FLAGLER PALM COAST - With two individual titles out of their nine man lineup, the Fleming Island High wrestling has turned a season chock full of question marks into a stealthy chase of expectations on a smaller level.
"We have just nine guys here today," said Fleming Island interim coach Nick Gibson, who runs the program amidst questions regarding the return of Hall of Fame head coach P.J. Cobbert, who has been in the shadows fighting off accusations from seven years ago concerning his treatment of his wrestlers. "For now, I do the wrestling end of it between my own business in Jacksonville and the North Florida Wrestling Academy program that P.J. has been running for the last 10 years with the help of some good dads."
That question being out there, Gibson, an NCAA Division I wrestler at Lockhaven University also a assistant to Cobbert the past few years, and a small cadre of wrestling coaches and visiting wrestlers from other programs to Gibson's Applied Pressure gym in Jacksonville.
"We have an intense schedule of guys from all around the area that help keep the team alive but it is the kids that have made the commitment," said Gibson. "It's been tough the first few months with us missing the Duals competition for the first time with a scheduling mishap, but these guys have come together in all the controversy."
For the Golden Eagles, Saturdays Flagler Rotary Invite at Flagler Palm Coast High School, offered a glimpse of readiness for the squad that is led by state meet returners Sebastian Bonachea (third as freshman at Oakleaf at 126 in 2A last year), Laird Duhaylungsod (fifth at 138 last year) and Kevin Reyes (285 1-2 in first season), all returners from last year's team that saw Fleming Island finish and uncharacteristic seventh place away from top teams like Tampa Jesuit, Lake Gibson, Winter Springs, and Charlotte, who were on the Golden Eagles radar years ago when Cobbert had the team as a major player in Class 3A.
"We know the history here and we are not going to be the ones to mess it up," said Bonachea, who got his 100th career win Saturday at Flagler en route to winning his 138 weight division with a win over sixth ranked Jasper Croom of Florida High.
The new faces for Fleming Island included freshman Isaiah Washner at 113, sophomore Jackson Linn at 120, sophomore Tylr Frein at 157, junior Roman Ortez at 138, sophomore Ryder Griffis at 157 and sophomore Zion Longmire at 165.
"Our three state guys are the leaders and they have taken up that role," said Gibson. "The younger guys have worked hard in some very tough weight classes."
Also at Flagler, Middleburg High, a recent returner to Clay County after a first-ever region Duals finish a week ago (lost to Clay), battled to a ninth place finish with Oakleaf 10th and Orange Park 26th.
Middleburg saw number one ranked 215 wrestler Porter Loveland suffer a semifinal loss to New Smyrna Beach senior Kyle Nilsson, a state qualifier last year. Loveland had a lead on Nilsson into the third period with a near fall in the second period but fell prey to missed opportunities in the third period that gave Nilsson a 14-7 win. Loveland recovered to win two matches to finish third.
At 157, Middleburg got their lone win from senior Wyatt Leduc who celebrated his 100th win a week ago during duals week. Leduc masterfully advanced with two very quick tech falls, then had his best match against Tocoi Creek's Nikita Chechkovsky that wound up a 6-1 win before beating Flagler's senior Carson Baert 10-2 in the final with an 8-0 lead into the third period.
Oakleaf got a second place finish from Bryant Taylor at 215 with a loss to Nilsson from New Smyrna Beach. The Knights also got a fourth from Connor Barnes at 113 with Barnes losing an overtime semifinal to Flagler Palm Coast's Kevin McLean, a former St. Johns Country Day School wrestlers, plus fifths from Jerimiah Baker at 175, Ghais Cooper at 157 and a sixth from Evan Brown at 215. Oakleaf's Hardley Germain let a 13-5 lead get beat by a third period pin to Middleburg's Joshua Harris in a quick turn of events.