Kissimmee Osceola finished second
in Class 3A last year and has the depth and experience to give Miami
South Dade a run for the title. A young Oviedo team should also find
itself finishing in the top four in Class 3A. The second tier of teams
includes Cypress Creek, Dr. Phillips, Olympia, St. Cloud, Timber Creek
and Winter Springs all having the talent to finish high at the state
meet.
Star watch
The only returning state champion in the area is Osceola's Pete Baldwin.
The sophomore will share the stage this season with Kowboy teammates
Levi Clemons (national champ this summer), Alex Eggers (two-time state
finalist) and Gabriel Bird (three-time state placer and All-American
this summer). Other local wrestlers who could find themselves on top of
the podium in February are Winter Springs' Matt Nereim, Oviedo's Chase
Gordon and St. Cloud's Frank Cousins.
Up-and-coming
Celebration arguably has its best team ever while Hagerty will field
its first senior class. Cypress Creek returns two state qualifiers
and a district champ.
Don't miss it
The Metro Conference championship (Jan. 31 at Timber Creek) could be
won by as many as six teams -- Cypress Creek, Dr. Phillips,
Edgewater, Olympia, Timber Creek and University. Nine different
states will be represented at the Zac Jarzynka (Dec 29 and 30 at
Oviedo), one of the premier high school wrestling tournaments in the
country. Kissimmee Osceola will host some of the best teams in the
state at the AJ Jones Memorial (Jan. 9 and 10).
For the record
Oviedo holds the longest dual-meet win streak in the state with 70
straight victories. Barring injury, Winter Springs junior Matt
Nereim should reach 100 wins by January. Daytona Beach Seabreeze's
Chris Ferritto is looking to become the school's first ever state
wrestling champ.
What they're saying
Osceola Coach Jim Bird on his team's success the past two years:
"Once you start winning, your whole program starts believing." . . .
Timber Creek Coach Mike Weems on what it takes to win the Metro
Conference: "It's the ultimate team competition; you need to have 14
kids who can score points if you expect to win." . . . St. Cloud
Coach Matt Milton on the young Bulldogs: "We always have high
expectations here and it's going to be a little more difficult this
season with only four kids returning that were on varsity last
year."
