War Eagles come up short at district duals
By Walt Jacobs
On Friday January 5th in Lynn Haven, Mosley High School hosted the FHSAA 1A District 2 Dual Championship.
Wakulla, Suwannee, Florida High and Liberty County squared off to see who would prevail in a clash of titans. To give you an idea of just how strong this district is, Kabra Wrestling has 27 wrestlers from 1A District 2 listed in its statewide rankings. Only one other district has more with 31. To reach the 1A Region 1 Duals and continue their quest for a State Championship, Wakulla would need to be one of the top two teams in the district. In the opening round, The War Eagles fell to Suwannee 47-24 but hoped to rebound against Florida High in Round 2. The War Eagles gave a valiant effort but came up short in a close contest 38-33. Wakulla went on to defeat Liberty County in the final dual of the tournament 60-21.
This year the 1A District 2 Duals were incorporated into the Panhandle Championship, which is a much larger tournament, featuring teams from Oklahoma, Tennessee, Georgia and of course Florida. Wakulla continued wrestling on Friday defeating Milton 75-6 and Wewahitchka 67-9. On Saturday, the War Eagles continued their winning ways with victories over Mosley 47-30, and Gulf Breeze 46-36 thereby securing an overall 5th place finish in the Panhandle Championship.
RESULTS FROM THE FHSAA 1A DISTRICT 2 DUALS
Wakulla vs Suwannee
106 – Eli Jolicoeur (Suwannee) over Kyle Manzi (Wakulla) Fall (0:53) 113 – Topher Pearson (Suwannee) over Matthew Thaxton (Wakulla) TF 17-1 120 – Justin Contreras (Suwannee) over Caleb Thompson (Wakulla) Fall (0:51) 126 – Rylan Milian (Suwannee) over Zachari Wardrup (Wakulla) Fall (1:18) 132 – David Culley (Wakulla) over Jayden James (Suwannee) Fall (0:58) 138 – Bricyn Kennedy (Wakulla) over Jonathan Gonzalez (Suwannee) Fall (1:15) 144 – Aaron Robinson (Wakulla) over Christian Socarras (Suwannee) Fall (0:36) 150 – Austin McKinney (Suwannee) over Clayton Manzi (Wakulla) Fall (0:21) 157 – Marshall White (Suwannee) over Nate Jacobs (Wakulla) Dec 4-2 165 – Benjamin Lewis (Suwannee) over Kane Watford (Wakulla) Fall (1:32) 175 – Torynn Johns (Suwannee) over Hayden Fringer (Wakulla) Fall (5:08) 190 – Clay Starling (Suwannee) over Blake Barodte (Wakulla) SV-1 8-6 215 – Kohl Pippin (Wakulla) over Sam Ballard (Suwannee) Dec 4-0 285 – Aaron Caquimbo (Wakulla) over Holden Corbin (Suwannee) Dec 1-0
Wakulla vs Florida High
106 – Malik Leonard (Florida High) over Kyle Manzi (Wakulla) Fall (3:55) 113 – Matthew Thaxton (Wakulla) over Mike Watters (Florida High) Fall (0:35) 120 – Jasper Croom (Florida High) over Caleb Thompson (Wakulla) Fall (1:06) 126 – Reis Suskey (Florida High) over Zachari Wardrup (Wakulla) Fall (4:42) 132 – Sterling Hollingsworth (Florida High) over Bricyn Kennedy (Wakulla) Dec 6-5 138 – David Culley (Wakulla) over Teagan Olson (Florida High) Fall (2:53) 144 – Brady Jackson (Wakulla) over Terence Hinson (Florida High) Fall (3:19) 150 – Aaron Robinson (Wakulla) over Jacob Payne (Florida High) Fall (0:12) 157 – Nate Jacobs (Wakulla) win by forfeit 165 – Nicholas Roeder (Florida High) over Kane Watford (Wakulla) Maj 14-2 175 – Xander Hawkes (Florida High) over Nathan Braverman (Wakulla) Fall (1:11) 190 – Jordan Haigler (Florida High) over Noah Vernon (Wakulla) Major 9-0 215 – Colin Bishop (Florida High) over Kohl Pippin (Wakulla) Dec 9-3 285 – Aaron Caquimbo (Wakulla) over Christian Ajose-Adeogun (Florida High) Dec 13-7.
Wakulla vs Liberty County
106 – Thiago Finuff (Liberty County) over Kyle Manzi (Wakulla) Fall (1:23) 113 – Matthew Thaxton (Wakulla) over George Faulk (Liberty County) Fall (0:34) 120 – Caleb Thompson (Wakulla) over John Bwembya (Liberty County) Fall (3:25) 126 – Keaton Ellis (Liberty County) over Zachari Wardrup (Wakulla) Fall (1:07) 132 – Bricyn Kennedy (Wakulla) over Jacob Wade (Liberty County) Fall (1:11) 138 – Hunter Brown (Liberty County) over Jonah Hicks (Wakulla) Fall (2:33) 144 – Brady Jackson (Wakulla) won by forfeit 150 – Josh Mercer Liberty County over Aaron Robinson (Wakulla) SV-1 8-6 157 – Nate Jacobs (Wakulla) win by forfeit 165 – Kane Watford (Wakulla) won by forfeit 175 – Wyatt Brown (Wakulla) won by forfeit 190 – Noah Vernon (Wakulla) won by forfeit 215 – Blake Barodte (Wakulla) won by forfeit 285 – Adleigh Caquimbo (Wakulla) over Thor Eikeland (Liberty County) Fall.
Wrestling Year in Review
Three Wakulla wrestlers place at state
Photos by Walt Jacobs
