed at the Let Freedom Ring girls tournament on December 7th. Coach Benny Litowsky said, “We had a very tough bracket for Julia Baggett, although she didn’t grab a win, she wrestled well against super tough competition.” Litowsky continued, “Emma Riggs rolled to a 1-2 record earning her win via pin.” Litowsky went on to say, “Kendal Haynie was again outstanding in her effort, 5-1, falling only to the eventual champion. Although falling short, her determination never wavered and she wrestled back to a true third place. She continues to show her promise as did the other girls as well. We will push forward, doing the hard work to get better, and chase our goals!”

“Mason has had one week of wrestling experience and I threw him into the fire. Knowing almost nothing, he tore through his opponents leaving with a 7-2 record. I can’t wait for him to have a gas tank and learn some moves! Big things are coming for the big man!
-Coach Nate Litowsky

COACH’S CORNER
“Wakulla Wrestling kicked off the season with an exciting dual against a tough, well-coached Middleburg team in front of our incredible home fans.” He continued, “While we didn’t come out on top this time, we couldn’t be prouder of our boys for their effort and heart. It was amazing to hear our community, the best county around, come together and get loud for wrestling.”
Coach Nate Litowsky