LAKELAND, Fla.—Ranked eighth in the Wednesday's edition of the NAIA Wrestling Coaches' Top 20 Poll, Southeastern heads into its 13
th dual match of the season this weekend.
The Fire take on St. Andrews Saturday at Osceola HS in Kissimmee, where coach
Javier Maldonado wrestled, and later coached. The match will happen during the first Florida High School Athletic Association dual state championships.
Six SEU wrestlers will have a chance to watch their alma mater compete in the dual championships.
In addition to the team ranking, the Fire currently have nine wrestlers ranked in their respective weight class.
For Southeastern,
Jason Davis has gone 7-2 over his last nine bouts, splitting time between 184 and 197. He was unbeaten in duals against Huntingdon and Greensboro, and went 2-1 during the Fire Duals last Saturday. Davis is 11-4 on the season, posting the second best win percentage (.733) on the team among wrestlers with at least 15 matches.
Matthew Cates and
Angel del Cueto help solidify the middle of the SEU lineup at 165. Cates has posted a team-best 15 wins, and leads the team in win percentage at .789. Additionally, the freshman has gone 4-0 since the calendar moved to 2018. Classmate del Cueto is 13-5 on the year, bouncing back from an 0-2 showing at the Desert Duals to go 2-0 at last Saturday's Fire Duals.
St. Andrews is looking for its first dual meet victory of the season. The Knights suffered a 39-11 loss at Reinhardt on Saturday, getting major decisions from Brennan Patton at 133, and Aaron Vaughan at 285. Vaughan is now 5-1 on the season, and Patton is second on the team in wins with six. Noah Walker picked up his team-leading seventh win of the season at 149 with an 11-8 decision.
Updates will be provided through Twitter by following @SEUFireWrestle, as well as on Trackwrestling. Live video will be available on SEUFire.com/watch.
