By FRANK PASTOR, Times Staff Writer
Published December 18, 2005
NEW PORT RICHEY - County wrestling schedules are packed with dual meets and tournaments from early November to mid December. They finish with a flurry of tournaments from the time school resumes in mid January to the start of the postseason in February.
But when basketball and soccer teams are competing in high-profile holiday tournaments, area wrestlers go into hibernation.
Aside from Saturday's Gulf Holiday Duals, most schools stay home to practice during winter break.
"We're looking forward to getting through the tournament, get some training over break and get the second half going," Gulf assistant Phil Altshuler said this week.
The Gulf tournament, which features perennially strong programs such as Chamberlain, Lemon Bay and Countryside and guarantees every team at least five dual meets, tells coaches everything they need to know about their teams as they head back to the wrestling room to prepare for the second half of the season.
Ridgewood coach Pete Smith planned to use the tournament as a gauge to measure his team's progress after confidence-building victories over Mitchell and Central.
"It's a really good tournament, and when you get five dual meets, it really puts you to the test and it sees where you're at," Smith said. "It's kind of weird, because with wrestling you've got two different seasons: November-December, then there's a two-week break.
"So, that kind of tells us we've got to work over vacation and get them up for (the second half of the season) or we're where we need to be and we want to keep them up."
Gulf had its own reasons for wanting to do well.
"You kind of want to have them step it up and do well in front of a home crowd, and we're just looking for continued growth and getting closer and closer towards states," Altshuler said. "It's just a chance to shine before the holidays."
Pasco, which expected to forfeit four weight classes at Gulf, could use the time away from competition to get healthy.
Evan Allison (140 pounds) broke a bone in his hand when he fell on it at the Kiwanis Invitational on Dec. 10 at Hernando. Justin Jordan (160) dislocated an elbow during a fall at the Dr. McBath Tough Team Tournament on Nov. 26 at Pasco. The Pirates don't have 119- or 189-pounders.
"I can't give up 24 points and think I'm going to win a dual meet tournament as big as Gulf's," Pasco coach Mark DeAugustino said.
