For so many years, the idea of Springstead’s wrestlers capturing a district championship seemed like a foregone conclusion.
But after seeing its streak of 11 straight titles come to end last year, and dealing with a tumultuous coaching situation prior to this season, the Eagles were a considerable question mark when this campaign began.
On Saturday, though, Springstead put all that in the rearview mirror, collecting its 30th district crown with a first-place finish in the Class 2A, District 5 Tournament at Citrus.
“I’m really proud of them. They did a good job,” Springstead coach Bob Levija said. “This is not the same team it was six weeks ago. They’ve really turned it on and improved so much.”
Levija was pulled out of his recent retirement from teaching when the school’s offseason coaching hire fell through, returning to the program he guided to 18 district titles between 1983-2002.
“It means a lot. I didn’t even know their names seven weeks ago,” Levija said. “It was kind of in disarray. The kids kind of kept it together and helped me, and then started to believe in what we were saying and doing what we asked them to do.”
The Eagles scored 243.5 points, well ahead of Belleview in second with 149.5, and advanced all 14 grapplers to regionals via a top-four finish in their respective weight classes.
That included eight individual champions: Thomas McCane at 106 pounds, Richie Rivera at 113, Barker Jackson at 120, Ean Morales at 138, Charles Roche at 145, Chase Landgraff at 160, Travis Williams at 170 and Trenton Shenefield at 195.
Shenefield particularly impressed Levija, as he knocked off top-seeded Michael Porcelli of Citrus in the final by major decision, 10-1.
Over at Hernando on Saturday, the host Leopards won their first district championship since 2005 at the 1A-6 Tournament. They scored 218.5 points, in front of second-place Weeki Wachee with 152.5.
Hernando will be sending a wrestler to regionals in all 14 weight classes, with Josh Hulse (120), Yovanny Rodriguez (126), Codey Maniates (152), Devin Dennis (170) and Keegan O’Rourke (285) placing first.
Weeki Wachee qualified 11 to regionals, as Devin Horton won at 106. Nature Coast, which came in fourth in the team standings at 105, had eight regional qualifiers, paced by champions Jordan Gibson (160) and Michael Weston (220).
Central took seventh at 26.5, with three regional qualifiers, fourth-place finishers Kevin Ramagli (152), Brannyn Washington (170) and Foster Hawthorne (182).
Several spring sports got underway this past week, including softball. Nature Coast registered two dominating shutouts, 15-0 over Fivay on Tuesday and 10-0 against Ridgewood on Friday. Freshman Alyssa Kelly ended up 2-for-2 while driving in two runs in the opener. Senior Abbey Primavera threw a no-hitter in just three innings with eight strikeouts.
In the second game, senior Celine Kordon went 2-for-3 with three runs batted in. Chayse Skinner and Primavera both added two RBI. Primavera, Kelly and Kordon combined for another no-hitter over five innings.
Springstead split its first two games, beating up on Central on Wednesday, 19-0, and losing to Dunnellon on Thursday, 3-2. Freshman Hannah Rizzuto went 3-for-4 with five runs batted in against the Lady Bears, while Kama Woodall threw a four-inning no-hitter with 12 strikeouts. The next night, Abby Oliver was 3-for-4 with a double and a RBI.
Hernando won 20-0 over Ridgewood on Tuesday, behind Janea Mobley going 4-for-4 with seven RBI. Karli Kimbrough and Josey Sims also went 4-for-4 at the plate. Sophomore Ali Shenefield threw four no-hit innings with nine strikeouts. Mobley was 1-for-3 with a RBI in a 3-1 loss at River Ridge on Thursday.
Nature Coast’s girls tied for third (48) and the boys placed eighth (40) at the Early Bird Eagle Invitational at Tarpon Springs-East Lake on Wednesday. Jouie Miller took first in the discus (105-8) and the shot put (34-10), and the girls 4×400 won in a time of 4:29.35. Jacorey Hartman captured the boys long jump (20-6).
Follow Chris Bernhardt Jr. on Twitter @cpbernhardtjr.