On Senior Night, wrestling dominates Oviedo to close regular season
photo by Noah Kemper
Sophomore Logan Perkins (152 lb.) scored nine takedowns in his 23-7 victory against Eli Swetnam. The varsity wrestling team went on to beat Oviedo, 55-18.
Senior Devin Kohn, 2017 state runner-up for 145 lb. weight class, observed his opponent, Dominic Isola, his last in his high school regular season career.
“He was just backing up and stalling pretty much the whole match,” Kohn said. “I knew I would have it at the end.”
Kohn would eventually pin Isola in the match’s third period, which helped the varsity wrestling team earn a 55-18 senior night win against Oviedo. The team went 10-4 in individual matches, with four wins and one loss coming via forfeitures.
Also emerging victorious on Wednesday, Feb. 7, were sophomore Logan Perkins (23-7) and junior Ryan Rowland (23-8) via Technical Fall (wrestling’s equivalent of a mercy rule), sophomore Matt Kaplan with a 10-6 decision, and junior Lee Hoang and senior Justin Segarra with first period pins. Segarra in particular dominated his match, using a move that his teammates have dubbed “The Hand of God.”
“It’s just a really good half nelson* I’ve been working on for the past couple of years,” Segarra said. “[It] helped out a lot.”
While half of the team’s seniors, Kohn and Segarra took the mat for the last time at home in the regular season, the other half, Brandon Boyle and Oliver Hart, had to watch from the sidelines. Hart was still recovering from an unhappy triad (an injury to the ACL, MCL and meniscus) he sustained during the football season and Boyle tore his ACL in his right knee over winter break.
“It just sucks coming here and watching all my friends and buddies wrestle, knowing that I can’t get on the mat and wrestle with them,” Hart said.
The team will now head to the FHSAA district championships on Friday, Feb. 16, and those who win there will compete in the FHSAA Region Championships on Friday, Feb. 24, and Saturday, Feb. 25, which are being held at home in the competition gym.
*A half nelson is a wrestling maneuver done by using only one hand, passing it under the arm of the opponent, and then locking it on the opponent’s neck, which can render the opponent immobile. In addition, the hand not being used is holding the opponent’s other wrist, which prevents the move from being countered.
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