Orange Park Wins Close Against Ocala Forest 36 - 33

    In a close battle, a rivalry was renewed and the Orange Park Wrestling Raiders defeated the Ocala Forest Wildcats 36 - 33.  "Orange Park and Ocala Forest used to have a pretty big rivalry," Head Coach Chad Parker said.  "It's nice to renew that rivalry, get matches for both Varsity and JV, and win."

    The match came down to bonus points, as both teams won seven matches each.  "We had more matches where we won by bonus points," Parker said.  "The guys did a great job of wrestling tough on top in this match.  We made a point of working on our mat wrestling this week, and it really showed tonight."

    The match started at 215 pounds, where Junior Mike Miller pin his Ocala Forest opponent  in 2:36.  "Miller wrestled well," Parker said.  "I'm pleased with how he's wrestling this early in the season."  At 285, freshman Ryan Lutins won by pin in 3:10.  "Lutins continues to progress," Parker said.  "It's exciting to see his match by match progress."

    At 103 lbs, Abdullah Salem lost by pin to Ocala's ranked Paul Viles.  "A senior against a freshman is usually a mismatch," Parker said.  "Salem just isn't at that level yet.  He'll get there.  He's a competitor and practices hard." Junior Will Shockley was able to route the Raiders back on track by registering a 17-4 major decision at 112 lbs.  "Shockley looked good out there," Parker said.  "He wrestled tough on top, which a year ago, he was not able to do."  Freshman Bryan Somera scored a pin in the second period, at 3:56.  "The sky is the limit for Somera," Parker said.  "He's a freshman, he's athletic and he's tenacious.  He just needs experience." 

    Sophomore Patrick Laniel was able to turn his Ocala opponent at 4:59 and score the fall for the Raiders at 125 lbs.  "Laniel wrestles with a lot of heart," Parker said.  "There's no quit in him, a couple of times he was close to losing that match, but because of sure grit and determination he was able to outlast his opponent and win."  Seniors Scotty Montgomery and Roger Jarvis lost by decision and major decision at 130 and 135 lbs, respectively.

    At 140 lbs, Senior Anthony Owens put on a clinic of dominance, scoring a technical fall at 5:00.  The score was 22-7.  "Owens is wrestling on another level right now," Parker said.  "He's having fun, most of all.  He's relaxed and ready to wrestle at the start of the whistle." Freshman Levi Duvall scored a 13 - 9 decision.  "Duvall is another freshman that just gets it," Parker said.  "He wants to try everything we teach him.  He's fun to watch and he's learning how to wrestle at the high school level."

    The Raiders ended the match by losing 4 straight matches, at 152 lbs, 160 lbs, 171 lbs and 189 lbs.  "You never want to end the match that way," Parker said.  "All of those guys wrestled tough, it was just a case of our opponents being better than us tonight."