Manatee High celebrates wrestling tradition at Coach Kelly challenge

The Manatee High wrestling team paid homage to one of its founders Friday night, and on Saturday the Hurricanes recognized the stellar achievements of a current member as part of the 2018 Coach Kelly Memorial Hurricane Challenge.

The dual meet featured 11 teams with powerhouse Brandon capturing its fourth straight title in a series that dates back to 1985. The Eagles went 7-0, finishing ahead of runner-up Miami Columbus (6-1) and third-place Strawberry Crest (5-2) from eastern Hillsborough County. Host Manatee tied for eighth at 2-4 with Kissimmee St. Cloud.

During a break in the action for Friday’s first three rounds, team founder Ed Goodpaster was named to the Manatee Wrestling Ring of Honor. Goodpaster, who notched 351 career wins and is in the state’s wrestling hall of fame, also coached at Tampa Chamberlain and Land O’Lakes.

On Saturday, Manatee senior Josh Booker capped a 7-0 run in the dual meet by winning the Zane Zavadil Award as the outstanding heavyweight. Booker had six pins and won a close 705 match against St. Cloud’s Fidel Lara, who he pinned last season.

“I was kind of mad at myself,” Booker said of his close match with Lara. “Most of his points were me letting him up.”

The Hurricane Challenge, renamed in 2006 after former Manatee assistant junior varsity coach and longtime wrestling official Mike Kelly passed away, initially was a tournament competition with individual champions crowned in various weight classes. In 1996, however, the series was changed to a dual format by coach Andrew Gugliemini, who in December notched his 500th career dual victory.

“I’m a team guy,” he said. “Everybody gets 7-8 matches this weekend. It’s the experience.”

Gugliemini’s former coach Phillip Upton spoke proudly of the tournament’s tradition. Upton, who coached the Hurricanes from 1977-88, scheduled the first Hurricane Challenge at Manatee Community College with every one since then held at the Manatee High gym.

“Obviously, it’s great satisfaction for me; the dream that I had to see it as a dual tournament come to fruition,” Upton said. “The fact that is still goes on is very satisfying.”

Manatee entered the weekend series with a 16-4 overall record. While acknowledging that the current squad is young, thanks to a roster that includes eight underclassmen, Gugliemini was not overly thrilled with his team’s finish.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” he said. “What I saw was a young team that made some mistakes. Hopefully, we learn from those mistakes. If they get better then we’ll be alright.”

This story was originally published January 6, 2018 at 8:05 PM with the headline "Manatee High celebrates wrestling tradition at Coach Kelly challenge."