LAKELAND — Saturday, Feb. 21, 2009, 6:53 p.m. A year from now, will you remember where you were?

Craig Barker will, and he will remember it always. That’s precisely the moment he became a state champion – the first one in the history of Citrus’ wrestling program.

Competing in the 119-pound weight class at the FHSAA Class 1A State Finals at the Lakeland Center, Barker, a senior, had about eight hours to prepare for his championship bout after beating Riverdale’s Alex Paraschuk in the semifinals earlier in the day. Facing Barker in the final would be Cardinal Gibbons’ Domingo Simmons, undefeated at 39-0.

Simmons wouldn’t leave that way.

Tied at zero after two periods, Barker took the bottom position to start the third and managed a quick escape, taking a 1-0 lead. Shortly after, the official called Barker for stalling and awarded a point to Simmons. With 30 seconds remaining, Barker made his move, going for a double leg takedown and maneuvering Simmons to the mat for two points that would win him the state title in the last match of his high-school career – a 3-1 victory.

“He came out banging hard, so I started banging on him a little bit,” Barker said of Simmons. “I felt him lift up … and I was there.

“I had it in my head all year I was going to win it,” he said.

Last season, Barker’s former teammate Bryant Fisher took his 119-pound state final to overtime before losing under controversial circumstances. Barker said he was sparked in his quest for a title partly by revenge.

“I’m the first wrestling champion from Citrus,” he said, “but I should be the second.”

All season long, Citrus head coach Mike Porcelli never backed off his assertion that Barker, who placed fourth in the state last year at 112, would take home a first-place ribbon this time around. When his prediction came true, Porcelli gushed with pride but also knew it meant the end of Barker’s time with the program.

“We always had that synergy together,” Porcelli said. “And it was very emotional because, hey, I’m not going to be his coach anymore.

“I’ve been coaching for a long, long time, and he may be one of the slickest, most complete wrestlers I’ve ever had,” he said. “He has a great passion for the sport, and all the great champions have that.

“To put something up on that (wrestling room) wall where it was blank is really a wonderful thing for the program.”

Barker, who finishes his senior season with a record of 43-1, said Divison I programs Boston University and Applachian State, among others, had expressed interest in his wrestling skills.

“He can do it, he has a big upside,” Porcelli said. “It’s just the tip of the iceberg.”

Barker’s historic victory was the leading light on a day when a total of three county wrestlers took the podium.