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Master of the mats

By DEREK LaRIVIERE
Published February 2, 2007

103 Dylan Mullins, Citrus

Chance Richardson of Dunnellon should be the only threat to as Mullins waltzes through this bracket.

112 Brandon Jones, Crystal River

This weight class is one of the best in A-5. Craig Barker of Citrus, David Simonson of Nature Coast and Daniel Pritz of Hernando should all move on to the region tournament, but Jones is a potential state placer and should make it through. Keep this in mind: Barker almost upset Jones in 6-5 loss at the CCAA Duals.

119 Bryant Fisher, Citrus

Fisher (No. 4), who missed a lot of time in the beginning of the season, is ranked higher than John Koney of Crystal River (No. 10), but both will have a good shot of making it through the region and the finals could be the match of the tournament. No other program should provide a threat.

125 Chris Bishop, Hernando

Bishop is the favorite in one of the district's weaker weight classes. Fisher bumped up from 119 to take first place during the CCAA Duals at this weight, but he is expected to move down for the postseason.

130 Joey Spratlin, Dunnellon

Mike LaBorda of Citrus, Taequan Griffin of Nature Coast and Steven Struble of Lecanto should be the other three in the mix for the hotly-contested weight class. It is likely all four will move on to regionals.

135 Cory Neal, Crystal River

Brock Gibson of Citrus, Kortland Key of North Marion and Geramie Laufersky of The Villages should be the top tests for Neal, but the state-ranked grappler is heavily favored. Matt Lambert of Nature Coast has been wrestling well in the second half of the season and is a sleeper pick to move on.

140 Jesse Graham, Hernando

Jesse Richardson of Dunnellon is the defending district champion, but Graham, a returning state qualifier, is ranked seventh in the state and is coming off his most successful season. Dustin Panacione of Crystal River was expected to be a top contender at 145 but after winning the conference title at 140, he is ready to compete there.

Class A, District 5

The favorite: Citrus.

The sleepers: Crystal River and Hernando

The others: Nature Coast, The Villages, West Port, Dunnellon, Lecanto, North Marion and Trinity Catholic

Outlook: After a second-half surge, the Hurricanes soared up the state rankings to No. 12 in Class A. To end the regular season, Citrus took the Citrus County Athletic Association championship by winning duals matches over Crystal River and Lecanto. The only programs the team has to worry about should be the Pirates and Hernando. Because of the bracket format, the Pirates' chances of toppling the favored Hurricanes could improve greatly.

Lecanto has not competed in an individual bracket format all season, so this will be most of the Panthers' first exposure to this atmosphere. Some of the more talented members of the program could surprise other teams by advancing to the Class A, Region 2 tournament.

145 Josh Rutherford, Citrus

With Panacione's move to 140, the path is cleared for Rutherford, a defending district champion, to stroll away with another crown. Tim Ball of Hernando could be the biggest test after his move down from 152.

152 Cody Neptune, Citrus

Kevin Drawdy of Crystal River has been battling a back ailment for much of the second half of the season and should not be as much of an obstacle for Neptune as originally hoped.

160 Brandyn Kuhn, Hernando

The No. 1-ranked wrestler in Class A is projected to make it easily through his weight class. The only matches he has dropped this season have been in the finals of major tournaments against foes who are expected to place at state.

171 Rob Moyer, The Villages

James Davidson of Hernando is Moyer's top competition, but the two have faced off this season with Moyer pinning Davidson in 2:38 in the consolation semifinals at the Kiwanis Tournament.

189 Nick Pauliot, Hernando

Mike Yearman of Lecanto, Brandon Nuby of Nature Coast and Wade Hull of The Villages should round out the region qualifiers from this weight class, but no one seems to be in the same class as Pauliot. Nuby is the only returning region qualifier here.

215 Taylor Rotunda, Hernando

Taylor Stafford of The Villages is a returning district champion, but Lee Lehman of Nature Coast and Rotunda have had some solid battles this season against top competition. They should be the top three seeds with Rotunda getting the No. 1 seed and Stafford and Lehman going second and third.

275 Garrett Dunn, The Villages

Dunn has a heavy edge over the rest of this bracket, but Dallas Evans of Citrus and J.J. Baker of Nature Coast will put up a fight.

[Last modified February 2, 2007, 07:21:00]