FLEMING ISLAND – After a knockout performance at a recent wrestling tournament against the Georgia three-time defending wrestling champions, Fleming Island High wrestling coach P.J. Cobbert is promising his team some rugged days this week as area grapplers prep for the upcoming AAU Scholastic Duals National Wrestling Championships in Orlando June 11-16.

In 2016, 130 teams from 20 states competed at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex with Fleming Island and Oakleaf both sending teams.

“We’re going to run them a bit more, have some tough sessions and then target for Monday,” said Cobbert, who got a second place Class 3A finish to state power South Dade High in the recent FHSAA state meet. “I think the kids on this team are motivated to know that our system is a machine right now pumping out good wrestlers at all level. With that comes the pressure to perform on the big state and Disney is that stage.”

Cobbert has made his North Florida Wrestling Academy, located off College Avenue in Orange Park, open to all comers for training and mat time and looks to add numbers to the fold as the summer progresses.

Considered the national duals championship event of the year, the AAU Scholastic Duals is a five-day slugfest of competition pitting teams from as far as Oregon and New Jersey with midwest powers from Ohio, Indiana and Illinois as well as southeastern powers like Camden County, the aforementioned Georgia state champions and also Brandon, a nationally-ranked program for at least a decade in Florida.

“I think we have a better team going this year by about 40 points,” said Cobbert. “We lost some tough ones last year at Disney and fell to seventh when we were in the mix for the top spot. This team pushed the envelope to get 100 points at the state meet behind South Dade. Now, we are going after a Disney title.”

In preparation for the AAU Scholastic Duals, area teams have been traveling to get in last-minute tournament level competition and also high-intensity training partners in the area. Camden County visited the Fleming Island High gym on Saturday for a session while both Fleming Island and Camden County both traveled to south Florida’s Southeastern University in Lakeland for a duals matchup against each other plus three other teams.

Fleming Island, with state champion Jason Davis and a host of state medal teammates including third placer Paul Detwiler and upper weight stalwarts Ryan Smenda, Jose Concepcion, plus Middleburg High heavyweight Bailey Barnard, dominated the field with an unbeaten slate including a four-point win over Camden County. The Camden County win was energized by a last-second pin by 182 wrestler Anthony Breeden who upset Camden state qualifier RJ Woodard prior to Davis, Smenda and Concepcion dominating their final matches.

Davis, Smenda and Detwiler were all unbeaten and pinned throughout the meet to push their names up as top contenders at Disney. Cobbert noted that his add-on wrestlers, teams are allowed three, will be Brandon Dickman, who returns out of Creekside High School from last year’s War Eagles team after placing third in Class 2A at 170, Jaquan English, a newcomer and state qualifier at 126 out of 1A-Raines High School and Nate Ferkovich of Lake Brantley, who was state runnerup at 170 in Class 3A to Southwest Miami’s Angel Delcueto.

In 2016, the War Eagles of Fleming Island, now the North Florida Wrestling Academy, finished seventh overall in the Community I division (Big Schools) after a fourth place finish in their Pool competition against teams from Brownsburg (IN) Purple, Perry Meridian (IN) Blue and Pierre (SD) Governors.

Liberty (OH) Patriots was team champions with Brownsburg second and Perry Meridian third. PA Rampage took fourth with Flagler fifth and Social Circle (Ga) sixth.

In the championship bracket, Fleming Island lost a close 31-28 match to PA Rampage in the quarterfinals and got stung by state-rival Flagler Palm Coast 30-28 in the consolation semifinals before defeating Naperville Phoenix in the match for seventh place.

For the War Eagles, Jason Davis finished unbeaten at 14-0 with Albie Snedaker, Paul Detwiler and Smenda all going 12-2.

Oakleaf High’s Knights wrestling club, coached by Wes Champs, got a rugged match against Fleming Island three weeks ago at Buchholz, but answered with their own tournament a week later with Ridgeview, Suwannee, West Nassau, Yulee and some Camden County wrestlers competing.

Champs said he is bringing a full team minus a 195 pound wrestler with Ethan Gustillo and Isaiah Graham running unbeaten records for their tournament.

In 2016, in their first Disney Duals, Oakleaf took 10th in their pool competition. Unfortunately, Oakleaf’s Pool lineup included eventual national champion Liberty (OH) Patriots. Oakleaf battled through one of the roughest pool matchups of the tournament and finished with a 41-33 close loss in their final pool match that led to a 36-33 consolation bracket win over eventual consolation round third placer Austintown Fitch B out of Ohio.

Competing with the Oakleaf squad will be, from Orange Park High, Nartorian Lee, second in 2A at 170, and Tyler Dehart. Oakleaf will have their regular lineup including Ryan Rosano, Ethan Gustillo, Isaiah Graham, Trent Carroll and Donovan Gray. From Middleburg, Cody Eastwood will join the team. Champs will also have three eighth graders from Oakleaf Junior High and two freshman wrestlers.

In the Community Division II (small school) competition, Clay, with a lineup filled with state medalists and placers from the Clay High team and also Suwannee High, placed second in pool play behind the Rootstown (OH) Raiders after a 35-25 loss before finishing second in championship bracket play behind Tomahawk (OH) Wrestling, the eventual national champions.

In the championship bracket, Clay defeated Rootstown 35-22, but lost a tough 41-22 match to Tomahawk in round four.

Clay, according to coach Jim Reape, will be heading to New Orleans for the Jazz Town Wrestling Duals on June 17-18. The team list for the Jazz Town event includes Clay, Bayou Elite (TX), Camden County (GA), Rayne (LA), Oklahoma Rampage, Granite City (IL), Riverdale (FL), Niceville (FL) and Springstead (FL).