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Eagles take their lumps

By DEREK LARIVIERE
Published January 26, 2007

It has been a bittersweet week for Springstead's program.

On one hand, the Eagles won another Hernando County Athletic Conference title on Wednesday. On the other, they had to do it without state hopeful and injured star Keith Hansen.

The team has been successful, but the Eagles have hit speed bump after speed bump recently as they head into the postseason next weekend.

As one of the Springstead favorites to place and maybe win his weight class at state, Hansen was as valuable a cog to the program as anyone. After injuring his knee at last weekend's Ippolito Invitational at Brandon, questions loom over the 145-pounder and the rest of the team.

Schuyler Swanton (103), undefeated before the Brandon tournament, lost three matches and immediately fell out of the top spot overall in the FloridaKids.us poll released Tuesday. He was unseated by his top competition in the region, Brandon's Terry Dawson.

The Eagles took a third-place finish away from a stacked field at Brandon. Michael Heagney (189) was the only Springstead grappler to walk away with an individual title, likely solidifying his spot as the top seed this postseason.

Jerrod Reynolds (215), after a fourth-place finish at Brandon, cracked the state polls at eighth in Class 2A this week. The high did not last long for Reynolds, who turned around and lost key decisions to Hernando's Taylor Rotunda and Nature Coast's Lee Lehman at the HCAC meet.

The question of which Springstead lineup will be ready for the start of next weekend's postseason at Sebring is a mystery. Hansen is considered day to day according to coach Eric Swensen, and the rest of the squad will need to buckle down to improve on the fifth-place state showing from 2006.

NATURE COAST CURSE: Coach Mike Lastra and the rest of the Sharks program can't catch a break.

After things finally seemed to be falling into place for the young team, this week marked another group of setbacks for the Sharks.

Taequan Griffin (130) finally returned from academic ineligibility and immediately took his place as one of the team leaders only to be involved in a car accident Tuesday night that left him banged up for Wednesday's conference meet.

Griffin tried to give it a go, but after struggling with headaches and a fitted mask to protect his bruised face, he withdrew from the remainder of the night's matches.

Preston Williams (189) was supposed to be key for Nature Coast's postseason hopes, but after a tirade at the Winter Park Duals this past weekend, the junior has been suspended for the remainder of the season by the Florida High School Athletic Association. Brandon Nuby, Nature Coast's top junior varsity competitor, could seamlessly slip into that space.

Anthony Fuzz (103) and David Simonson (112) also could be out for the postseason if they do not settle off-the-mat issues in school. Lastra said he intends to have both on the mat for districts, but nothing is 100 percent.

[Last modified January 25, 2007, 23:14:54]