- April 26, 2024
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Matanzas' Tyler Thomas pinned his opponent. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Mariah Mills sings the national anthem. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Mariah Mills feels her nose bleeding. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Mariah Mills waits to get her nosebleed taken care of. Photo by Brent Woronoff
FPC's Sean Smith wrestled Kaden Golder at 113 pounds. Photo by Brent Woronoff
FPC's Ethan Laupepa won by pin. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Mariah Mills won by pin at 113 after taking two injury timeouts for a nosebleed. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Mariah Mills had her nose taped up. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Matanzas' Kaden Golder pinned his opponent. Photo by Brent Woronoff
FPC's Ana Vilar wrestled Toryion Stallings. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Toryion Stallings gets the upper hand. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Carter Wilder, left, wrestles John Hald. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Hayden Herndon takes down Mason Obama. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Carter Wilder, left, bridges to avoid a pin. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Mason Obama, right, wrestles Hayden Herndon. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Dylan Parkinson, left, wrestles Carson Baert. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Carson Baert on top against Dylan Parkinson. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Kelton Howard, left, at 160 pounds. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Josh Davis, left, and Landon Wright at 170 pounds. Photo by Brent Woronoff
FPC coach David Bossardet. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Matanzas coach Mike Fries. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Mariah Mills on top. Photo by Brent Woronoff
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.
