LIVE OAK - Fleming Island wrestling took two more giant steps toward another shot at a state title with a region 1-2A semifinal win over Clay on Thurs., Jan. 11 and a team title at the prestigious Billy Saylor Duals Invite at Suwannee High School on Saturday.

"I want to keep them ready for the grind of the state championship weekend," said Fleming Island coach P.J. Cobbert, who beat Middleburg 57-16 in his region opener at Oakleaf High, then dispatched Clay 50-18 to advance to a repeat region championship match against Tallahassee Lincoln on Fri., Jan. 19 at Osceola High School with the state duals final on Sat., Jan. 20. "We just do our style of wrestling which is wearing people down and we want to be as strong in the second day as the first. I think that part of our approach has been improved this season."
Also in their respective region, finals will be Tampa Jesuit (4th IBT last year) against Charlotte (3rd IBT), Merrit Island (11th IBT) against Miramar (45th IBT) and Lake Gibson (Duals, IBT champs) against Land O'Lakes (32nd IBT).
In 2023, Fleming Island followed a similar route; wins over Oakleaf and Middleburg to advance before beating Lincoln 47-12 to the Final Four. The Golden Eagles defeated Merritt Island 51-18 to face off with defending 2A Duals champion Lake Gibson with Gibson winning 37-19.
In 2022, Fleming Island lost to Tampa Jesuit 34-28 in the state semifinal with Jesuit losing to Lake Gibson in the final.
In 2021, Lake Gibson beat Palmetto Ridge 39-32 for the Class 2A title. In Class 3A, Fleming Island lost in the state semifinal to Riverdale who lost to South Dade in the championship match.
Cobbert, with a string of top-five finishes in both Duals and Individual state championships in the past decade; mainly in battles with South Dade in Class 3A and, more recently, with Lake Gibson in Class 2A.
"It doesn't matter Class 2A or Class 3A, the wrestling is tougher at any state championship tournament," said Cobbert. "The state meet is a very mental thing because everyone there is a great wrestler, and little things on the mat make a difference. It's tough to stay focused when you have tired legs. We've addressed that."
Tallahassee Lincoln, a long-time Class 2A stronghold, defeated Fort Walton Beach 54-21, then Gulf Breeze 40-32, in their region lineup to advance.
Clay, with a region opener win over Oakleaf, 44-25, knows of the science of state meets and two-day tournaments, but the Fleming Island prowess is just as pervasive as was evident in Live Oak just two days after the regions.
Cobbert, who entered two separate teams to keep his depth in action, went eight matches; one a BYE round, with a finals match against Suwannee High, a 44-30 win, being the only match that kept the Golden Eagles below a 50-point team total. Suwannee finished ninth in Class 1A last year.
Fleming Island had wins over Ft. Myers (59-15, 2 forfeits, one loss, 4 wins via pin), ED White (64-12, 2 forfeits, 6 wins via pin),
Fernandina Beach (57-6, loss to Christopher Chop at 175 to Nolan McKelvy, third 182 at West Nassau last year, 7 wins via pin); Columbia (71-12, 1 forfeit, 8 of 14 wins via pin); Oakleaf (62-15, 4 wins via forfeit, 5 wins via pin, one loss, 9-2, Connor Barnes over Calvin Wells); 1A-South Walton (59-18, loss to Shane Duhaylungsod at 126 to state qualifier Isaac Brinson, state qualifier, 5 wins via pin) and 1A-Suwannee (44-30, loss by pin to Calvin Wells at 106 to state qualifier Eli Jolicoeur and Dylan Beck at 157, 5-2, to 120 third placer Topher Pearson).
Oakleaf got wins over South Walton (48-28); Ft Myers (42-27); ED White (53-15); and Columbia (44-36) with losses to Suwannee (53-18), Fleming Island and Fernandina Beach (42-35).