MIDDLEBURG - In Saturday's Northeast Florida Middle School Wrestling Championships, Green Cove Springs Junior High had a shot at two Lake Asbury Junior High wrestlers with a heavyweight lined up against Lake City, but three wins in those final three bouts was not enough as the Tigers wrestled away the Northeast Florida Middle School Wrestling title from the Cougars with overwhelming points prior to the three-bout spree. Middleburg High School hosted the event run by Wilkinson Junior High School.
Coached by Matt Krabill and Coll Robertson, Lake Asbury got titles from Jacob Bucci at 90, Wyatt Leduc at 106, Shane White at 126, Nathan Bilancione at 138 and Gavin Rossow at 152 to hold the Cougars.
Green Cove got titles to Brady Glavine at 80, Gunner Ivey at 132 and William Newman at 160; with Jadon Bell, Gage Isbell and Zeth Wager ending the final three matches with three pins in a row for the Cougars.
Team points shook out to 260.5 to Lake Asbury, 236.0 to Green Cove, 208 to Wilkinson with all other teams under 160 points; Orange Park seventh at 106.0, Oakleaf at 10th at 78.0 and Lakeside at 11th at 65.
Highlights for the event included explosive pins of 46 seconds to Green Cove's Newman at 160 over Tucker Cody of Wilkinson in a rematch of the Toughman Invite final two weeks ago and Wilkinson's Chandler Thomas at 120 with a 45 second dispatch of Orange Park's Quinton Moore.
In the third place matches, it was Wilkinson's Josiah Pierre at 195 battling back from an 11-9 deficit late in the third period over Lake City's Javon Bradely that finished with a 14-11 flurry by Pierre with a pin with just 19 seconds on the clock.
One champion who came to his title via years of foot surgery, Orange Park Junior High's Ryder Pimienta, who was born with club feet with ankles nearly folded to have the bottom of his feet facing up. Pimienta endured years of surgeries, casts, corrective shoes and crutches and won the 95 pound weight class on Saturday.
Pimienta, who finished second at 90 last year with a 12-1 season record, entered this season with full intention of bettering his second season.
Unfortunately, a broken bone in his foot halted his progress for the first half of the season.
Two weeks ago, with full clearance, Pimienta finished second at Wilkinson's Toughman Invitational before winning at the NE Florida tournament on Saturday.
Pimienta is scheduled for another surgery on January 29.

Top four per weight division

75 pounds
1/2: Sterling Hollingsworth (Florida High) beat Suwannee's Eli Jolicoeur 9-3
3/4: Caleb Green (GCS) pinned Lukas Gerlach (Lakeside) 2:22

80 pounds
1/2: Brady Glavine (GCS) beat Shane Jourdan (Lake Asbury) 7-6
3/4: Troy Thaxton (River Springs) pinned Keshawn Moseley (Suwannee) 4:05

85 pounds
1/2: Justin Contreras (Suwannee) pinned Brennen Robinson (LC) 3:27
3/4: Kyle Montgomery (FL) beat K.J. Rheaume (Lake Asbury) 8-2

90 pounds
1/2: Jacob Bucci (Lake Asbury) pinned Kevin Fink (LC) 3:00
3/4: Xzander Boehm (Suwannee) pinned Lincoln German (Lakeside) 1:53

95 pounds
1/2: Ryder Pimienta (OPJ) beat David Culley (River Springs) 13-5
3/4: Laird Duhaylunsod (GCS) beat Matthew Newman (Lakeside) 6-1

100 poundds
1/2: Austin McKinney (Suwannee) pinned Christian Wilson (OPJ) 2:28
3/4: Grady Woodard (Wilk) pinned Joseph Forte (GCS) 3:47

106 pounds
1/2: Wyatt Leduc (Lake Asbury) pinned Jackson Hemphill (Oakleaf) 1:24
3/4: Keon Barrientos (OPJ) pinned Diana Rivers (GCS) 0:48

113 pounds
1/2: Zane Raulerson (Wilk) beat Nate Jacobs (River Springs) 4-2
3/4: Dyllan Beck (GCS) beat Markos Barfield (Oakleaf) 7-0

120 pounds
1/2: Chandler Thomas (Wilk) pinned Quinton Moore (OPJ) 0:45
3/4: Christian Soccaro (Suwanne) beat Chris Chop (Lakeside) 6-3

126 pounds
1/2: Shane White (Lake Asbury) beat Matthew Kotler (GCS) 5-0)
3/4: Chance Wolff (Episcopal) pinned Elijah Shevchook (Oakleaf) 1:53

132 pounds
1/2: Gunner Ivey (GCS) pinned Landon Madrigal (Wilk) 2:14
3/4: Max Harvey (River Springs) pinned Bryant Taylor (Oakleaf) 2:59

138 pounds
1/2: Nathan Bilancione (Lake Asbury) beat Anthony Bedoya (FL) 8-3
3/4: Sultan Ellington (River Springs) pinned Jermey Wiggs (Wilk) 0:55

145 pounds
1/2: Hayden Meszaros (Lake Asbury) beat Caiden Kowal (Lakeside) 5-2
3/4: Braden Johnson (Wilk) beat Nick Wilkerson (LC) 9-3

152 pounds
1/2: Gavin Rossow (Lake Asbury) beat Christian McGarity (Episcopal) 12-0
3/4: Kohl Pippen (River Springs) pinned Jeremiah Baker (OPJ) 4:23

160 pounds
1/2: William Newman (GCS) pinned Tucker Cody (Wilk) 0:46
3/4: Wilson Philemon (LC) pinned Cameron Leese (OPJ) 1:38

170 pounds
1/2: Austin Joiner (Wilk( pinned Collin Bishop (FL) 2:56
3/4: Emmamuel Cassen (Lake Asbury) pinned Larry Kinter (Suwannee) 3:50

182 pounds
1/2: Lawson Perry (Episcopal) beat Dylan Stover (Suwannee) 13-1
3/4: Trevor Bramlitt (Lake Asbury) pinned Aaron Caquimbo (River Springs) 1:28

195 pounds
1/2: Jadon Bell (GCS) pinned Matt Grenville (Lake Asbury) 1:40\
3/4: Josiah Pierre (Wilk) pinned Javon Bradley (LC) 4:41

220 pounds
1/2: Gage Isbell (GCS) pinned Ronan Carns (Lake Asbury) 3:25
3/4: Hershal Blackman (Wakulla) beat Dylan Cloud (Wilk) 11-9 OT

Heavyweight
1/2: Zeth Wager (GCS) pinned Allen Irish (LC) 2:44
3/4: Luke Green (Wilk) pinned Kobe Brown (Lake Asbury) 1:19