Niceville strong in opening day at Beast at the Beach
Staff Reports
Niceville had high expectations entering the Beast at the Beach wrestling tournament on Friday.
The Eagles had been on a roll throughout the early portion of the season, including a win at the 32-team Capital City Classic.
They did not disappoint.
Niceville was the top seed coming out of Pool A, winning all five of its matches. The Eagles defeated Catholic, La., 48-23 in their final dual match of the day, giving them the top seed and a bye in the first round today. Niceville also beat Fort Myers, Crestview, Riverbend, Va., and Hayden, Ala., by sizable margins.
Nick Grim (130), Ryan Myers (189), Luke James (215) and Nate Hartley (145) all went 5-0 for Niceville, while Will Jones (152) and Tyler Dugas (103) each had four wins. Lance Murray was also unbeaten in his three matches at 140 pounds.
“The kids wrestled great and it’s nice to see some out-of-state competition,” Niceville coach Grant Meyer said. “It gives us a different look and some experience. The way we wrestled (on Friday), we are optimistic for today.”
Crestview went 0-5 in Pool A to finish sixth, including close losses to Fort Myers and Riverbend, Va. Kyle Miller was a standout for the Bulldogs, however, going 5-0 at 135 pounds. Josh Longman, wrestling in the 285-pound division, went 4-1.
“It was a good experience for our guys,” Crestview coach Jeff Fowler said. “The kids are wrestling tough.”
Catholic (4-1) was the No. 2 seed for Pool A, while Riverbend, Va. (3-2) was third, Hayden, Ala. (2-3) was fourth and Fort Myers (1-4) finished fifth.
In Pool B, Arnold pulled out of the tournament, leaving just five teams. Fort Walton Beach ended the day at 0-3 and in a tie for fourth place with Ocala Forest, also 0-3. The two will square off this morning in the final pool-play match before teams are then reseeded.
The Vikings lost to Mosley, Brusly, La., and Robert E. Lee, Ala., but had unbeaten performances by Matt Cabanas (119) and Andrew Fuller at 152 pounds.
“I thought it went well,” Fort Walton Beach coach Thom Harrison said. “There was some good wrestling. (Today) will be a chance for redemption for some teams. It should be wide open.”
Brusly was 4-0 in Pool B to take the top seed on that side of the bracket, while Lee was second at 3-1 with the tiebreaker over Mosley (3-1).
After the final match of FWB and Ocala Forest, the team will be bracketed for the final run at the title. The finals are expected to begin around 5 p.m.
