KEYSTONE HEIGHTS - Keystone Heights High boys wrestling took a less than full team roster to the mat on Tuesday, Dec. 9, against a full Union County High squad and finished off their first home meet under a new head coach with a 42-35 win.

"I just want them to compete, learn a little more about the sport as the season goes and get a little better each time," said Keystone Heights' newest wrestling coach Jon Rechtorovic, 53, a transplant from upper New York just shy of the U.S. Army's West Point Academy. "My dad was a wrestling coach at Valley Central High School and I started wrestling at age two."

Rechtorovic humbly noted that he was a state sectional level wrestler on a team that won a team state title his senior season.

"Here in Florida, it is a little different with districts, regions and state, but up there, sectionals was the last step before state," Rechtorovic said. "My dad was a pretty good coach."

After high school, Rechtorovic played college football at Carson Newman College in Tennessee and then landed his first coaching job in Georgia.

"I played some college football, then spent 30 years coaching and teaching in Georgia," Rechtorovic said. "I got here from McMinn Central High School in Tennessee where I had a kid take fifth at state last year."

Rechtorovic, known by assistant coach Tony Contes as "Rech", brings a lifetime of wrestling to Keystone Heights and also wanted to be closer to his kids and grandkids in Florida.

"I moved here to be close to my grandkids," Rechtorovic said. "My daughter is in Green Cove Springs and my son is in Tampa."

Rechtorovic's move and getting the Indians' wrestling job was a situation of growth.

"From what I have seen, we want to build the program from like 10 guys to 14-20," Rechtorovic said. "We are going to be aggressive and get after people."

In the Union County home opener, Keystone Heights showed flashes of strong wrestling with Atreyu Contes and Mikey Gamble the most impressive on the mat, with Gamble throwing down a slick Gator roll to pin in his 138 match. Atreyu dominated his match to a quick single and turn pin in the first period as the Indians built a 30-6 lead rather quickly. Baron Bryson also pinned at 150.

"Atreyu Contes and Mikey Gamble are two strong returners and both underclassmen; Contes, a region qualifier last year as a freshman, and Gamble, a region qualifier as an eighth grader," Rechtorovic said. "One of the nice things about Keystone Heights as a seventh through 12th school is I can get kids in the wrestling room for two or three years before they hit high school varsity."

Atreyu is currently ranked 20th in Class 1A at 126.

In the next three matches, in what appeared to be Union County's football guys, Dillon Sallby highlighted his 17-0 major decision loss by twice escaping from near fall cradles as Union County pinned twice to 42-17, then got two forfeit wins to the final 42-35 tally.

In past district tournaments, Keystone Heights has fared as high as third in 2019 with a fifth last year with four region qualifiers; three returning for this season.
Keystone Heights district 5-1A lineup includes Crystal River, Pedro Menendez and Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind as top three predicted finishers on KabraWrestling.com with Keystone Heights ranked ninth in district preseason.