BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Telegraph Staff Writer
Union County High School defeated both Keystone Heights and host Florida Deaf and Blind in a Dec. 6 wrestling match.
The Tigers (3-3) defeated the host team 51-30 and Keystone 40-30, with six wrestlers winning their weight classes against both schools: Gavin Sparkman (138), Wyatt Elixson (144), Brian Sparkman (165), Alex Cortese (175), Clifton Ivey (190) and Maddox Wheeler (215).
On Dec. 1, Union took part in round-robin duals at Buchholz in Gainesville. The Tigers went 1-3, with Cortese going 4-0.
The Tigers opened the day with a 66-18 loss to Middleburg. Rodney Barnett won the 144-pound class by pinning Sean Blouin in 2:46, while Cortese pinned Seth Straub in 47 seconds. Dylan Lane (285) won by forfeit.
In a 66-18 loss to Buchholz, Jonathan Howard pinned Aiden St. Clair in 58 seconds to win the 120 class, while Cortese pinned Jack George in 3:04. Lane also earned a win, pinning Marquise Williams in 1:23.
Union then defeated Columbia 36-30, with four victories coming in less than a minute each as Jarred Bennett (144) pinned William Zhane Smith in 38 seconds, Brian Sparkman pinned Tristian Cox in 48 seconds, Ivey pinned Kayden Mitchell in 24 seconds and Lane pinned Devon Malbreaux in 36 seconds.
Howard also won by a pin, defeating Ty Tillman in 2:56, while Cortese was awarded a win by forfeit.
The final round saw the Tigers lose 69-12 to Palm Bay. Howard pinned Landon Stewart in 1:32, while Cortese pinned Raine Rosado-Lowry in 23 seconds.
