Lakewood Ranch wrestler finishes third at state tournament

Lakewood Ranch High senior wrestler Ranson Coons was not going to let a shoulder injury wreck his medal chances. 

Coons felt pain in his left shoulder following his last win at the Mustangs' 3A district meet in the 182-pound division. The pain lingered into the Florida High School Athletic Association state tournament, held March 3-5 at Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee, but Coons didn't once consider not competing. Coons was cleared by doctors and told it would be a pain tolerance issue. 

Coons (54-4) tolerated it well enough to earn a third-place medal, defeating Newsome's Peyton Turner (48-11) by technical fall in the consolation finals. His lone loss at states came against Mandarin's Tony Carter (34-2), who took a 7-6 decision in the first round. Coons would get his revenge on Carter in the consolation bracket, beating him by fall to reach the consolation finals. 

Other podium results from the boys state tournament: 

• Braden River junior Jessey Colas finished seventh in Class 2A's 160-pound division
• Braden River sophomore Grady Murphy finished seventh in Class 2A's 106-pound division
• Braden River senior Dylan Howard finished eighth in Class 2A's 145-pound division 

In the girls state tournament, Braden River sophomore Giovanna Coppola — the lone East County participant — did not reach the podium in the 125-pound division but did beat South Dade senior Rocio Riol in the consolation bracket.