Wrestling: Marauders rest stars, fall short of title

By DOUG KATES, Times Correspondent
Published January 27, 2008

ST. PETERSBURG - The game plan for Clearwater Central Catholic was to rest some starters and get ready for districts next week.

But when the Marauders took second place at the Admiral Farragut Blue Jacket Invitational on Saturday, coach Scott Stern had his competitive juices going and wished he could have given Southeast Bradenton a better run for the title.

"We were hoping to finish in the top three with four varsity starters out of the lineup," Stern said. "But it's hard not winning something you know you can win."

Southeast Bradenton won the team title with 177 points and had five individual champions. CCC was the runnerup with 153 points and three champs: Cory List (103), Leo Queiroz (130) and Kyle Rettig (285).

With districts less than a week away for some teams, the last thing anyone wanted was injuries. At 125 pounds, Southeast Bradenton's Edison Dohms suffered a left shoulder injury in his title match and was taken out of the gym by paramedics on a stretcher.

At 140 pounds, CCC's Bobby Zagers was trying to fight his way out of trouble, but ended up choking himself into a blackout. After lying still for several seconds, he later recovered and walked off the mat on his own.

The best title match was at 171 pounds when St. Petersburg's Jameel Bryant squared off against Admiral Farragut's Doug Edwards. Bryant had an early 3-1 lead but fell behind 8-9 after the first period and 15-18 after the second period. As points continued to pile up, the Green Devil trailed 17-19 with time running low.

"I knew I was behind, but I was thinking in my head what I needed to do to get ahead," Bryant said. "I was getting tired and frustrated, but I told myself it was possible."

Twenty-two seconds into the final period, Bryant used a head throw for the needed takedown and then turned it into a pin.

Other county champs were Largo's Snoop Longely (125) and Pinellas Park's Phil Forsythe (160).

Fast Facts

Results

Team: Southeast Bradenton 177, Clearwater Central Catholic 153, St. Petersburg 141, Pinellas Park 113.5, Largo 111, Tampa Bay Christian 77.5, St. Petersburg Catholic 63.5, Northside Christian 42, Boca Ciega 35.5, Admiral Farragut 19.

For individual scores, see highschool.tampabay.com.

[Last modified January 27, 2008, 00:20:59]