- January 21, 2026
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A rowdy mass of students packed the Lakewood Ranch High gym Jan. 14 for the first in-school dual wrestling meet and they roared for every pin, rising to their feet whenever the moment felt right.
Each wrestling match began with a drumline cadence, giving a pounding pulse to the action unfolding on the mat. The crash of cymbals and drums filled the air.
These are the sights and sounds Mustangs Wrestling Coach Pat Ancil never forgot from his own high school wrestling days in Ohio. It was an atmosphere he has long wanted to recreate.
“We would just pack the gym, and I always remembered how cool that was,” Ancil said. “Your classmates could cheer you on.”
Both the Lakewood Ranch High boys and girls wrestling teams hosted Riverview to mark their first in-school dual meets. Traditionally held after school or on weekends, the contests were instead scheduled for the final two periods of the school day, bringing in a sea of students.
It wasn’t just the audience and drumline that made this occasion special. The school choir sang the National Anthem and JROTC students presented the colors.
“It’s nerve-wracking, but it’s exciting,” said the Mustangs' junior 132-pounder Nick Chop. “It was surprising we had all those people up there.”
The planning process lasted about five months. Ancil said he has been asking his administration for several years to host such a match.
So when he prepared his pitch for the 2025-26 academic year, he brought a new idea to Athletic Director Kent Ringquist. He suggested that Lakewood Ranch wrestling could be a trailblazer — in the years to come, for both wrestling and boys and girls basketball to host in-school games.
The administration was convinced.
The planning began to assemble the pieces of the pageantry Ancil wanted his wrestlers to experience. The students who attended the meet needed permission slips signed by their respective teachers and parents.
It came together Jan. 14. Before the festivities formally began at 1 p.m., Ancil sensed a different energy among his wrestlers.
“They were so excited when the students started coming into the gym,” Ancil said. “With all the noise, we couldn’t keep them in the wrestling room.”
Fourteen weight classes spanning 106 pounds to heavyweight played out among the boys in the course of just over an hour. The crowd of Lakewood Ranch students witnessed all of them.
All of them, indeed, had signed up to be there. Only some of them had attended a wrestling match in the past.
Scattered “oohs” and “aahs” rose from the stands as their classmates-turned-competitors put their best moves on display. Some took out phones to take videos to post on social media.
Girls wrestling coach Nate Lancaster embraced the role of emcee, picking up the microphone before every bout to give introductions and try to maintain enthusiasm.
“You hear the sound, but it’s different when you’ve got your headgear on,” Chop said. “It’s all funneled into one.”
The Mustang boys delivered a 60-22 victory over the Rams. The Lakewood Ranch High girls team prevailed 18-16.
The audience remained until 2:25 p.m. when the dismissal bell rang, signaling a mass exodus from the gym. Students could not be required to stay past the end of the school day, though a sparse few did stay in their seats.
At that time, the Mustangs and Rams had just begun the girls’ matches, so freshman 110-pounder Bailey Loring was Lakewood Ranch’s only girls wrestler to compete in front of a full audience.
Senior Vanessa Rodriguez-Gallo, though, still sees a long-term benefit in more visibility for the school’s girls wrestling program.
“My friends, they don’t really see this. They see me as just a regular student,” said Rodriguez-Gallo, who wrestles at 170 pounds. “Them knowing me and seeing that I can do this, and that they could do this as well — it can show other girls that it’s possible for them.”
Ancil knew the first-of-its-kind meet would put more eyes on high school wrestling, and in turn, hopes it will generate more interest. Perhaps there will be a larger turnout at next season’s tryouts.
But to him, recruiting was never the main motivation.
“It puts these kids in the spotlight,” Ancil said. “They’re out there one-on-one and everybody’s watching.”
His longtime wish was granted. After years of waiting and wanting to put his student-athletes in front of a major audience — in their home gym — his idea came to pass.
Lakewood Ranch wrestling had its historic moment.
