Sports
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Manatee High's Sean Price feels out Venice's Jeremy Cook during the District 11, class 2A wrestling tournament in Venice. Click on image to enlarge |
MHS wrestler Price learning as he goes
by Kevin Cassidy
islander Correspondent
A T-shirt seen at the District 11, Class 2A wrestling tournament in Venice said all you need to know about the rigors of wrestling. "You play baseball, basketball and football. You don't play wrestling."
Anyone who has ever attended a high school wrestling meet will surely attest to the fierce competition that requires more strength, stamina, flexibility and just plain old heart than any other sport. Those that have had the misfortune/pleasure of competing in wrestling at the high school level simply nod their heads and shake hands with their brethren wrestlers. There's nothing like it.
With that being said, why Island resident Sean Price - and anyone else for that matter - would choose to put himself through the pain and punishment required to compete in wrestling is a complete mystery. There's the daily running of the stadium steps or runs to G.T. Bray Park and back to Manatee High. That's just the warmup! Then it's upstairs to the Manatee wrestling mats where they go at with each other at a 110 percent tempo - or else!
There's no slouching around on Coach Andy Gugliemini's watch. Perhaps that's why Gugliemini's team is consistently ranked in the top 10 in the state.
Price, along with Kyle Mills, are two Island members of the Manatee High wrestling team. Mills came into the season nursing a bad knee after finishing fifth in the state tournament last year. The knee finally gave out on him and he had to have surgery to repair a torn ligament.
As a freshman with no wrestling experience, Price's expectations weren't real high. He went out for the wrestling team purely as a way to get a good workout so he'd be ready for football next season. Little did he know he'd be an important contributor to the varsity team before the season was over.
He started out on the JV team and had some successes to go along with learning the ropes. He compiled a 9-8 record before a varsity wrestler became academically ineligible in the 189-pound division. Price, all 175 pounds of him, got the call and has been on the varsity team ever since.
He's taken his share of knocks, but it's all good, says Coach Gugliemini. "Sean's done a nice job for us, given his inexperience. He's shown a lot of heart, plus he's gaining a world of experience, which will only help him down the road."
Price's inexperience showed during his first district tournament match when he went up against Venice's Jeremy Cook, the No. 1-ranked 189-pound wrestler in the state. Cook pinned him in just over a minute, though Price showed some nice escape moves to prolong the match. Price ended up advancing to regionals after losing in the consolation finals 11-2 to Port Charlotte's Adam Anceume.
Manatee (160 points) finished second in the district to Venice, which compiled 222 points and advanced 10 wrestlers to next weekend's Region 2A-3 tournament at Charlotte High.
Bayshore High, which advanced seven wrestlers to the regional tournament, was represented by islander Sam Lott. Lott, like Price, had never wrestled before, but had a pretty good season despite his inexperience. He finished 13-17 and came oh-so-close to pulling off a couple of upsets in the district meet. He trailed 2-0 with time winding down to the top-seeded Charlotte High wrestler. A take-down and the match would have been tied, but unfortunately, Lott got taken down and pinned for his first. His second match was almost a mirror image of the first match. Trailing 2-1 with time running out, Lott got taken down en route to a 4-1 loss that ended his first season of wrestling.
Both Price and Lott look forward to next season when they'll have some experience to fall back on. Congratulations Sean and Sam.
Seedings set for basketball playoffs
The final regular season games were played in the Anna Maria Island Community Center's basketball league with Anna Maria Glass & Screen, Publix, Duncan Real Estate and Bistros earning the number-one seeds for Premier, Division I, Division II and Division III playoffs, respectfully.
Anna Maria Glass & Screen captured first place in the Premier Division despite splitting two games last week to finish with an 8-4 record, a game better than second-place West Coast Air Conditioning, which lost two games last week to fall to 7-5 on the season. Glass & Screen will have taken on Island Real Estate, which finished in third place with a 6-6 record, on Valentine's evening. West Coast Air Conditioning is set to take on fourth-place ReMax Gulfstream Realty at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 16, with the championship game set for noon Saturday, Feb. 19.
Publix won its only game last week to earn the top seed in Division I and a semifinal game against fourth-place LPAC at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 15. Second-place Longboat Observer takes on third-place Air & Energy at 8 p.m. on the same evening with the championship game set for Saturday morning at 11 a.m.
Duncan Real Estate won both of its games last week to finish with a 10-1 record in Division II. For its effort, Duncan took on Danziger Allergy & Sinus on Monday, Feb. 14. Second-place Anna Maria Oyster Bar took on STGC the same evening in the other semifinal. Results of both games were unavailable at press time. The Division II championship game is set for 6 p.m.Friday, Feb. 8.
Division III Bistros finished the season as the only undefeated team, earning a semifinal game against Harry's Continental Kitchens at 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 16, while Dips Ice Cream takes on third-place Jessie's Island Store immediately following the Bistros-Harry's contest. The Division III championship game will be played at 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 19.
ReMax 52, West Coast AC 50
Clay Orr scored 13 of his game-high 25 points in the fourth quarter to help rally ReMax Gulfstream Realty to a 52-50 victory over West Coast Air Conditioning on Saturday, Feb. 12, in Premier League action. Anthony Rosas added six points while Todd Test, Dylan Mullen and Eric Fridenberg each contributed five points to their winning total.
Chase Parker scored 24 points and Spencer Carper added eight points to lead West Coast Air Conditioning in the loss. Luis Leon and Franklin Moore added six points apiece, while Matt Skaggs added four points for West Coast.
IRE 56, Glass & Screen 53
Tyler Bekkerus scored 28 points and Josh Elsenheimer added 21 during Island Real Estates' three-point victory on Saturday, Feb. 19. Ian Douglas added four points and Jamie Urch finished with two points for IRE in the victory.
Zach Schields scored 17 points and Jake Stebbings added 13 points for Anna Maria Glass & Screeen. Leading scorer David Buck was held to nine points, while Matt McDonough added eight points for Glass & Screen in the loss.
IRE 49, ReMax 47
Tyler Bekkerus scored nine of his game-high 21 points in the fourth quarter to lift Island Real Estate over ReMax Gulfstream Realty on Wednesday, Feb. 9. Teammate Josh Elsenheimer added 20 points, while Phelps Tracy chipped in with four points for IRE in the victory.
Chase Parker's 18 points and 13 points from Spencer Carper led ReMax in the loss. Luis Leon and Franklin Moore added six points apiece, while Jordan Graeff and Matt Skaggs added two points apiece.
Glass & Screen 85, West Coast AC 45
Jake Stebbins scored 24 points and David Buck added 23 to lead Anna Maria Glass & Screen past West Coast Air Conditioning on Monday, Feb. 7, in Center basketball action. Zach Schields added 12 points for West Coast Air, which also received eight points from Eric Distelhurst and seven points from Chad Reed in the victory.
Brian Cziraky led West Coast Air Conditioning with 13 points, while teammate Taylor Manning added 10. Eric Fridenberg and Dylan Mullen rounded out the West Coast scoring with seven points apiece in the loss.
Division I: Publix 45, Observer 40
Ben Valdivieso scored four of his 12 points in overtime to help lift Publix over Longboat Observer on Saturday, Feb. 12, to clinch the Division I regular-season basketball crown. Justin Dearlove led all scorers with 25 points, while Publix teammate Eric Fridenberg added seven points in the victory.
Celia Ware scored 13 points and Billy Alstrom added nine points to lead Longboat Observer in the loss. Blake Wilson chipped in with seven points, while leading scorer Grant Lukitch was held to a season-low five points in the loss.
LPAC 37, Observer 35
Last-place LPAC upset Longboat Observer 37-35 on Thursday, Feb. 8, behind 17 points from Matt Shafer and 14 points from Broderick West. Jason Rappe, Ryan Guerin and Whitney Bauer each scored two points to complete the LPAC scoring in the victory.
Grant Lukitch scored 16 points and Celia Ware added 10 points for Longboat Observer in the loss. Kyle Aritt added four points for the Observer, which also received two points apiece from Billy Alstrom and Forrest Schield in defeat.
Division II: Duncan 29, Danziger 20
Chris Callahan exploded for 17 points to lead Duncan Real Estate past Danziger Allergy & Sinus on Friday, Feb. 11, in Division II basketball action. Kyle Crum and Ashley Waring chipped in with six and five points respectively, while teammate Chandler McClung completed the scoring with one point in the victory.
Emma Barlow scored 10 points and Glenn Bower added eight points to lead Danziger Allergy & Sinus, which also received two points from Wyatt Hoffman in the loss.
STGC 17, Galati 12
Steve Titsworth General Contracting was led by eight points from Chandler Hardy in its five-point victory over Galati Marine on Wednesday, Feb. 9. Ally Titsworth added five points, while Trevor Bystrom scored four points for STGC in the victory.
Martine Miller scored eight points to lead Galati Marine, which also received two points apiece from MacKenzie Kosfeld and Sheldon Phillips in the loss.
Duncan 31, Oyster Bar 29
Chris Callahan scored nine of his game-high 21 points in the fourth quarter as Duncan Real Estate held on for a two-point victory over Anna Maria Oyster Bar on Monday, Feb. 7. Ashley Waring added six points, while Alexis Mitchell and Kyle Crum each scored two points to complete the Duncan scoring in the win.
Matt Bauer scored 14 points, including 10 in the second quarter and Sarah Howard added six points for the Oyster Bar. Zach Evans added four points and Molly Slicker and Blake Rivers scored two points apiece to complete the Oyster Bar scoring in the loss.
Division III: Bistros 15, Jessie's 10
Becca Butler scored nine points and Hailey Dearlove finished with six points for Bistros during their Feb. 12 Division III victory over Jessie's Island Store. Jack Titsworth scored eight points to lead Jessie's, which also received two points from Daniel Pimental in the loss.
Dips 21, Harry's 10
Justin Gargett scored 15 points to lead Dips Ice Cream past Harry's Continental Kitchens on Saturday, Feb. 12. Connor Field, Zach Guerin and Johnny Mattay completed the Dips scoring with two points apiece in the victory.
Zach Facheris scored six points and Isaiah Beaton and Taylor Wilson added two points each in the loss for Harry's.
Jessie's 17, A Paradise 6
Grant Bower scored six points and Julian Botero added four points for Jessie's Island Store in the 17-6 victory on Tuesday, Feb. 8. Daniel Pimental, Max Miller and Jonah Castor added two points apiece for Jessie's in the victory.
Josh Schmidt, Courtney Schmidt and Ryan Gilman scored two points each to lead A Paradise Realty in the loss.
Miller, Magic mates split pair of games
Martine Miller and her U12 Manatee Magic girls soccer team split a pair of games over the Feb. 12-13 weekend. On Saturday, the Magic girls defeated the Tampa Knights by a 5-0 score. Miller, Ashley Conley, Tori Bolyard, Carly Turner and Phoebe Leo each notched goals to support goalies Nichole Dixon and Shannon Morrish.
On Sunday, the girls lost a tough one to Gulf Coast United. The Magic fell behind 2-0 at the half, but rallied to tie the score on goals by Conley and Miller, both off of assists from Alyssa Allen. Unfortunately the Magic gave up a late goal to drop a heartbreaking 3-2 decision, which left them with a 3-8-3 record.
All is not bleak however. Six of their losses were by a single goal and the other two losses were by two goals, so the Magic girls were in practically every game. They finished the season fairly strong and they're looking forward to Region C Cup Feb. 26-27 in West Pasco. |