PREP ROUNDUP: 1/8
Three area wrestling teams turned in strong performances at Saturday’s Andrews Invitational at Gulf Breeze High School.
Fort Walton Beach, led by first-place finishes from three of its wrestlers, took an area-best third overall at the tournament, finishing with 140 points.
Brian Guidry (152-pound weight class), Matt Sheffield (195) and Chris Lupo (182) each won their respective weight classes for the Vikings, providing Fort Walton Beach coach Tobi Marez with further proof his team is finding its stride as it draws closer to the district tournament.
“I think for us, this weekend helped put in perspective where we’re going,” Marez said. “(Learning) how to finish in the top four and get over the hump.”
Landon Fields took second in the 126-pound class while A.J. Norman finished fourth in the 160 pound class for Fort Walton Beach.
Teammate Christian Schultz took third in the 220-pound class.
Nicholas Diunizio was one of several Choctawhatchee wrestlers to place high at the tournament.
Diunizio, who was seeded No.1 in the heavyweight division entering the day, won both of his matches to win the division. Teammtes Jacob Phan (132-pound weight class) and Chris Nash (195) each placed second in their respective weight class.
Chris Fouch, wrestling in the 120-pound class, finished fourth.
Choctawhatchee will wrestle in Marianna on Saturday.
South Walton had three of its six competing wrestlers place, led by Spencer Molenda’s second-place finish in the 160-pound weight class.
Storm Thayer (120) and Nick Manzanares (195) each finished third.
Taylor Bartleson improved to 24-3 on the season to help the Niceville wrestling team pick up a 46-27 win over Crestview on Saturday.
Bartleson, wrestling in the 160-pound weight class, was one of seven Eagles to win on the day.
Erick Altrech (106-pound weight class) moved to 24-3 on the season with his win, while Matt Berger (113), Spencer Mailes (120), Trenton Miller (132), Harley Myers (184) and Zach Jenkins (heavyweight) also notched wins.
Michael Copeland (195) and Tyler Goudy (171) were among the winners for the Bulldogs.
Girls’ basketball
Rutherford 46, Niceville 44: Ashley Levesque hit five of the Eagles’ six 3-pointers on the night but Niceville fell on the road. Dani Douglas had 12 points for the Eagles (5-12), which travel to Mosley on Tuesday.
N 18 13 8 5 – 44
R 8 9 15 14 – 46
N: Ashley Levesque 15, Dani Douglas 12, Mikayla Mitchell 7, Aubrey West 6, Leann Nguyen 2, Jaci Hodskins 2. Totals: 9 6 8-21 44.
Choctawhatchee 69, Boynton Beach 51: Brittany Brown led the Indians with 31 points as Choctaw moved to 17-1 on the season. Lauren Day had 11 points for the Indians, which raced out to an early 22-9 lead after one quarter of play.
Choctaw returns to action on Tuesday when it travels to Graceville.
C 22 20 15 12 – 69
B 14 16 12 – 51
C: Brittany West 6, Brittany Brown 31, Jessinda Skinner 1, Shavonna Spaw 4, Lakeshia Clay 8, Lauren Day 11, Caneisaya Matthews 2, Brittany Washington 6. Totals: 17 7 14-26 69.
Boys’ basketball
Fort Walton Beach 54, Walton 46: Rece Drake had a game-high 19 points and Devin Gould had 15 points – all on 3-pointers – to help lead the Vikings to a win over Walton.
The Braves outscored Fort Walton Beach 22-8 in the third quarter to take a lead, and led by as many as seven points late in the fourth quarter before the Vikings rallied. Behind Gould, Fort Walton Beach went on an 11-0 run to regain control of the game.
Allen Wallace had 14 points for Fort Walton Beach. Angus Anderson led Walton with 12 points on the night.
Fort Walton Beach (7-10) hosts Crestview on Tuesday.
W 9 4 22 10 – 46
FWB 3 19 8 24 – 54
W: Ken Randolph 2, Amos Williams 5, Chris Snider 3, Tray Williams 7, Alex Campbell 2, Angus Anderson 12. Totals: 14 5 3-4 46.
FWB: Devin Gould 15, Blake James 2, Allen Wallace 14, J.J. Lemasters 2, Caige Hefner 1, Tony Lawrence 1, Rece Drake 19. Totals: 10 9 6-10 54.
Late Friday
South Walton 59, Franklin County 53: Edward Howard led the Seahawks with 25 points, Shafer Martin finished with 13 and Paxton Dixon chipped in with 11 as South Walton picked up a key District 4-A road win.
South Walton (10-7, 6-1) hosts district foe Port St. Joe on Tuesday.
SW 14 17 11 17 – 59
FC 9 14 17 13 – 53
SW: Paxton Dixon 11, Gene Hasse 3, Will Cole 3, Edward Howard 25, Bish Waldrop 1, Elisha Gundrum 3, Shafer Martin 13. Totals: 17 3 16-32 59.
Pine Forest 42, Niceville 38: Christopher Forbes, Kyle Koszuta and Mckinley Stephens each finished with eight points as the Eagles fell to 9-6 on the year following a road loss at Pine Forest.
Niceville returns to action on Monday with a home game against Pensacola Catholic.
N 4 13 11 10 – 38
PF 10 8 12 12 - 42
N: Christopher Forbes 8, Devin Vazquez 2, Kyle Koszuta 8, Shane Horton 4, Mckinley Stephens 8, Iain Persaud 2, Andrew Mitchell 4, Nicholas Haynes 2. Totals: 12 3 5-6 38.
Boys’ soccer
Rocky Bayou Christian 4, Franklin County 2: Drew Kirkpatrick had a pair of goals and Joey Wilson and Ethan Pierce each scored a goal as the Knights knocked off Franklin County.
Rocky Bayou hosts Freeport on Tuesday.
Girls’ soccer
Rocky Bayou Christian 0, Franklin County 0: Knights goalie Christiana Serban thwarted a Franklin County penalty kick in the second half to help preserve the scoreless tie.
With the tie, Rocky Bayou Christian secured the No.1 seed in the upcoming District 1-A tournament.
Rocky Bayou (4-10-2) plays Choctawhatchee on Tuesday.
