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Team Effort Key To Falcons' Success On Mat

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By Eric Horchy | The Suncoast News

Published: January 23, 2009

Updated:

DUNEDIN - In regards to a sport that is performed completely at the individual level during meets, Dunedin High School's year on the mat has been mostly defined by the all-around team effort of its entire wrestling roster.

A consistent, top-to-bottom scoring output from athletes in virtually every weight class is what's helping the Falcons put together one of its best seasons in school history.

Beyond losing only but three times thus far, Dunedin took home its first-ever Pinellas County Athletic Conference championship trophy earlier this month and sights have now been set upon the upcoming Feb. 7 district meet hosted by the Falcons.

Winning the conference was "real big for us because it's the first in school history," said Falcons Coach Marc Allison, in his sixth year heading the team. "It's been a coaching goal of mine since I started, but this year it was definitely one for us as a team."

Coming off last season's runner-up finish to Countryside in the PCAC, Allison said, the key to winning the 2009 title was all-around contribution. Four Falcons won their individual weights this year, as opposed to five in 2008, but 10 out of 14 wrestlers placed and all but one scored points. The combined effort allowed Dunedin to get past Dixie Hollins by 35.5 points, 205-169.5.

"I think it's largely because we have about 35 kids coming into practice every single day and they've worked extremely hard as a group," Allison said. "Even the guys who didn't compete in PCAC's were important to us winning because they were there when we were doing live wrestling and being drill partners."

Four-year wrestler Antonio Talley was one of the four conference champs this season and said the team's success is thanks to a dedicated and revved up work ethic this year.

"We've picked up the intensity a lot. I believe it's the extra conditioning we've been doing all season," Talley, a senior, said.

"We meet up early in the morning before school starts on the track to run three miles a day," Talley said. That starting time: 5:45 a.m.

"It's not mandatory, but a lot of people show up for it," he said.

Talley, who according to the nationwide high school wrestling Web site HSwrestling.net is the state's second-rated 171-pound wrestler this season, Jeremy Goodloe (125-pounds), John Cannissaro (152-pounds) and Justin Zeedyk (189-pounds) each won PCAC championships and will be looked upon to lead the Falcons through the tough district competition in February.

Springstead will enter as the field favorite and Central and River Ridge pose as formidable road blocks during Dunedin's run for the title. Playing in the Falcons' favor, though, is their stacked 2008-2009 resume of high-level competition. Earlier run-ins with top-notch programs like Manatee (twice), Countryside (twice), Osceola-Kissimmee (once) and Jupiter (once) have Dunedin grapplers well-exposed - both mentally and physically - to skilled opponents.

"We're going to come out and try to get on top of Springstead," said Talley, who is one of Allison's top senior leaders. "They've won it too many times and we're hungry. We want it."

While he does not feel completely deserving of a leadership role and being looked to for advice from less experienced teammates, Talley said, he easily expresses those characteristics when speaking about the needed mental preparation heading into a match.

"My goal personally is to just not give up in a match. I don't think a person can lose if he wrestles to his potential and just goes all out. If you get that mindset that you're not going to win or that the other dude's better than you, you're not going to get anywhere."

"Every match, every second, you want to think that you're going to own that other person."

If the mentality holds firm throughout, there may be a few more firsts coming the Falcons' way rather shortly.

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