ST. PETERSBURG — Dixie Hollins hoisted the St. Petersburg City Championship trophy for the seventh straight time Saturday evening.
The Rebels sent 10 wrestlers to the finals, six of them taking home titles. Five of those six victories in the finals came by pin as the Rebels posted 214 points.
Runnerup Boca Ciega (190.5) sent five wrestlers to the finals, with four claiming titles. Host Northeast was third (143) and had five reach the finals to claim two titles.
The Rebels’ sixth-ranked junior, Andre Matthews, dominated the heavyweight class, pinning Devin Griffin of Admiral Farragut in 22 seconds. Last week, Matthews beat the top-ranked wrestler in Class 3A, Colpin Lynn of Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas, at the Buzz Hill Invitational. Teammates Drew Harrington (106), Mitchell Kerr (113), David Labbe (152), Brandon Nevin (170), and Artez Small (182) all won titles.
The meet’s most outstanding wrestler award went to Northside Christian’s Kamen Wilmington, who breezed through the 138-pound class. He beat Justin Guerra of Dixie Hollins 18-2 in the final. The freshman wrestler also notched his 100th win at the tournament, having competed as a sixth- and seventh-grader at the school.
The Gregorian Award for the wrestler who scored the most pins in the shortest amount of time was Brandon Mercado of Boca Ciega. Mercado promised his coach the 120-pound city championship after failing to make weight at the Jerry Mita Invitational. The Pirates also sent Darquell Pierre (126), Jacob Mohr (145) and Clifton Thomas (195) to the top of the podium. Mohr battled through multiple nose bleeds to beat Northeast’s Angelo Lombardi 8-6.
“I was never going let it go. I was champ last year, I wanted it again,” Mohr said.
The host Vikings got individual titles from Danny Gutierrez (132) and Timothy Rudderham (160). Gutierrez won his final 12-2 against Dalton Busch of Dixie Hollins, and Rudderham nearly pinned James Redner of Dixie Hollins at the last second, but settled for an 11-7 victory.
Gibbs got its lone title from 220-pounder Roy Williams. He scored a first-period pin against top-seeded Clay Redmond of Dixie Hollins.
PHU wins: Brothers Jared and Connor Prince remained undefeated this season and the Hurricanes went 10-0, winning each dual meet by at least 20 points, to claim the team crown at the Bill Combs Duals hosted by Nature Coast.
Manatee Duals: Dunedin went 3-5 at the duals event in Bradenton. Senior Marc Allison went 8-0 at 145 pounds, and Anthony Dampier was 7-1, losing only to Jesse Fulk of Manatee, ranked second in Class 3A.