This year the Dunnellon wrestling team had a strong line up, with a mix of new and experienced wrestlers. There were a total of eight returning wrestlers and a fair amount of beginners. Head Coach Jeffrey Farris and Assistant Coach Aaron Richardson did an astounding job of conditioning and coaching the team. Overall there are five wrestlers who advanced out of our district and to the regional tournament. Those wrestlers include Jesse Richardson with a record of 38-5, Michael Leone (22-5), Matthew Gandy (31-12), Chance Richardson ( 25-12) and John McClung ( 24-11).

Senior Jesse Richardson, a returning state qualifier led as the team captain. Along with taking the lead in practice, he also made sure his fellow teammates were on task and he set an example for the rest of the team. Next year the team will have a total of five returning wrestlers who will be seniors.

Richardson had over 130 wins in his career, and at State won several of his matches, tying for 7th place.

The junior varsity squad has been one of the strongest in many years, and holds a promising future for the upcoming varsity squad. This will make Dunnellon one of the strongest teams in the district next year. Dunnellon placed at several tournaments this season, including second place at a varsity tournament at The Villages, a second place at a Citrus JV tournament, and a fourth at another JV tournament at Springstead. Most tournaments had five or more schools. Some tournaments had as many as 26 schools, such as the annual Kiwanis tournament held at Hernando which took place over a two-day period.

Dunnellon’s dual meet record for the year was nine wins, three losses. The three losses were a result of losing three duals at a large two-day “dual style” tournament near Kissimmee. (A dual meet is where two schools wrestle each other for the highest amount of points. One wrestler from each weight class from each school face off). The results of each add up points for each school such as a pin equals six points and a technical fall (fifteen point mercy rule) worth five points. If the match goes all three periods and neither wrestler was pinned or “teched” then the wrestler with the most points will win the match and receive either three or four points for their team depending on the point difference.

There is usually about an eight-month time period in the off-season. But this year Dunnellon is planning to participate in USA Wrestling, which is an off-season wrestling program. The Tiger wrestling team encourages anyone who is serious about joining the wrestling team to come out, try it, and see if wrestling is for you.