FLEMING ISLAND - After a somewhat lackluster performance in preseason play at the Gobbler Preseason Wrestling Tournament staged by Clay High last weekend at the Clay County Fairgrounds, Fleming Island High wrestling coach P.J. Cobbert was not very happy for Mondays afternoon practice.

“We expect this team to execute at a high level,” said Cobbert, second last year for a third consecutive year to powerhouse South Dade High School with one state champion, Chad Nix, now at Campbell University. “We are past just winning matches. We want to win big matches. I’m about sick of coming in second place.”

With South Dade again as the target for post season play, Cobbert, in his 12th year, noted a handful of returners from last year’s team led by Hunter Herrington, who has garnered early top five rankings from the Orlando Sentinel after being third at 113 last year with a semifinal loss to eventual champion Danny Martinez of Southwest Miami; Riley Holton, who lost an excruciating 3-2 first round match to eventual 126 runnerup Jose Gonzalez of South Dade; Gavin Smith, a state qualifier at 170; Jhoel Robinson, Hunter “Catfish” Williams and Raul Gonzalez. They all look good and if they wrestle well, we will do well.”

Ironically, a handful of the wrestlers Cobbert will lean on are younger siblings of former Golden Eagles standout wrestlers with Robinson following big brother Jaylin Robinson, now at football at Ava Maria; Christian Chop, a freshman brother to third place finisher last year Luke Chop, Joshua Sandoval, brother to Jacob Sandoval, and Hunter Williams brother to state 138 fourth placer Tyler Williams.

Cobbert looks inward when trying to find the “Magic” that will get that elusive Class 3A state from South Dade.

“The more your wrestle somebody the more you learn to compete,” said Cobbert, who said South Dade will be on the Fleming Island regular season schedule two or three times before the post season matchups. “We have to create our own identity. This team has to believe it. One thing about South Dade is that when they show up at the state tournament, everyone of them believes they are going to win a state title. We have create that magic.”