Desperation Move Pays Off for Mulberry's Brian Treacy
Sat. February 02, 2013 at 9:00 p.m. | By Bill Kemp
By BILL KEMP
LEDGER MEDIA GROUP
FROSTPROOF | Brian Treacy didn't just roll the dice, he also rolled his opponent before locking him down with a twisting double-grapevine hold.
The Mulberry junior turned disaster into district championship — in a matter of seconds — during his 152-pound match at the Class 1A, District 7 wrestling tournament Saturday at Frostproof High School.
"It was the most exciting moment I had in wrestling all season, and ever," said Treacy, who was grappling on a JV roster just a year ago at a high school in Illinois.
Trailing 16-2 in the closing seconds of the final period, Treacy pinned Lake Wales' Timothy Sonrisa in a startling turn of events to claim his first district title.
"Basically he just got the kid out of position and rolled him over to his back, and as he did he laced his legs through and hooked his head," Mulberry head coach Jason Hinton said. "It's a gamble move. You either hit the move and pin or miss and lose. I didn't think he would pull it out, honestly."
Avon Park won the district championship for the second-consecutive year, racking up 123 points and qualifying nine wrestlers for the Region 2 tournament Feb. 8-9 at Tenoroc High School.
Lake Wales finished second qualifying all seven of its wrestlers for regionals. John Kimbrough (126), Bobby Sonrisa (138) and Jacob Tomlin (HW) won individual championships for the Highlanders.
Lake Wales head coach Jonathan Richards said the thought of hoisting a district runner-up trophy never crossed his mind when his team entered the gym.
"To tell you the truth, I didn't. This is from hard work and dedication," Richards said. "'It's been a real tough season. We were down to seven guys, but these were a dedicated bunch."
Mulberry qualified all six of its wrestlers including David Prindiville, who won the 170-pound title.
McKeel Academy led all schools with 10 regional qualifiers, including district champion Austin Porter (132).
Frostrproof qualified six wrestlers for regionals and picked up individual district championships from Donald Moore (106), Clayton Ferrer (160) and Wesley Smeal (145).
Tenoroc's Nick Thomas won the 220-pound title. The Titans qualified eight wrestlers for regionals.
