MIDDLEBURG – With championship titles to five wrestlers, the Lake Asbury Junior High wrestling team needed team depth to armlock a Wilkinson Toughman Invitational win from challenge Green Cove Springs Junior High in a day of high-flying action at Middleburg High School on Saturday. Wilkinson chased both front runners with a third place finish with points at 283, 249 and 238 for the top three.

In fourth was Lake City, fifth Suwannee, sixth Lakeside, seventh Episcopal, eighth Orange Park and ninth Oakleaf.

Green Cove Springs, with six individual champions, was not able to close on a 12 point Lake Asbury lead as teams readied for the championship rounds to determine first through fourth places.

Winning titles for Lake Asbury, coached by Matt Krabill and Coll Robertson, were KJ Rheaume at 80, who blasted Suwannee’s Keshawn Johnson with a second period fall; Jacob Bucci at 90 who pinned a second Suwannee challenger in the first period; Wyatt Leduc at 106, who battled to a 9-0 win over Wilkinson’s Grady Woodard in a match that was filled with rough tumbling; Hayden Meszaros at 138 who won a 7-0 decision over Lake City Middle School’s Kareem Kinlock, and Gavin Rossow at 152 who quickly dispatched of Episcopal’s Christian McGarity with a 35 second pin.

For Green Cove, titles went to Brady Glavine at 85, an 8-4 win over Suwannee’s Justin Contreras; Gunner Ivey at 126, who spent just 16 seconds on the mat with Episcopal’s Chance Wolff with an explosive pin combination; Nathan Newman at 160 who punished Tucker Cody with quick velocity moves before pounding a head locked pin in the second period; Jadon Bell at 195 who won a tough 7-0 match with Wilkinson’s Dylan Cloud; Gage Isbell at 220 who beat Lake Asbury’s Ronan Carns 7-1 in the only match featuring both top teams, and heavyweight Zeth Wager with a pin at the first period buzzer over Lake City’s Allen Irish.

Top performance in a final was arguably Lakeside Junior High’s Matthew Newman at 95 who reversed a third period near fall from Green Cove Springs’ Vonte Burke with just seconds left in the match to win by pin and take the 95 title.

Other finalists were Caleb Green (GCS) who lost by pin at 75 to Suwannee’s Eli Jolicoeur; Ryder Pimienta (OP) who lost by pin at 100 to Suwannee’s Austin McKinney; Markos Barfield (OAK) who lost by pin to Austin Smith of Lake City at 113; Zane Raulerson (WILK) who pinned Lakeside’s Chris Chop at 120; Chandler Thomas (WILK) who pinned Shane White (LkASB) in ust 21 seconds at 132; Caiden Kowal (LKSide) who pinned Nick Wilkerson of Lake City at 145; and Austin Joiner (WILK) who pinned Ladarius Jackson (GCS) in just 12 seconds at 170.