FWB senior Eric Stouder advances to 285-pound state title match
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KISSIMMEE — Calm, collected and giving off what Fort Walton Beach wrestling coach Tobi Marez described as a "silent confidence," Eric Stouder is one win away from what he called "a lifelong dream."
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The Fort Walton Beach senior began the second day of the 2A state wrestling championships with a 2-1 sudden-victory, quarterfinal win over Deerfield Beach's Christopher Coleman and then outmuscled Tavaris' Ari Bentley in a 9-4 semifinal victory to advance to Saturday's championship in the 285-pound class.
"I'm ecstatic," said Stouder, our most recent Florida Power & Light Athlete of the Week. "I've put in hours and hours of blood, sweat and tears, and I made it. All my hard work is paying off."
Stouder called the defensive battle against Coleman "a lot of upper-body, big-man activities." In the end, Coleman was called for a late stall call after his shoelaces were undone.
"He was a massive dude, barrel chested. I was waiting for that stall call because half the match he was just backing up," Stouder said.
Fort Walton Beach coach Tobi Marez was waiting, too.
"There was 30 seconds left in the third period, and Eric kind of drives the kid out of bounds," Marez said. "I was like, 'Hey, man, it's a stall call, and his shoes are untied. Well, the referee must've not heard me say that, so we go to sudden victory. It's the first point that wins, so they're battling in the last few seconds, and the kid picks up Eric's leg, and the side referee yells, 'Hey, his shoe laces are untied.' With four seconds left to go, we get the win."
It wasn't a matter if if he'd win, but when.
"I knew I was going to win it," Stouder said. "That's a very fun way to win a match."
The confidence stems from a full season without a loss to any 2A wrestler, including district and regional titles. Now, only last year's state runner-up stands in his way, Charlotte senior Jaxon Newton.
"He's just an all-around good wrestler. He's bigger than me, like 6-foot-5," said Stouder, who stands around 6-1 1/2. "It's going to be a good match. That's all I can say."
Stouder looks to join a select class that includes only Cedric Fairrow, who won the 220-pound state title in 2022. Matthew Sinclair nearly did last year but finished state runner-up in the 190-pound class.
Stouder's teammate, Rome Kendrick, is also still alive in the tournament and will either finish seventh or eighth on the podium tomorrow in the 215-pound class. He'll wrestle Jelani Tavares' Bentley on Saturday.
This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: Eric Stouder one win from FHSAA 2A state title at 285 pounds