KISSIMMEE - Three of Clay County's freshest programs in recent wrestling history; Middleburg, Oakleaf and St. Johns Country Day School, earned some street cred for their programs with the trio earning a handful of medals with a slew of top eight finishers in the Class 2A wrestling championships for the Broncos and the Knights, and for Class 1A for the Spartans.

"We keep getting a little bit better each year and with more guys going to state and performing well and our girl's team having a two-time state champion, the interest level is increasing each season," said Middleburg coach Coll Robertson, who traveled with five wrestlers; Gavin Fisher, Nathan Harvey, Grady Woodard, Wyatt Leduc and Tucker Cody and came home with a third place to Cody, fourths to Fisher and Leduc and a seventh to Woodard, plus the Cheyenne Cruce gold medal for the girls at 190. "If we keep getting one or two more people in the rooms, we keep growing. That's the plan."
For Oakleaf coach Mark Detoro, who also had five wrestlers in his car, got a third-place finish from sophomore Sebastian Bonachea, but plenty of mat time for the rest of his young team; Connor Barnes at 106 (1-2), Micah Thomas at 132 (1-2), Keon Barrientos at 144 (1-2) and Jerimiah Baker at 165 (1-2).
For the Spartans, in their first year with wrestling under former Clay coach Hunter Hill, two wrestlers; Kevin McLean at 106 and Howard Hill at 113 both advanced from regions in Class 1A and both came home with medals; McLean third with an 8-6 win over Suwannee's Eli Jolicoeur and Hill sixth with an overtime loss to Preston Neufeld of North Bay Haven.
McLean, just an eighth grader, lost his second match then battled back with four wins to take bronze while Hill, a seventh grader, lost his first match, then won three matches to the consolation semifinal where he lost an overtime 2-0 match, then finished sixth with another overtime loss, 4-2.