Led by the third-place finishes of Citrus' James Dimitrion and Lecanto's Cole Heitt, five Citrus County athletes qualified for the state tournament at Saturday's Class A, Region 2 event in Green Cove Springs.
Mike Musto of Lecanto and Roderic Sparks and Seth Metz of Crystal River were the other county qualifiers.
"Everybody pretty much toughed it up and worked hard," Sparks said. "And it worked out."
Heitt and Sparks are returning qualifiers.
Dimitrion, a junior competing at 119, improved to 25-2. He's a second-year wrestler.
Heitt, a senior at 125, was expected to reach state. But Musto, a sophomore at 140 who transferred to Lecanto from New York, was a surprise fourth-place finisher. Both were district champions.
"These guys worked hard to get here," Panthers first-year coach Sean Furniss said. "Each overcame some obstacles this year.
"Cole has really been strong all season. Mike is just peaking at the right time. I'm really pleased. They're my first state qualifiers."
Sparks (112, junior) and Metz (171, sophomore), were fourth in their respective classes. Each won district titles a week earlier. Sparks reached state last year but failed to place. He said he's hoping experience counts.
"I'm pretty excited about it," Sparks said. "It should help a lot (having been there before). The competition is so much tougher than what you're used to."
