FHSAA WRESTLING FINALS: FPC's Blaine DeFord advances to Class 3A semifinal round

KISSIMMEE — Compared to this time a year ago, Blaine DeFord feels nowhere near as mentally sharp or as physically fit.

Bumping up two weight divisions, and entering the first day of the Florida High School Athletic Association's wrestling championships with just 10 matches under his belt, Flagler Palm Coast's 160-pound junior knew he had his work cut out for him.

Yet, of the 16 Volusia-Flagler wrestlers who qualified for the state finals, DeFord is the only one still alive to capture a title.

DeFord scored a pair of 4-1 decision victories, upending North Port's Vincent Donatelle and Palm Beach Gardens' William George, in the opening two rounds of tournament action at Silver Spurs Arena on Friday. He will return to the mat Saturday, needing another pair of wins to secure FPC's first gold in four years.

"Pure will and determination," FPC Head Coach Zach Sanford said. "If he puts his mind to something, he makes sure it happens."

Last year, DeFord won 53 of his 61 matches en route to a fourth-place state finish in Class 3A's 145-pound division. He entered the 2020-21 campaign ranked No. 5 in the state at that weight, per the Orlando Sentinel.

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Yet, DeFord wrestled only once prior to the start of February — a hiatus he attributed to his dual-enrollment educational workload and struggles cutting weight.

"College swamped me, and I had trouble making (1)45," DeFord said. "Cutting too much weight takes the fun out of the sport, and I didn't want to kick my friends out of their spots."

Energy conservation, DeFord said, is the key to success this weekend.

In his quarterfinal match against George, DeFord trailed 1-0 entering the third, 2-minute period. He quickly knotted the score with an escape, gained the lead with 22 seconds left and preserved the win with a takedown just before the buzzer.

"I was thinking, 'Oh crap, I've got to get up,'" said DeFord, who chose to start the third in a down position. "I had to make sure he couldn't get my ankle.

"I would get in my shots, he would sprawl down and chest-wrap me but he wasn't able to turn me."

DeFord — now sporting an 11-1 record — advanced to the final of the Region 1-3A meet last weekend, where he lost to Lake Mary's Jared Purcell. That's the same opponent Sanford expects the junior to see should he reach the championship match.

"I'm an optimist; I think he wins it," Sanford said. "(Purcell) is who we want again because we know how to wrestle him."

New Smyrna Beach, which scored a regional team championship, had three of its four state qualifiers win in Round 1. But the Barracudas fell victim to a second-round buzzsaw.

Jamey Bruner (126 pounds), Michael Shannon (145) and Doug Dittmer (195) each lost and dropped into the consolation bracket for the double-elimination tournament.

Shannon, a third-place finisher at 126 in Class 2A in 2020, needed just 49 seconds to pin his first opponent — Miami Belen Jesuit's Lucas Amaya. However, he lost a 7-2 decision to Tampa Freedom's Ryan Bennett in the quarterfinals, while Bruner and Dittmer suffered defeats via technical fall.

"We didn't wrestle really well, get off our knees and finish our shots," Barracudas Head Coach Kevin Kehoe said. "We thought we could get through the first two rounds, but it didn't happen."

Matanzas lightweight Carter Wilder was the only other local athlete to score a first-round victory, a 9-5 decision against Miami Southridge's Fredrick Mitchum. Wilder was pinned at 2:29 of his second match by Palmetto Ridge's Tyler Washburn.

Christian Kennick encountered misfortune for the second straight year the week of the state finals. University High's senior 220-pounder, who missed last season's competition due to a weightlifting injury, entered a mandatory COVID-19 quarantine period on Monday, Titans Head Coach Brian Kells said.

Kennick will forfeit a pair of matches, ending his campaign with a 18-6 record.

Wrestlebacks started at 4 p.m. Friday for competitors who began the weekend with a loss. Semifinal matches are set to get underway at 9:30 a.m. Saturday.