Gainesville takes out area teams

Springstead finishes second in the Kiwanis Invitational.

By DEREK LARIVIERE
Published December 11, 2005

BROOKSVILLE - The 24th annual Kiwanis Tournament at Hernando High went off without a hitch, and Gainesville walked away with top honors.

Thanks to the performances of four first-place individuals, the Hurricanes edged second-place Springstead 245-230 on Saturday.

"We've been coming here for 13 years and we've never won it before," Gainesville coach Orlend Wagner said. "We have a bunch of seniors who deserve this and really contributed to get us to this point."

Gainesville was led by wins from Jacob Harmer (135), Jimmy Hoffman (140), Paul Hoopaugh (145) and Devin Billings (171). Despite all that, Wagner may have been most impressed by a third-place finish from freshman Ryan Storms.

"It's those kinds of performances that win you tournaments," he said. "When you can get that out of a freshman, every point really matters."

Springstead was firmly entrenched in second on both Friday and Saturday. Of the 23 teams entered, the Eagles led all teams by placing eight of the 14 wrestlers they entered in the top three, but only senior Seth Metz in the 160 weight class took home a first-place medal.

Lake Gibson finished third in the team competition with 215 points. The Braves also had the tournament's most outstanding lightweight wrestler as voted on by the 23 coaches. Zeke Donahay (125) won his weight class and that honor.

Hernando came in seventh overall, losing Michael Combs (160), its top grappler, midway through the second day to torn cartilage in his ribs. David Pritz (189) came away with the Leopards' only first-place win, and he also garnered the trophy for most outstanding heavyweight.

Hudson's Lance Barabas (130) took home the only first-place medal for the Pasco invitees. In the finals, Barabas defeated cross-county rival Jacob Hinkle of Pasco High 3-2.

Hinkle was one of three Pirates to reach the finals. The others included two heavyweights from coach Mark DeAugustino's stable. Eric Stroud (275) and Ray Perez (215) had surprising runnerup finishes for Pasco.

Pasco may have had another top finish if not for the penalty assessed to Mikey Cowell. Cowell, who came in fifth in state last season, failed to make weight in the 103 class.

[Last modified December 11, 2005, 02:15:36]