BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Union County High School’s Rodney Barnett went 3-1 and qualified for the state finals as the runner-up in the 144-pound class at the Feb. 23-24 Region 1-1A meet, which was held at Wewahitchka High School.
“He was on fire,” Union Head Coach Edwin Johnson said. “He beat some top-ranked wrestlers.”
Barnett was the only Union wrestler to qualify for state, though Jonathan Howard and Dylan Lane each fell one win shy of advancing to the third-place match in their respective weight classes. The top four finishers in each weight class earned the right to advance.
The state finals will be held Thursday through Saturday, Feb. 29-March 2 at Kissimmee’s Silver Spurs Arena at Osceola Heritage Park. Action begins at 12:30 p.m. on Feb. 29, while matches begin at 9:15 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. on March 1 and March 2, respectively.
Barnett’s first victory in the Region 1 meet was a 17-1 technical fall against South Walton’s Sam Fanton. He pinned Stanton Prep’s Elias Spurlin in 42 seconds and defeated North Bay Haven’s Zander Stillgess 10-6 to reach the championship match. There, he was pinned in 48 seconds by Fernandina Beach’s Cole Miscianga, a state qualifier from last season.
Union has now qualified someone for state three times in the last four years.
The Tigers’ Howard dropped his first match, getting pinned in 4:25 by Paxon’s Justin Williams. He rebounded with three straight wins, pinning Wakulla’s Caleb Thompson in 21 seconds and Wolfson’s Taylor Martinez in 2:24 and defeating Yulee’s Lincoln Brehmer 12-9. Howard needed one more win to reach the third-place match, but he was pinned in 4:51 by Bay’s Leonardo Sanchez.
Lane opened by pinning Liberty County’s Thor Eikeland in 1:47. He then pinned Fernandina Beach’s Felix McDuffy in 4:39 before getting pinned by two straight opponents: Wolfson’s Keith Forbes (5:07) and Wakulla’s Adleigh Caquimbo (3:57).
The Tigers had two wrestlers besides Howard and Lane go 2-2: Elijah Roberts and Jameson Lang.
Roberts, in the 150 class, pinned Marianna’s Nicholas Heineman in 2:53 before getting pinned in 1:38 by Yulee’s Andrew Watkins. He bounced back, pinning Florida High’s Teagan Olson in 37 seconds before being eliminated when he was pinned in 58 seconds by Wakulla’s Nate Jacobs.
Lang, in the 165 class, opened with a 13-5 major-decision win over North Bay Haven’s Brody Bousa, but he was then pinned in 3:03 by Yulee’s Michael McNair. Lang then pinned Bishop Kenny’s Gabe Loomis in 3:22 before getting pinned in 4:34 by Wewahitchka’s Jarrett Spencer.
Alexander Cortese (190 class) defeated his first opponent, pinning Bishop Kenny’s Liam Bradley in 1:21. He was then pinned in 1:43 by Florida High’s Jordan Haigler before being disqualified in a match against Baker County’s Kristian Chancey.
Gavin Sparkman (138) and Maddox Wheeler (215) also competed for the Tigers. Each went 0-2.
Union, which placed 13th in the team standings, is in just its fifth year of wrestling. During that time, the Tigers have earned three district runner-up trophies and have qualified 39 individuals for regionals the last four years. This season marked the first time Union had individual district champions (Barnett, Cortese, Howard and Lane).
Johnson said the future looks bright.
“We had a whole bunch of freshmen and 10th-graders who are going to be really good,” he said.
