Untitled 1

Fini

Morris Fitness nips Manatee 40-37 to win the 2019 Jazz Town Duals

June 27th, 2019 | Written by: Editor

The two teams that reached the finals could not have been more evenly matched, being that had any one of several things gone Manatee's way, they could have tied or won. Had Manatee tied the match, they would have won via the first tie-breaking criteria as they won eight of the 15 matches (the criteria count forfeits received, injury defaults and disqualifications as wins).

If the two forfeits they gave resulted in only one fall and a three-point decision for Morris Fitness, the two teams would have tied. Had Manatee won either of those matches, they would have won. In the last match of the night, had Lukens pinned Wheeler instead of winning 4-2, the two teams would have tied. If Nelson did not have the injury default and lost by a regular decision, the two teams would have tied. Had he come back from the 2-0 first period deficit to win the match, Manatee would have won.

None of those scenarios in which Manatee tied or defeated Morris Fitness would have mattered if Manatee's Angelo Dedona, who trailed Tyler Nelson 7-1 after the first period, and 9-6 after the second period, did not tie the score at 9-9 at the end of regulation. After that Dedona did not allow Nelson to score in the next two-and-a-half minutes of overtime periods, whereas in the Ultimate Tie-breaker round, he scored a one-point escape for a 10-9 win.

Appropriately, the tournament's two Outstanding Wrestler award winners came from competitors in this match. Branden Sauls of Morris Fitness won in the lower weight classes and Willie Lampkin of Manatee won in the heavier weight classes.

Photos and match-by-match scoring: