‘Perfect sportsman.’ Bradenton remembers 17-year-old Manatee wrestler killed in shooting

As Jann Michael Feeney put another wrestler in a headlock and pinned him, his coach thought to himself, “He ripped the guy’s head off.”

He was a junior and part-time varsity wrestler at Manatee High School in Bradenton. He stunned some of the older varsity wrestlers when he hit the move last winter at a holiday tournament in New Jersey.

“We knew he was good. We knew he was fast. We knew he was strong,” said Andrew Gugliemini, the school’s head wrestling coach and P.E. teacher. “But man, when he hit that headlock, it was game over.”

On Friday, March 8, Jann Michael, 17, died after being shot in the chest while a group of teenagers was hanging out in the backyard of a Bradenton home.

According to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, a Parrish 17-year-old has been arrested in connection with the shooting.

At the Beach House Waterfront Restaurant in Bradenton Beach, where he served food and bused tables for about a year, Jann Michael always appeared to be in a good mood.

“He had a beautiful smile,” said Seth Kondor, the restaurant’s culinary director.

Kondor and Jann Michael talked a lot in the kitchen and discovered they shared a love of wrestling. Kondor, who was a wrestling referee, liked to ask him if they would see each other at his next match.

“I wish I had more time with him,” Kondor said. “You work so hard, and so many hours are put in on and off the mat, that he still had the opportunity to do great things his senior year with Manatee wrestling.”

Bradenton GoFundMe raises over $28,000

After getting word of Jann Michael’s death, his coworkers set up a GoFundMe to help with his family’s expenses. Gugliemini shared it on Facebook with those who knew him and those who wanted to help.

As of Friday morning, the fundraiser has raised more than $28,000, more than double its goal of $12,500.

“We knew he was loved,” Gugliemini said. “But I think some people are just now figuring out how much. The outpouring of support, not only from our team but from the school and the community, it’s been enormous. It’s an unbelievable feeling knowing that he was loved that much.”

On a good day for hiking last summer, the wrestling team went to the Tallulah Gorge in Georgia, where they walked down 400 steps to get to the bottom. Gugliemini planned to make a stop there while the boys were at a wrestling camp in the state.

“We might wrestle a little harder knowing that our teammates are rooting for us and that we have their backs and they have our backs,” Gugliemini said.

Gugliemini and Jann Michael admired the view of the serene waterfalls. Then they stopped for a moment and smiled for a photo together.

After he took down the wrestler, Jann Michael won the match at the tournament in New Jersey. Gugliemini gave him a unique award for his explosive move, an Aquaman action figure.

But what Gugliemini admired most about Jann Michael was his character.

“He wouldn’t go out of his way to make somebody look bad,” Gugliemini said. “After he beat them, he would help them up. He was a perfect gentleman, a perfect sportsman.”