Golden Gate hosts regional tonight

The Palmetto Ridge wrestling team dominated the field at last week’s Class¤1A District¤12 championships. At this weekend’s Class 1A Region 3 tournament at Golden Gate High, it likely won’t be that easy.

Regional wrestling tournaments, which last two days, begin tonight across Florida. Locally, the 1A-3 tournament kicks off today at Golden Gate, while the 2A-3 tournament begins today at Charlotte High.

Saturday’s action also begins at 10 a.m. with the championship semifinals. Consoliation finals will begin at 6 p.m. with the championship finals beginning at 7:30 p.m. The top four in each weight class qualify for next week’s state wrestling tournament at the Lakeland Center.

The Bears won their district title by 98½ points over second place LaBelle, with seven Palmetto Ridge wrestlers winning district titles. This weekend, they’ll have to line up against 1A-District 11 champion Riverdale. The Raiders won their district by 66 points and nine of their wrestlers won titles.

Palmetto Ridge’s Richie Dehnz, the District 12 130-pound champion, will try to keep his stellar undefeated season going. Dehnz, just a sophomore, is 50-0 on the season.

At Charlotte, 2A-12 champion Gulf Coast, along with Barron Collier and Lely, must face a challenging slate of teams like 2A-11 champion Charlotte, district runner-up Mariner and third place Cape Coral. All eyes will be on Gulf Coast’s undefeated 215-pounder Lee Campbell.

Campbell is 31-0 after two pinfalls gave him the district crown. He is considered by many as the top 215-pound wrestler in Class 2A and wants to add a state title to his trophy case.