GREEN COVE SPRINGS - Clay High's 113-pound wrestler Jacob Bucci has taken the tough road to recovery from knee injuries and had been dropped to number seven in rankings, but nevertheless, stayed undeterred, as the state placer last year got a second ticket to the FHSAA state championships with a region title Saturday in his home gym at Clay High School.

"After I won my district title last week, I was out running and working because I know I lost a lot of time with my knee injury," said Bucci, a freshman third-place finisher at 106 last year. "It's not been easy, but I feel like I have something to prove."
Bucci, who was first man up in the Blue Devils' chase of perennial region champion; nine times, Fleming Island, set the tone for some scrappy wrestling despite the odds on Clay beating Fleming Island after a duals loss and a district final IBT loss last week.
With sophomore Landon Willard, with just 2-3 season record, having to face off with top seed Middleburg's Gavin Fisher in his second match and getting pinned quickly, it was up to Bucci to reverse the momentum for the Blue Devils.
Bucci, whose arch rival county-wide, Fleming Island's Matthew Newman, was eliminated from the championship bracket by Gulf Breeze freshman Gavin Samons (46-8) with a 5-2 match, that left Bucci to answer in the final with a new face.
Samons beat two Clay County athletes; Ridgeview's Timothy Danz and Newman along the path to Bucci with Newman eventually beating Middleburg's Nathan Harvey for third.
"I've been training with Rylan Herrera and Drew Holmquist; bigger guys, to get ready," said Bucci. "Because I got a late start, I haven't seen the two, three and four guys, but I'm confident that, if they are human, they are cutting weight and training just like me. Why not me? It's unfinished business."
After the region title, Bucci jetted to the top spot with Erick Vargas of Lakeland (7th at 113 last year), Malachi Ortiz of Tampa Jesuit (formerly Belleview) and Landon Quiroga of Merrit Island, the 106 runnerup last year, behind him. Newman, who lost to Quiroga in the 106 semis last year, is number nine with Middleburg's Nathan Harvey at 16.
At 126, Clay's Rylan Herrera, just 5-1, but one of the more explosive wrestlers on the Blue Devil roster, completed a two pin prelims and a 12-0 semifinal to face off with Oakleaf's sophomore sensation Sebastian Bonachea in a clash of high-flyers on the mat.
Herrera, the number two ranked 126 prior to Clay, dominated top seed Coby Shields, a seasoned ninth-ranked senior out of Gulf Breeze (50-6) with a 12-0 shutout in their semifinal with Shields unable to keep Herrera in his grasp for much of the match.
In a thrilling semifinal match at 157, Clay's Landon Martin looked to avenge a district duals loss to Oakleaf's Ghais Cooper and the two made the match very personal right down to the final points in the third overtime period.
"He wasn't going to quit and I sure wasn't, but I think when I scored on that first escape overtime, I broke him," said Martin, who simply stayed on top of Cooper the final 30 seconds seemingly unopposed for the region title. "We had that long break with the question about where his leg was on a possible reversal of two points, but the refs kept the score tied to force the overtime. I just had to refocus and regroup."
Martin will go to state following big brother Dominic Martin as the 11th seed in a weight division full of dangerous pits; top seed and defending 152 champion Gianni Maldonaldo of state champion Lake Gibson who has an incredible 61-5 record and second seed Kawayran Vazquez of Tampa Jesuit at 27-2.
In the state bracket at 157, Martin avoids Maldonaldo and even Terry Parker's Jeffrey Brown, who beat Martin for the region title 10-6, until a possible finals match, but does have Vazquez, just a freshman and even Fleming Island's Dylan Beck who stormed back to get a ticket to Orlando with five wins after losing his opener at regions.
Clay's final state ticket went to junior Aaron Stacey, just 5-1, who pinned another Gulf Breezer at the top of the bracket; senior London Taylor (40-16), only to have to face Middleburg's Tucker Cody (56-1, lone loss to Matanzas Jordan Mills top seed 190 48-0) in the final at 215 with Stacey lasting until a third period pin by Cody.
Should Stacey survive a treacherous bracket to the final where his 5-1 season record faces off against three guys with season slates totaling 106-38, he could find Cody in the final.
Clay senior Jaden Bell faced off against two of the biggest 285ers in the gym; Mosley's Logan McAllister (52-9) and Riverside's Demontra Burnett to finish out of the top four.
Lost as a state qualifier last year was Drew Holmquist at 132 who lost in the semifinals and then lost the consolation semis to end his season.
Vonte Burke, at 120, got to the semifinals before losing by pin to Middleburg's Grady Woodard then losing a tough 9-8 consolation semifinal to Ponte Vedra's Jaiden Zajni to end his season.
Will Kelly, at 190, lost his first match to Ridgeview's Rayhn Hutchinson, who finished 2-2, then battled back with two wins in consolation before a pin in the consolation semifinals.