KISSIMMEE — It’s the state tournament, and everybody has to buckle up.
The coverage area advanced 11 wrestlers to Saturday’s competition in Class 3A, with six in the semis and five in the consi “blood round,” after Friday’s wrestling at Silver Spurs Arena.
Team-wise, Fleming Island is the top area team in 3A, standing in ninth place with 36 points. The Golden Eagles have the most semifinalists, with two in Hunter Herrington (113) and Hunter Williams (195), and one consi-side competitor in Ethan Hoffstetter (285).
Flagler Palm Coast, with Blane DeFord (160) in the semis and Bryce Dodge (170) in the consis, is 19th with 15 points.
Mandarin and Sandalwood are tied for 25th place, with 11 points. The Mustangs have Tony Carter (182) in the semis and Jameel Smith (132) in the consis, while Sandalwood’s Dante Rigal (126) is in the semis.
Creekside is 31st, with 9.5 points and two wrestlers in the consis (Hunter Brown at 170 and Bryan Fortay at 182), while Bartram Trail is a half-point back in T-32nd with one semifinalist (Ethan Vugman at 106).
Three area teams have completed competition as of Friday. Buchholz is T-37th, with six points, while Oakleaf is 51st (two) and University-Orange City is T-56th (zero).
After the first day, South Dade leads Ft Pierce Central, 78-69, with Southwest Miami third at 67.5, Osceola fourth at 52.5 and Riverdale fifth with 46.5.
Brackets from Friday’s wrestling can be found HERE.
A summary of the weight classes follows:
106
Semis: Vugman (42-4) v Christian Guzman (Columbus, 41-2); Anderson Heap (Osceola, 34-2) v Patrick Jones (Wellington, 19-0).
Blood round: Luis Acevedo (South Dade, 35-12) v Trenton Dominguez (Timber Creek, 41-8); Gabriel Tellez (Southwest Miami, 34-8) v Blane Taranto (Venice, 36-5).
Local summary: Vugman advanced to the semis behind a pair of Friday front-side wins, falling Cypress Bay’s Andrew Punzalan (42-8) in 3:16 in the round of 16, following that up with an 8-6 quarterfinal win over Taranto. Fleming Island’s Joseph Forte (33-14) was 1-2 and Buchholz’s CJ Liddie (31-20) was 0-2 Friday. Forte lost on the front to Guzman (14-0) in the round of 16, but pitched a shutout of his own in consi round 1, with a 9-0 major over Gulf Coast’s Nathan Roche (23-6). Forte then fell to region rival Dominguez, 11-0, in round 2. Liddle fell to Acevedo, 7-2, on the front, and to Riverview’s Eliezer Torres (26-11) by injury default in consi round 1.
113
Semis: Herrington (26-3) v Angelo De Dona (Manatee, 49-3); Anthony Madriz (Coral Reef, 21-6) v Adrian Morales (South Dade, 51-3).
Blood round: Brayden Johnson (Newsome, 29-5) v Nestor Echevarria (Riverdale, 24-8); Kevin Placer (Southwest Miami, 38-9) v Thomas Chrone (Venice, 32-9).
Local summary: Herrington opened with an 8-1 round-of-16 win over Johnson, then came back to fall Doral Academy’s Julian Montero (19-13) in 3:25 in the quarters. Flagler Palm Coast’s Kole Hannant (45-11) was 1-2 on Friday, with a front-side loss by fall to De Dona (:29). He came back to tech Ft Pierce Central’s Isaiah Herrington (17-14), 18-2 in 5 minutes, but then fell to Echevarria, 18-7, in consi round 2.
120
Semis: Bryce Taranto (Venice, 23-4) v Noah Wadle (Manatee, 30-4); Cooper Haase (Osceola, 40-1) v Danny Martinez (Southwest Miami, 12-0).
Blood round: Corey Gallivan (Miami Palmetto, 24-4) v Alexander Exalent (North Miami, 18-3); Jose Gutierrez (Doral Academy, 31-10) v Kobe Litov (East Lake, 35-4).
Local summary: Oakleaf’s Kevin Gilley (28-6) was 1-2 on Friday, with a front-side win over Wellington’s Sam Marvel (18-5), 5-2, in the round of 16. Gilley then lost by fall (2:48) to Haase in the quarters and to Exalent, 5-1, in consi round2. Hald fell to Palm Beach Gardens’ David Corret-jer (17-3), 14-5, in the round of 16, and then took a 10-7 loss to Exalent in consi round 1.
126
Semis: Rigal (10-0) v Dylan Sparkman (Palm Harbor University, 37-1); Nicholas Romero (Riverview, 29-8) v Robert Dusendang (Southwest Miami, 39-3).
Blood round: Gage Wiggins (Venice, 34-9) v Elijah Ortiz (Palm Beach Gardens, 15-3); Aaron Lanster (Miami Beach, 24-3) v Nate Luders (Riverdale, 29-7).
Local summary: Rigal needed just 2:12 to earn a Florida state medal on Friday, with front-side pins in the round of 16 over Wiggins (1:39) and over South Dade’s Misha Arbos (30-15) in 33 seconds in the quarters. Fleming Island’s Riley Holton (41-6) and Buchholz’s Venumadhava Mirel (37-14) were both 1-2 on Friday, while Oakleaf’s Marcus McGee (26-13) was 0-2. Holton downed Luders, 4-0, on the front, but then fell to Dusendang, 7-5, in the quarters, and then lost to Wiggins, 2-0, in consi round 2. Mirel lost, 10-0, in the round of 16 to Romero, but bounced back with a 12-2 major over Dr Krop’s Jerry Molina (25-10) in consi round 1 before falling, 8-1, to Lanster in consi round 2. McGee took a 4-0 loss on the front to Sparkman, losing by fall in the consis to Ortiz (2:26).
132
Semis: Jayden Tapia (Timber Creek, 43-6) v Russell Raabe (Ft Pierce Central, 25-1); Nikolas Hernandez (Riverview, 29-5) v Sebastian Melguizo (Southwest Miami, 41-3).
Blood round: Smith (24-3) v Gavin Buck (Columbus, 25-7); Enrique Sanchez (Doral Academy, 35-10) v Gavin Balmeceda (South Dade, 44-14).
Local summary: Smith reached the quarters with a 14-4 major in the round of 16 over Wellington’s Ethan Howard (23-3), but then fell by major, 10-1, to Melguizo. In the consis, Smith made it to Saturday with an 8-6 win over Freedom (Orlando)’s Eric Aja (20-10). Fleming Island’s Xavier Logan (28-11) was 0-2 Friday, with losses on the front to Treasure Coast’s Brinalli Brown, 20-9, fall in 3:38) and Sanchez (fall in 1:46) on the back.
138
Semis: Kamdon Harrison (Hagerty,43-6) v Alex Couto (South Dade, 49-5); Jaekus Hines (Osceola, 40-1) v Frank Lopez (Braddock, 23-3).
Blood round: Joseph Cuttitta (Palm Harbor University, 32-6) v Favian Oliva (Southwest Miami, 34-15); Gannon Wertz (North Port, 39-6) v Alex Soto (Riverdale, 33-5).
Local summary: Both Buchholz’s Timothy Bowen (34-19) and Oakleaf’s Trevor Owens (39-16) were 0-2 on Friday. Bowen lost by fall to Couto (3:17) in the round of 16 and to Olympic Heights’ Brandon Lehrman (21-5) by fall in 2:06 in consi round 1, while Owens lost by fall on the front to Lopez (2:54) and on the back to Palm Beach Gardens’ Jake Maffi (18-5) by pin in 2:13.
145
Semis: Joe Gonzalez (Winter Park, 17-0) v Adrian Neco (South Dade, 42-4); Jared Dinh (Riverdale, 23-1) v Brennon Reid (Freedom, 28-4).
Blood round: Rafael Diniz (Cypress Bay, 41-4) v Marcus Patrick (Oviedo, 7-3 as reported); Andy Fellove (Sickles, 32-5) v Quinn White (North Port, 43-6).
Local summary: Buchholz’s Aiden Moore (36-7) was 1-2 on Friday, with a front-side 5-2 win in the round of 16 over Columbus’ Dylan Mira (24-7). Moore then fell to Reid, 8-5, in the quarters, and to Diniz, 8-3, in consi round 2.
152
Semis: Gunner Holland (Osceola, 27-5) v JT Apicella (Ft Pierce Central, 14-1); Alek Chitty (Palm Harbor University, 33-2) v Cordell White (South Dade, 36-4).
Blood round: Adrian Ochoa (Southwest Miami, 36-19) v Lucas Moreno (Treasure Coast, 22-8); Erik Rodriguez (Cypress Bay, 40-3) v Alex Vazquez (Lake Mary, 9-1 as reported).
Local summary: Creekside’s Diego Rivera (17-16) and Flagler Palm Coast’s Timothy King (38-10) were both 0-2 on Friday. Rivera lost by fall on the front to Apicella (4:32) and to Riverdale’s Malachi Soto (18-5) in 16 seconds in consi round 1. King lost by a 10-1 major in the round of 16 to Moreno, taking a 5-4 loss in the consis to Miami Beach’s Jaiden Forbes (25-7).
160
Semis: Jared Purcell (Lake Mary, 9-0) v Dominic Rodriguez (Riverdale, 36-1); DeFord (11-1) v Michael Cuttitta (Palm Harbor University, 37-2).
Blood round: Brandon Moreno (Southwest Miami, 45-9) v William George (Palm Beach Gardens, 22-2); Kendrick Hodge (Coral Gables, 8-4) v Riley Orr (Ft Pierce Central, 28-2).
Local summary: DeFord took a pair of 4-1 decisions to clinch a medal on Friday, with a win in the round of 16 over North Port’s Vincent Donatelle (39-8) and a quarterfinal decision over George. Fleming Island’s David Parkes (26-7) was 1-2 and Buchholz’s Kason Nichols (47-12) was 0-2 on Friday. Parkes lost by fall on the front to Cuttitta (4:19), but came back with a pin in consi round 1 over St Cloud’s Wilfredo Martinez (18-8, fall in 1:36). Orr edged Parkes in round 2, however, by a 7-6 count. Nichols lost by fall on the front (5:41) to Rodriguez, also falling by one point in the consis (5-4) to Treasure Coast’s Jabore Brown (17-9).
170
Semis: Nicolas Giompalo (Manatee, 27-8) v Joshua Swan (South Dade, 51-3); Dominic Joyce (North Port, 46-2) v Kevin Finn (Ft Pierce Central, 27-3).
Blood round: Dodge (19-8) v Ethan Gomez (Hagerty, 36-9); Brown (33-7) v Ranson Coons (Lakewood Ranch, 41-7).
Local summary: Brown, the region champ, started off with a round-of-16 tech fall (18-1 in 5:22) over Coral Gables’ Johan Budel (20-11), but then fell in the quarters, 7-1, to Giompalo. Brown then bounced back with a takedown in sudden victory for a 2-0 overtime win in consi round 2 over Strawberry Crest’s Lex Strickland (22-11). Dodge opened with a tech fall loss to Swan (26-8 in 5:18), but then had two dominant wins in the consis over St Cloud’s Galen Drawdy (22-12, 15-0 tech in 3:18) and over Columbus’ Guy Toussaint (19-8, fall in 1:51). Fleming Island’s Joshua Sandoval (11-10) was 1-2 on Friday, with a round-of-16 loss to Toussaint (3:05). He came back to pin Vero Beach’s David Benjamin (24-17) in 1:33, but then lost by fall in consi round 2 to Coons (:32).
182
Semis: Ethan Lopez (Hagerty, 15-1) v Maxamus Kyser (Palm Harbor University, 13-3); Tylynn Lukens (Manatee, 52-1) v Carter (20-3).
Blood round: Maks Dimarov (East Lake, 33-3) v Fortay (24-6); Craig Silimon (South Dade, 47-7) v Jackson Brockett (Boone, 21-1).
Local summary: Carter clinched his medal with a pair of front-side decisions, taking down Southwest Miami’s Ansel Cervantes (35-14), 11-8, in the round of 16, and then edging Riverdale’s Jonathan Lavandera (27-10), 8-7, in the quarters. Fortay also had a front-side win, downing Coral Reef’s George Montero (23-12), 6-3, but then lost by fall in the quarters to Lukens (:30). Fortay bounced back in consi round 2 with a fall over Olympic Heights’ Isaiah Pierre (10-3) in 2:47. Flagler Palm Coast’s Marcelo Gonzalez (38-14) was 0-2 on Friday, with losses by fall on the front to Silimon (2:49) and in consi round 1 to Pierre (2:10).
195
Semis: Williams (29-3) v Nolin Eaddy (Osceola, 20-1); Steven Krantz (Ft Pierce Central, 22-3) v Sawyer Bartelt (South Dade, 33-0).
Blood round: Nathan Peoples (George Jenkins, 30-7) v Seth Suvak (Colonial, 26-4); Eldon Woolf (Riverdale, 32-8) v Keyshawn Campbell (Vero Beach, 21-5).
Local summary: Williams secured the Golden Eagles’ second guaranteed medal on Friday with two six-minute wins, starting with a 10-1 major in the round of 16 over Palm Harbor University’s Chris Greil (26-7), and then following up with a 9-4 quarterfinal win over Campbell. Buchholz’s Jason Martin was 1-2 and Oakleaf’s Isaiah Shevchook 0-2 on Friday. Martin powered past Woolf, 8-7, in the round of 16, but then lost by fall to Krantz (3:12) in the quarters and then to Suvak (1:33) in consi round 2. Shevchook lost by fall on the front to Peoples (2:36) and again in consi round 1 to Park Vista’s Nickolas Napase (17-5), 3-1.
220
Semis: Bertilus Bornelus (Hagerty, 32-3) v Edensky Phele (North Miami, 12-2); Gabriel Jacas (Ft Pierce Central, 24-4) v Christian Llauger (Coral Reef, 15-0).
Blood round: Philippe Langelier (Riverview, 27-9) v Ralph Sanchez (Apopka, 31-6); Shayne Parris (Riverdale, 19-6) v Aiden Alexander (Jupiter, 10-3).
Local summary: Fleming Island’s Grant Travis (13-8) was 1-2 on Friday; after a front-side 4-1 loss in the round of 16 to Langelier, he came back with a fall in consi round 1 over Deerfield Beach’s Kayden Pierre (16-5) in 2:11, but then fell in round 2 to Alexander, 3-2. University (Orange City)’s Christian Kennick did not compete on Friday.
285
Semis: Gerald Greaves (Dr Phillips, 18-3) v Henry Jones (Ft Pierce Central, 25-2); Mason Powell (Wellington, 13-3) v Adrian Sans (Southwest Miami, 42-8).
Blood round: Hoffstetter (25-9) v Grant Gelazin (Palm Harbor University, 35-2); Sebastian Fernandez (Strawberry Crest, 22-7) v Derrick Hart (Columbus, 26-4).
Local summary: Hoffstetter lost his first match in the round of 16 to Greaves (fall in 2:49), but came back in the consis with two max-point wins, with a forfeit over Osceola’s Cody Carter (8-7) in round 1 and fall over Ocoee’s Jordan Phillips (23-5) in round 2. Mandarin’s Andres Rodriguez (18-7) was 0-2 on Friday, with losses by fall on the front to Jones (1:10) and on the back to North Miami’s Gregory Pierrelouis (16-7, pin in 2:05).
North Florida Matmen 