By Kyle Coppola
Mount Dora’s Colton Fickett Reaches 100 Career Wrestling Wins
Mount Dora High School senior Colton Fickett achieved a significant milestone in his wrestling career, securing his 100th varsity victory during the 45th Annual Virginia Duals National Invitational over the weekend of Jan. 9-10 at the Hampton Coliseum.
Competing at 190 pounds for the Hurricanes, Colton reached the century mark in the TowneBank American High School Division. It was an achievement years in the making with so much hard work put in.
“I love wrestling because it’s one of the hardest sports out there and I like pushing myself,” Colton says. “It’s one of the only sports where it’s just you. There’s no team, it’s you against the person across from you. The adrenaline rush you get when you’re out there, knowing you can control what happens, that’s what I enjoy about it.”
The Hurricanes finished eighth out of 16 teams in the competitive division, which included nationally ranked programs and defending state champions from multiple states.
Mount Dora opened with a dramatic 42-41 upset over No. 21-ranked Tabb High School of Virginia, a team that had previously won one of the event’s divisions. Colton’s win was key in the come-from-behind effort, bolstered by performances from teammates David Kimmel (113 pounds), Damian Quinonez (120), Cannon Sommer (132), Jonathan Figueroa (138), Henry Vasquez (144) and Brody Jeckovich (175).
The team faced tougher opponents in later rounds, falling to No. 25 Nazareth Area High School of Pennsylvania (multiple-time Pennsylvania state champions and eventual division runners-up). The Canes also took on No. 24 Bethlehem Liberty High School of Pennsylvania and the defending Arkansas State dual meet champions Lakeside High School.
Colton went 3-1 at the tournament to lead Mount Dora individually, with Cannon Sommer posting a 2-2 record. The event offered some incredible experiences for the Hurricane wrestlers who got to compete against top-tier competition in a large arena, where college duals were also held concurrently.
Colton gives credit to Mount Dora High head coach David Kemmy for his belief in the program and the continued support he has received, “Coach David Kemmy’s mentorship has shaped my athletic career, he is amazing,” Colton says. “He knows so much and I’ve only had one other coach. Having him has been a great experience. There’s no one like him.”
“This was an eye-opening experience for our boys, one they’ll remember for the rest of their lives,” says coach David Kemmy. “Competing in a massive arena with college teams wrestling right alongside us is something special. We represented as well as we could have expected against some of the best competition in the country, and it was a tremendous learning opportunity to build on moving forward.”
Coach Kemmy has helped build the wrestling program at Mount Dora High School in Florida from scratch, transforming it into a successful team. Coach Kemmy is noted for his extensive background with the National Wrestling Coaches Association and at Roger Williams University before arriving in Mount Dora.
Congratulations to Mount Dora High on being great representatives of Lake County!
Kyle Coppola was born in Newton, Massachusetts and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communications from Curry College in 2016. After traveling to Florida on a family vacation, he decided he could not get enough of the warm weather and made the move from snowy Massachusetts to central Florida 8 years ago.
For the last decade Kyle has gained valuable experience in social media content creation, marketing and sales, writing, video production, sports announcing and even broadcasting for local radio stations, such as FM 102.9 in The Villages and FM 91.5 in Massachusetts. Every year he volunteers at The Villages Charter High School as a play-by-play sports announcer for the football games as well as a public address announcer for the basketball games, including the annual Battle at The Villages Tournament.
Outside the office Kyle is a husband and father to two beautiful girls along with their cat. In his spare time he likes to spend time with his family, travel, play golf and swim. He is also a huge sports junkie and even bigger motorsports fan and loves to attend racing events when he can.
