Palmetto Ridge advances to regional wrestling final with 49-21 win over Barron Collier

The first two times Barron Collier and Palmetto Ridge met on the wrestling mat this season, the Bears came out on top by a combined seven points – including a 35-33 victory in the Class 2A-District 12 dual championship Saturday.

The two rivals met again in the regional semifinals Thursday at Fort Myers, but this time the Bears had a much easier time in a 49-21 win. Barron Collier had three wrestlers out with injuries, forcing coach Anthony Partello to shuffle his lineup, and the Bears turned a few of their close losses Saturday into wins this time.

“No big strategy change; we just stayed in the kids’ ears and making them believe that you’ve got to wrestle through the positions,” Palmetto Ridge coach Blaine Ison said. “And that’s what we worked on all week and they executed.

"A lot of things went our way this time," Ison said. "Against Barron, a lot of those matches can go either way, and tonight they fell in our favor.”

Palmetto Ridge will face Charlotte in the regional final Friday, Jan. 24, at Kissimmee, and the winner of that match will advance to the state semifinals the next day.

More:Palmetto Ridge edges Riverdale in 2A regional semifinal

More:District wrestling: Freshman lifts Palmetto Ridge past Barron Collier for dual title

More:High School Insider: Youth being served for Palmetto Ridge wrestling program

The Bears advanced to the semifinals with an easy 75-6 win over South Fort Myers earlier Thursday, while Barron Collier rallied from a 27-12 deficit to post a 39-30 win over Fort Myers. That match still hung in the balance when the Cougars’ Carson Benitez pinned Cruz Henton at the 1:12 mark of the first period.

Palmetto Ridge got off to a fast start this time against Barron Collier, winning the first seven matches to go up 40-0. After Trilyon Fils-Aime got things started with a major decision win over Nick Clayton, David Henry pinned Dominick Dekker at heavyweight in the third period, setting up the Bears’ dominant lightweights to do their thing.

“When you have a close match, that one was tied 1-1 going into the third period and again that fell our way,” Ison said. “He executed the move, got the pin and that just got the ball rolling for the boys. That’s what we want – those close matches where you can come out on top, that’s what gets the momentum going.”

Given the lineup adjustments he was forced to make due to injuries and illness, Partello was pleased with the way his squad battled. At 120 pounds, he had to turn to freshman Tomas Tushe against defending state runner-up Brennan Van Hoecke. The result went as one would expect, with Van Hoecke pinning Tushe in 11 seconds.

“I had to go to a freshman who’s only been wrestling for a month or two,” Partello said. “And here’s the state runner-up, ‘go get him.’ That’s a tough position for him to be in. So being down three starters hurt us, but I felt overall we battled and the rest of the matches went about as we expected.”

Henry's pin was the first of six straight for the Bears, with Tyler Washburn (106), Cullen Guerrero (113), Van Hoecke (120), Leonard Feliciano (126) and Roman Garcia (132) also rolling to easy wins. By the time Josiah Fernandez finally got the Cougars on the board with a 5-3 decision over A.J. Ayala, Barron Collier trailed 40-3.

"Palmetto Ridge has a great program and they've got a lot of depth," Partello said. "But I'm proud of my guys. It's all about working toward that end result. Take one day at a time, one tournament at a time and hopefully get better each time out."

Despite the Bears’ youth — Palmetto Ridge has freshmen and sophomores throughout the lineup — Ison said he is confident in what this team can accomplish.

“There’s no doubt in my mind we can compete for a state title,” Ison said. “It’s getting these kids to believe that and emphasizing that in the room every single day, getting them to work for that state title. It’s great to win these district titles and compete for a regional title but at the end of the day, the ultimate goal is winning the state title.”