LAKELAND — Lake Gibson wrestlers always have to juggle a plethora of obstacles in order to reach the standard that has been set for some time under Hall of Fame head wrestling coach Danny Walker.
For instance, the Braves will be flying at 4 a.m. Thursday morning to Kaukauna, Wisconsin to wrestle in the Cheesehead Invitational all the while batting some injuries and sickness that is going around. And this is after No. 1 Class 2A team competed in the Knockout Christmas Classic and the Braves Invitational the last few weeks.
Despite the journey, the Braves found a way to win the Class 2A, District 7 duals title after beating Auburndale 67-0 Wednesday at Lake Gibson High School, which is the ninth district duals title in nine years for the program. The Braves beat Lake Region 80-0 in the semifinals.
“This is just step one for the region duals. I feel good. Obviously anytime you win, that’s a good feeling. But sometimes as a perfectionist, you look at the things that you think you didn’t do well,” Walker said.
Walker said he didn’t feel as though his wrestlers executed well on top, not riding very well as far as top pressure.
Still, all in all his Braves did well on their feet, attacking and setting up shots. And they did well in getting off bottom, too.
For next week in regional duals, which is slated for 4:30 p.m., Jan. 15, at Lake Gibson High School, Walker said the goal is to have better drop pressure.
Junior wrestler Linkin Burgett (165) was one of those wrestlers executing those good trends. He filled in for Lake Gibson’s Konstantin Khalspain to grab the victory, upping his record to 7-5 on the year.
Burgett said he needed his mind totally clear ahead of the match.
“There was a whole lot of mental preparation, stretching. (I was) just trying to get my mind off the match as much as I can to really relax my body,” Burgett said.
Facing Burgett and the other Lake Gibson wrestlers was Auburndale in the championship match. And for advancing that far, the Bloodhounds will be in regionals, too.
“A lot of respect for Lake Gibson. … Coach Walker has built a dynasty. It’s always fun to test where the guys are at,” Auburndale head coach Grant Smtih, a former Auburndale wrestler once ranked No. 8 in Florida, said. “Some things we need to change up in the room with work in the room just to close those gaps. I don’t feel like the score reflected how we wrestled. I feel like we were in some of those matches. It’s just we need to fix a couple positions.”
One position that was set was Alejandro Mendoza, who was bumped up to 113 in the Lakeland matchup. This adjustment resulted in a win that put Auburndale over the top against Lakeland.
George Jenkins wins in Class 3A, District 5 action
The flying Eagles won its matchup over Plant City High School with a 43-31 score, which advanced the local program to regionals next Thursday.
With the win, this solidified back-to-back district championships for the program.
“It feels good to repeat as champions, however, next week is going to be a tough road. We’ve got to get back to work,” George Jenkins head wrestling coach Gavin Osborn said.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Several Polk County wrestling teams advance to regional duals
Reporting by Robert Magobet, Lakeland Ledger / The Ledger
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
