Matanzas drops FPC in dual wrestling match

The Pirates defeated the Bulldogs for the first time in four years.

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Three days before Matanzas finished third at the Flagler Rotary wrestling tournament, the Pirates won the county championship with a 42-30 dual-match victory over Flagler Palm Coast.

It was the Pirates' first dual win over their county rivals in four years. The Jan. 25 match at Matanzas High drew a sizable crowd with fans from both schools.

"Wrestling means a lot to the people in this county," Matanzas coach T.J. Gillin said. "A lot of people have wrestled for FPC. Our coaching staff all wrestled for FPC. People don't like to see FPC lose."

Three girls wrestled against boys in the match, with Matanzas' Mariah Mills pinning Matthew Shipp at 113 pounds. Mills, who sang the national anthem before the match, took two injury timeouts to stop a nosebleed.

"I think he head-butted me a little," she said. "I felt it was going to bleed, but I didn't know when. Right after I got a takedown, it just started bleeding everywhere."

Her nosebleed plugs came to loose after action resumed and the trainer then taped the plugs to Mills' nose.

"What's special about the sport is the co-ed factor," Gillin said. "Everybody is a part of it."

Also winning matches for Matanzas were T.J. McLean (106 pounds), Kaden Golder (120), Toryion Stallings (126), Dylan Parkinson (152), Landon Wright (170), Jordan Mills (182) and Tyler Thomas (285).  

FPC's winners were Kole Hannant (132) by forfeit, John Hald (138), Hayden Herndon (145), Kelton Howard (160), Dalton Schell (195) by forfeit and Ethan Laupepa (220).

The best matches were at 138 and 170, which both went into overtime. Carter Wilder, wrestling up from 132, lost a 15-10 decision to Hald at 138. Wright decisioned Josh Davis 12-10 at 170.

Thomas, who wrestled at 220 at the Rotary, drank a few bottles of water before weigh-in to make the minimum weight for 285.

On Jan. 27, the Matanzas girls team competed in their final regular-season tournament, winning the Tournament of Champions in Lake Mary. It was the Pirates' sixth title in eight tournaments. Brielle Bibla and Christina Borgmann won their weight classes. Mariah Mills lost a one-point decision in the final.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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