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Preps

Wrestling extra

Five to Watch

1. Steve Spicuzza, Countryside: The defending state champion rebounded from a three-bout losing streak with two big wins last week. Spicuzza beat another defending state champion, Bradenton Manatee's Bobby Latessa, in a dual meet. He also exacted revenge against Pinellas Park's Carlton Gammons in the 135-pound final at the Pinellas County Athletic Conference tournament.

2. Greg Anderson, Pinellas Park: The 215-pounder, who won his weight class at the PCAC tournament, was one of two champions for the runner-up Patriots.

3. Jimmy Myers, East Lake: A district champion and state qualifier last season, Myers started his run toward another strong postseason by winning his second straight PCAC title at 171 pounds.

4. Curtis Chance, Dixie Hollins: Sidelined most of last season with a shoulder injury, Chance has come back with a vengeance. He won the 275-pound weight class at the PCAC tournament by knocking off defending champion Larry Lindsey from Boca Ciega in the final.

5. Sean Murphy, Countryside: In the 152-pound final, Murphy handed Northeast's Kenny Luu his first loss of the season to win his first conference title.

The Super Seven

With last week's ranking in parenthesis

1. Countryside (1): The Cougars forgot about their loss to Brandon with a week to remember. They beat Class 3A, No. 1 Bradenton Manatee in a dual meet, and at the conference tournament set school records for most points scored (2721/2) and most individual champions (nine) in winning their third straight title and 18th overall.

2. Pinellas Park (2): The Patriots, who finished second at the conference tournament, scored 171 and had eight of their 14 wrestlers place in the top four.

3. East Lake (3): Backed by their performance in the upper weights, the Eagles scored 1111/2 points and had two conference champions, tying the Patriots for second-most at the tournament.

4. Palm Harbor University (6): Although they had only one wrestler in the final, the Hurricanes scored enough in wrestlebacks to finish fourth at the conference tournament.

5. Osceola (4): The host Warriors did not have a individual champion, but they did place in the top, thanks to five wrestlers who placed in the top five.

6. Dixie Hollins (NR): Give the Rebels some credit. Despite hobbling into the tournament with a lineup beset by injuries, they had one conference champion and were 11/2 points from finishing in the top five.

7. St. Petersburg (5): After having seven individual champions at the St. Petersburg City tournament two weeks ago, the Green Devils had just three wrestlers place in the top four at conference.

Going to the Max

After a few dual meets and tournaments filled with a couple of big wins, a hard-fought loss and some very long days, Countryside was able to wrap it all up with one word.

Whew!

Times don't get much busier for wrestlers than they did the past two weeks for the Cougars.

Since coming back from winter break two weeks ago, Countryside has had a schedule with few easy nights. The Cougars began their brutal stretch by wrestling rival Pinellas Park, ranked No. 5 in Class 3A by Floridakids.net. They finished it by wrestling Class 2A No. 1 Brandon and Class 3A No. 1 Bradenton Manatee.

"We knew it was going to be tough, especially the past two weeks," Countryside coach Dave Frayer said.

You could hardly tell, though, by the Cougars' performance.

Countryside, ranked fifth overall and second in Class 2A, figures to move up in the overall standings after going 2-1 in those duals, its lone loss coming to the Eagles in the final of the Challenge the Streak tournament.

But the rough stretch is not over yet.

This week, the Cougars travel to face county rival East Lake and will participate in a dual-meet tournament at Land O'Lakes.

"We're hitting the homestretch, and the guys know this is the time to get the job done," Frayer said.

Check It Out

For the past eight seasons, the St. Petersburg City Tournament has been held to honor the public and private schools competing within the St. Petersburg city limits.

This weekend, those same teams will get another day in the sun.

St. Petersburg is hosting the St. Pete Classic, a one-day, dual-meet event that features eight teams -- Admiral Farragut, Boca Ciega, Dixie Hollins, Gibbs, Lakewood, Northeast, St. Petersburg and St. Petersburg Catholic.

The tournament is Saturday and starts at 9:30 a.m. The consolations are at 4 p.m. and the finals are at 5. Admission is $4 per session.

"This is something I've wanted to do for some time," Green Devils coach Sam Pruitt said. "I want to promote wrestling in the city and this is a good way to do it."

Check It Out, Part II

Another tournament going on in the county this weekend is the Patriot Duals.

The dual-meet event is being held at Pinellas Park on Saturday and includes eight teams -- Dunedin, East Bay, East Lake, Hillsborough, Largo, Northport, Pinellas Park and Sickles.

Wrestling starts at 10 a.m. and the finals will begin at about 4 p.m. Admission is $5 for an all-day pass.

-- Compiled by Bob Putnam.

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