Outdoor Wrestling

The temperatures hovered in the mid-50s.

Fans wore hooded sweatshirts, and some brought blankets for added comfort. They carried lawn chairs in case the seating that was provided on the track surrounding Lake Highland's football field was not sufficient.

As they gazed at the scene in front of them two days after Thanksgiving, what they saw was unique.

Wrestling mats, 16 in all, placed end zone to end zone.

"Having a tournament like this outdoors under the lights gives it such a different feel,'' said Richard Jenkins, the father of Lake Highland wrestler William Jenkins. "The atmosphere is more electric.''

No doubt. Twenty-four high school teams and 450 wrestlers in all competed in the "O-town Showdown,'' a two-day tournament that was moved out of the school's gym for the first time. In conjunction with the event, USA Wrestling hosted a children's tournament for ages 5-12.

"I'm trying to grow Central Florida wrestling,'' Lake Highland coach Mike Palazzo said. "Hopefully the parents and kids have a good time and see how cool a sport wrestling is.''

Said Oviedo's Chase Gordon, who won the Class 3A 140-pound state title last year and went 8-0 last weekend: "This was a great idea for a wrestling tournament. It was more exciting outdoors.''

The vibe was certainly different. About 800 to 1,000 fans attended, which is 300-500 more than a normal meet in the gym, Palazzo said.

Oviedo edged Winter Springs for the team championship. Besides those schools and Lake Highland, other area schools that competed included West Orange, Lyman, Liberty, Celebration, Cypress Creek, Olympia, Lake Howell, Freedom, Poinciana and Boone.

"It's like a little festival," Palazzo said. "We've got food vendors; the Marines are here."

Said Winter Springs wrestler Matt Nereim: "The atmosphere outdoors is more exciting and sometimes [more] chaotic than wrestling indoors."

Why wouldn't it be? Consider that in a gym, a regulation basketball court -- roughly the area used for wrestling -- is 94 feet long. That's about a third the size of the field that was covered in mats this past weekend. And more activity means more to see.

Still there were some obstacles. One wrestler complained of the sun getting in his eyes during a daytime match, and mats sometimes would get damp because of the cool temperatures.

"We plan to work out some of the kinks for next year," Palazzo said.

Still, most left satisfied.

"I think this tournament will help to shed light on the sport," said Ken Ray, whose son, Corey, is a freshman wrestler for Oviedo. "My son was really excited to participate."

He was not alone.