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Durant Duo Wrestles To Titles In Suspenseful Bouts

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By DAREK SHARP, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 16, 2008

PLANT CITY - Christian Reed and Yamil Crespo were used to winning practically all of their matches, most without feeling the least bit threatened. But the competition at the Feb. 9 Region 3A-2 meet made the suspense level a lot higher.

But the Durant High duo came through again. Reed and Crespo won region titles and, along with teammates Alex Hamm and Nick Hadick, earned a trip to The Lakeland Center for the Class 3A state tournament.

The state tournament was set to begin Thursday and Durant hopes to have at least one wrestler going today. The top six placers in each weight category will be decided by today's action, culminating in the state final clashes at 6:30 p.m.

Plant City High's Travis Vollick also qualified for Lakeland with a fourth-place finish at regionals. The Region 3A-2 meet was held Feb. 9-10 at East Lake High School.

Reed, a senior with hopes to leave Durant with a state title, defeated Sarasota High's Austin Brown 4-3 in an exciting region final in the 125-pound class. The score was 3-3 until Brown committed an illegal move late in the third period.

Before that Reed again came up big late in a match, turning a tight 6-4 bout against Countryside's Dillon Dennis into an 11-4 win.

Reed is 49-3 on the season. That record is only topped in the 125-pound bracket by South Dade senior James Williams' 50-2.

Like Reed, Crespo had a couple of dramatic victories Feb. 9, winning both his semifinal and final matches by 4-3 scores. Crespo defeated Tim Eggers from Kissimmee Osceola in the final.

Crespo was 45-8 on the season after his regional triumph.

Hamm ensured a trip to Lakeland with his 2-0 win over a Sarasota wrestler in the consolation semifinals, then locked up third place by beating Alonso's Tony Milanes 4-2. It was revenge for a defeat by Milanes in the district finals.

Hadick won his consolation semifinal match on a pin with one second remaining in the second period.

Plant City High's Arsenio Durant was pinned in the consolation semifinal.

Vollick, the region champ, came two seconds away from reaching the final but fell 8-7 on a last-ditch move from Mitchell's Jessey Lorentsen in the 171-pound semis. Vollick then fell in another close one, 3-2 against Palm Bay's Michael Lawnicki.

All three state classifications (1A, 2A, 3A) will conduct bouts in Lakeland simultaneously.

Reporter Darek Sharp can be reached at dsharp@tampa trib.com.

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