LAKELAND - For St. Thomas Aquinas senior Paul Weiss and Cardinal Gibbons senior C.J. Burke, it was the final time to bring home that state title. For St. Thomas Aquinas sophomore Geordan Speiller, it was only the beginning.
All three BCAA wrestlers headed to the Lakeland Center last weekend with one objective, and that was to add to the already impressive year all three athletes had put together.
While the 3A state team championship was all but over in the first of competition as powerhouse Brandon won for a record 10th straight year, individual titles became the objective as a record number of fans flocked to what has become the second most popular sport (based on fan interest) in Florida.
Weiss, competing in the 189-pound class, added to a season that included a BCAA, district and regional title when he defeated Brandon junior Mike Ettore, the defending state champion, 7-3 for the championship and finishing a perfect 53-0.
Weiss had beaten Ettore earlier in the year, and in the finals, fell behind 3-2 after he was called for stalling. That call was enough to give the talented Weiss the motivation to pull away.
BURKE WAS NOT GOING TO BE DENIED
Last year, Burke advanced to the finals in the 1A state championships, only to lose. The gifted Chiefs’ standout was not going to relive that moment again.
While his team did not make a run for a state title, Burke gave veteran head coach Frank Pettineo plenty to be excited about.
Trailing 7-5 against New Port Richey Gulf's Richard O'Connor in the second period, Burke (44-3) made sure that he would not leave the arena with another second place finish. He pinned O’Connor to take home the 135-pound title.
SPEILLER WINS HIS FIRST
As for the sophomore Speiller, who won just a single match at last year’s state meet as a freshman, this was the season when the talented 160-pounder showed the rest of the state that the next few years are going to be very productive for this quality wrestler.
Speiller captured the state title by holding off Miami Varela senior Cris Molina, 6-4. In finishing 32-4, Speiller jumped out to a a 6-2 lead and then staved off a comeback.
BCAA HAS POSITIVE SHOWING
Besides the three state titles that Weiss, Burke and Speiller took home, other BCAA wrestlers made a positive showing as well.
In Class 2A, Stranahan junior Martavius Crocker (32-5) went 4-2 to finish fifth.
In 3A, Alex Uhre (103) of St. Thomas Aquinas placed third, sophomore Andrew Wisdom (119) of Nova took fourth, St. Thomas 135-pounder Joey Eterno finished third, Santiago Martinez (145) of Coral Glades took home a third place when he beat Vinnie Jiovenetta of Douglas, Alex Dahl (152) of Cypress Bay finished third and his teammate Walid Boggio (171) was fourth.
Other BCAA wrestlers to place included Elias Khwaja (130) of Douglas coming in sixth along with teammate Juan Montoya (285) and Flanagan 171-pounder Richard Englar, who took fifth.
In 3A, St. Thomas Aquinas was sixth, Cypress Bay finished 9th, Douglas with 18th and Coral Glades was 21st.
Stranahan was the highest 2A finisher with 11 points.
In 1A, Cardinal Gibbons, in a rebuilding season, finished 19th.
You can reach Larry Blustein via e-mail at FloridaKids1@hotmail.com. He can also be heard every Thursday night (9-10) on the Miami Dolphins High School Gridiron Report on WQAM (560 AM). |
