Manatee High hosting new district dual wrestling tournament

About 10 or 12 years ago, Manatee High wrestling coach Andrew Gugliemini attempted to add a new state championship to the high school wrestling calendar.

With a strong team at the time and Gugliemini’s team-first passion, the idea was to award wrestling’s team aspect in its truest form: the dual meet.

As part of the wrestling coaches advisory committee, Gugliemini and other members worked with the Florida High School Athletic Association to get the dual state championships off the ground.

There were roadblocks in the beginning, trying to get it passed through the board of athletic directors and the FHSAA.

“All the other sports wanted to constantly say, ‘Well, it’s like they’re having two state championships. Why are they getting that opportunity,’ ” said Gugliemini, who is in his 23rd year as Manatee’s wrestling coach. “So it took a while to convince them.”

Now Gugliemini’s vision is coming into focus with Wednesday’s Class 3A-District 8 dual tournament at Manatee High.

“We finally got the OK and we are excited,” Gugliemini said. “It’s something new. A lot of other states do it and have done it for years, so we kind of modeled it over Georgia and Tennessee versions.”

With a large district, the Hurricanes are hosting the southern teams, while Palm Harbor University is representing the northern schools after the remaining Pinellas County programs opted not to compete.

The winner from Manatee’s sub-district tournament heads to Palm Harbor University on Thursday for the District 8 crown. Only the district champion and runner-up advance to the regional dual tournament.

In the five-team sub-district at Manatee, the Canes (7-2) likely will be slotted as the No. 1 seed and would earn a first-round bye, then meet the winner of Lakewood Ranch-Sarasota Riverview, Gugliemini said. North Port and Sarasota are scheduled to face off in the other semifinal.

“Once we get past the district in the region, it’s going to heat up,” Gugliemini said. “There’s going to be some really good wrestling at the region level and then, obviously, at the state level. I think it’s going to end up being a good thing.”

There was another moment that caused Gugliemini to want to have the duals as a postseason path – national powerhouse Brandon’s “The Streak.”

Brandon High won 459 consecutive dual matches before Homestead South Dade snapped the streak in 2008 – the same year a documentary about the streak was released.

The streak, which spanned 34 years, is the longest in high school sports history.

The annual Jim Graves “Beat the Streak” duals tournament at Brandon was where it happened, and it’s where Manatee found itself competing against the Eagles in the semifinal round before South Dade ended the streak.

Now, the dual state championship dream is a reality with team state champions crowned Jan. 20 at Kissimmee Osceola High across three classifications.

Manatee features strong performers at the front and back ends of the lineup.

Football players Josh Booker (220 pounds) and Brandon Dossey (195 pounds) are unbeaten this year. Noah Wadle and Angelo Dedona are a pair of freshman 106-pounders who are quite good.

Producing a strong lineup throughout is always key, and there’s strategy to piecing together dual-match victories.

“Some of them are going to know their job might not be to win, their job is to not get pinned,” Gugliemini said. “Don’t give up six points. Only give up four or only give up three, and that definitely helps the team. That’s definitely part of it.”

After the dual state championships, the road toward the traditional wrestling district, regional and state meets that crown individual champions begins.

This story was originally published December 12, 2017 at 2:32 PM with the headline "Manatee High hosting new district dual wrestling tournament."