LAKELAND - Ridgewood's Matt Bullwinkel breezed through his two bouts Friday, scoring a major decision over D.J. Kane of Frostproof in the quarterfinals and winning by injury default over Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas' Sam Patacsil in the semifinals.
With those two victories, Bullwinkel is on the brink of closing out his career with a state title.
The senior can fulfill that goal at the Lakeland Center tonight when he faces Punta Gorda Charlotte's David Hoke in the 130-pound final.
But Bullwinkel's other aspiration of sharing the spotlight with his twin brother, Billy, will not be met.
A 125-pounder, Billy was paired in the same weight class as Brandon junior Cesar Grajales, a two-time state champion and three-time finalist.
After getting through his quarterfinal bout, Billy met Grajales in the semifinals and lost 7-3.
"(Grajales) is a very good wrestler and it was a tough match," Billy said. "I would rather have won, but I did my best."
YOU AGAIN: Crystal River's Seth Metz has compiled some pretty impressive numbers the past two seasons, winning district titles.
The only thing he has not been able to do is beat Hernando's Addison Chipoletti.
Last season, Metz lost to Chipoletti in overtime at the region meet and was one match away from state.
This season has been more of the same.
Chipoletti scored a technical fall over Metz at the Kiwanis Invitational and won by pin at the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference meet.
On Friday, the two met again, this time with state title at stake.
Once again, Chipoletti prevailed, scoring an 11-7 decision in the semifinals.
Tonight, Chipoletti will try to win his second state title when he faces Jacksonville Bolles Jerico Weitzel in the 171-pound final.
STANDING TALL: Thanks to having state finalists, Ridgewood and Hernando were able to stay in the top 10 in the team standings.
The Rams, ranked 13th in 2A by Floridakids.us, are tied with Gainesville for seventh with 48 points.
The Leopards, ranked fourth in Class A by Floridakids.us, are in fifth place with 541/2 points. They are the only North Suncoast teams in the top 10.
