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No Doubt: Golden Eagles pound region 2A wrestling

By Randy Lefko Sports Editor
Posted 3/2/22

TALLAHASSEE - With more than 130 points difference between first place and second place, the Fleming Island High wrestling team left little doubt that they would continue to grind away against all …

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No Doubt: Golden Eagles pound region 2A wrestling


Posted

TALLAHASSEE - With more than 130 points difference between first place and second place, the Fleming Island High wrestling team left little doubt that they would continue to grind away against all comers as the Golden Eagles lineup bashed the region 1-2A lineup for their first region title among a slew of 3A region titles Saturday afternoon at Tallahassee Chiles High School.

“When we went to Class 2A, it was all about the different wrestling styles and new faces for our team,” said Fleming Island coach P.J. Cobbert. “What people don’t see on this team because we do have a lot of young faces is that this team just trains hard, competes hard and executes every day, every match. There really was very little anxiety by the young guys who came here today.”

Young guys included twin freshman brothers Shane and Laird Duhaylungsod, both leaving as region champions; Shane Duhaylungsod, at 106, taking out Mosley sophomore sensation Derrick Williams (51-4) with a strategic 9-7 decision. Williams was a Clay Rotary champion, a Flagler Rotary champion and the district 1-2A champion prior to facing Duhaylungsod.

“Those guys are smart enough to not read about the guys they will wrestle, but to just go out there and do what they do,” said Cobbert. “The whole team has that same mentality. Here is how we wrestle, beat us.”

For Laird Duhaylungsod, at 120, the finals’ opponent was a very familiar face in Middleburg High’s freshman Wyatt Leduc, also a junior high opponent, also a Keystone Memorial opponent this year, who has also enjoyed a remarkable first varsity season with Duhaylungsod winning a 4-0 title. Duhaylungsod’s main foe en route to the Leduc match was also a Mosley veteran in junior Sam Tolomeo (39-17, state qualifier at 106 2021) whom Duhaylungsod annihilated to the tune of a 14-0 major decision.

Sandwiched between the Duhaylungsod brothers is another freshman, unbeaten freshman and top-ranked in 2A Jayce Paridon at 55-0 who smoked his way through his lineup with three pins and a 12-3 major decision.

Cobbert had a string of region champions after the front loaded threesome with senior Joshua Mukaddam at 132, Kaden Schaefer at 138, Matthew Kotler at 145 and Jhoel Robinson at 182 all bringing home gold. Joshua Sandoval, at 170, who is in top three ranks, lost a quarterfinal match to Matanzas’ Jordan Mills on a 6-5 decision then got back to beat Niceville’s Martin Black by pin for third place.

“He just gave up some points on two moves that the other guy got the call on,” said Cobbert. “He’s a state meet stud and will be there next week.”

Cobbert got a runnerup from 285 Ethan Hoffstetter, a third from Ronan Bozeman at 160 over Trevion Sermons of Orange Park, and a third from Christopher Chop at 152 by pin over Lincoln’s Connor Edwards.

“What’s scary is that we get them all back but one next year,” said Cobbert. “Some we will have for three more years.”

Leduc, in his matches to the final, dispatched of Fletcher senior Ryden Ashmore (37-9, twice the district 3-2A champion) with a 7-0 decision.

Leduc and the Middleburg High Broncos have seen a skyrocket season behind first year coach Coll Robertson, a former Ridgeview High state qualifier and a long-time Lake Asbury Junior High coach with a string of North Florida Athletic Conference and Clay County titles under his mentorship of young athletes in Clay County.

Robertson, with assistant Richard Duisenberre, have collected two girls at the FHSAA state meet plus four boys Saturday to the big show; Leduc; senior state qualifier last year Riley Girgis, second at 126 with 4-2 loss to New Smyrna Beach senior Jamey Bruner (46-4, state qualifier 126); sophomore 113 state qualifier Grady Woodard at 120, and freshman Jackson Hornback at 106 who lost to Mosley’s Derrick Williams in his second bout, then rolled back to a third place finish with three pins in consolation then an 18-3 tech fall in the third place match.

“It’s great to see guys I had coached and coached against at the junior high level get to the state meet level so quickly at their high schools,” said Robertson, who won four of five Northeast Florida Athletic Conference titles in his five years at Lake Asbury Junior High School. “I think Wyatt (LeDuc) wrestled Laird Duhaylungsod in junior high with Shane wrestling Clay’s Jacob Bucci a few times.”

In the team scores, Fleming Island ousted Tallahassee Lincoln 249-115.5 for the top spot with New Smyrna Beach third at 110. Middleburg scored 87.5 for sixth with Ridgeview, with 220 Derrick Mosley second after pins of 26 and 33 seconds in his prelim matches, finished 15th with 41.5 and Orange Park 21st with 16 points.

Orange Park had just two wrestlers; Trevion Sermons at 160, fourth, and Goeffrey Jules-Delice at 195 who won one match.