War Eagles repeat as champs at Wakulla Invitational
By Walt Jacobs
Coach Will Pafford and the War Eagles hosted their annual Wakulla FCA Invitational wrestling tournament on Jan. 26th and 27th. You would have to go back to 2016, when Wakulla placed 3rd, to find the last time that the War Eagles did not place 1st at their home tournament.
This year 13 teams gathered at the Nest to battle for the belt. When the final tally was taken, Wakulla was at the top of the heap again with 333 points and the strap in hand. Class 2A Middleburg was a distant 2nd with 206.5 points, followed by district rival Florida High, Episcopal of Jacksonville, and Dothan to round out the top 5.
Individually, Wakulla had five champions in Matthew Thaxton at 113, Bricyn Kennedy at 132, Brady Jackson at 138, Aaron Robinson at 144, and Adleigh Caquimbo at 285. Others placing were Brady Wilson (2nd), Caleb Thomspon (7th), Troy Thaxton 2nd, David Culley (4th), Jonah Hicks (4th), Nate Jacobs (4th), Auston Ryals (5th), Gavin Mitchell (5th), Kane Watford (3rd), Wyatt Brown (4th), Blake Barodte (2nd), Kohl Pippin (2nd), and Aaron Caquimbo (4th).
“It has been a tough season,” said Coach Will Pafford. “To get two tournament wins in a row and to win in our home gym was nice. The kids wrestled good, and I am proud of them. We are gearing up for the end of the season.”
The Lady War Eagles also competed over the weekend at Lincoln High in the 2024 Lady Trojan tournament where Julia Baggett placed 3rd, Caitlyn Hall placed 4th and Senior Austin Brown placed 3rd.
As a team, Wakulla placed 7th out of 10 teams competing. Regarding the girls performance, Coach Pafford said, “The girls wrestled well and had a great weekend with all three placing.”
On Feb. 2nd and 3rd Wakulla will be competing in the Clay Rotary tournament at Clay High.
