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By GREG AUMAN, Times Staff WriterHernando junior Addison Chipoletti wins his second to lead his team to fifth place and Ridgewood senior Matt Bullwinkel earns his first championship.
LAKELAND - Ridgewood's Matt Bullwinkel waited four years to get his first state title. Hernando's Addison Chipoletti picked up his second Saturday night and next season will be going after a third.
Both finished atop the podium at the Lakeland Center after winning close decisions in the championships, seeing months of long hours and training come through as they had hoped.
"This feels very good; hard work pays off," said Bullwinkel, who finished 52-1 by getting a 3-2 win against Punta Gorda Charlotte's David Hoke, who dealt him his only loss this season.
Chipoletti headlined a strong night for Hernando, which had four underclassmen finish in the top four of their weight class. The Leopards, who finished second in Class A last year, finished fifth in the team scoring.
"I'm the first two-timer at my school, and that's a great honor," said Chipoletti, who held off Jacksonville Bolles' Jerico Weitzel for a 4-2 win for his second title. "I was kind of sick the first two days, and I had to suck it up."
Chipoletti was in control of Weitzel, who had his right elbow wrapped and took injury time after hurting the elbow in a second-period takedown. He did not attempt to take Chipoletti down once, getting both points on escapes.
Leopards sophomore David Pritz reached the finals at 160 pounds, but lost 14-6 to Green Cove Springs Clay's William Kendrick. Freshman Brandyn Kuhn (112) and junior Windham Rotunda (heavyweight) lost in the consolation finals to finish fourth.
Two other North Suncoast wrestlers reached the championship match, only to fall short of the sport's ultimate victory. Gulf's Bryan Ryder was within a point of Menendez' Morgan Dufresne with 40 seconds to go, but couldn't get the takedown he needed to force overtime and lost 10-8. Teammate Joey Pospisil (112 pounds), who finished third last season, repeated that showing, beating Hernando's Kuhn 6-4 in the consolation final.
Land O'Lakes' Jeff Ramer reached the finals at 152 pounds but faced Countryside's Wesley Walker, who had beaten him 14-0 in the regional finals. Ramer trailed 2-0 after the first period and was pinned with 33 seconds left in the second, trailing 4-0, and took second.
Bullwinkel had hoped to share his state title glory with his twin brother, but Billy lost in the 125 semifinals to state champion Cesar Grajales of Brandon. Billy finished strong in the consolation bracket, beating Craig Masters of Fort Pierce Central for the second time in as many days to clinch third and finish the season with what is believed to be a state-high 54 victories.
Crystal River's Seth Metz finished fourth at 171 pounds, losing a 17-13 decision to Matthew Bryant of Jacksonville Forrest.
Land O'Lakes' Scott Mays overcame a first-round, one-point loss Thursday to win three matches and reach the consolation final at 189 pounds, where he lost to Cape Coral's Sean Russ 3-2 to finish fourth.