INVERNESS – For Weeki Wachee’s wrestling team, Thursday and Friday’s Rob Hermann Hurricane Cup Duals at Citrus High wasn’t about wins and losses.
In that department, it didn’t go very well for the Hornets, as they finished the tournament in last place at 0-9. But there’s considerable context. Thanks to Christmas vacation, Weeki Wachee was missing several wrestlers. The lineup was essentially a mixture of varsity and junior varsity teams, and five weight classes were empty.
“We got some JV kids good varsity experience. It was good,” Weeki Wachee head coach Daniel Gigantelli said. “We got nine matches. Some kids got to pad their stats a little bit. Giving up five weight classes, it was hard to compete with anybody.”
The closest matches for the Hornets were a 42-39 loss to Lake Nona on Friday, and a 45-36 defeat against Cypress Creek on Thursday.
They lost 46-15 to Georgia’s Veterans, 68-6 to tournament champion Palm Harbor, and 65-18 to Belleview in the other first-day matches. Friday also featured losses to Crystal River (42-22), Citrus (57-12), Georgia’s Valdosta (63-12) and Orlando-Boone (60-9).
Patrick Webb-Melton paced the team with a 7-2 showing at 170 pounds, improving his overall record to 23-7. Derrick Martins went 6-3 with five pins at 182.
Weeki Wachee was missing Nick Marsh, who was out of town, at 126. Hunter Gibson was pulled after winning his first match at 138 due a knee injury. Devin Horton remains out at 106, with a broken hand.
“Overall, I’m very happy with what I saw,” Gigantelli said. “Some of the younger guys stepped up and led the team. We’re starting to see where everybody fits in and seeing what we have to do to compete against Hernando for a district title.
“Last weekend was great, we were 6-2 at Harmony and really starting to come together as a team. We’re starting to see team leadership being built.”
Follow Chris Bernhardt Jr. on Twitter @cpbernhardtjr.