LONGWOOD — The inaugural Seminole Athletic Conference girls’ tournament was staged on Saturday, with Lake Mary emerging as its initial team champion.
The Lady Rams outpointed Hagerty, 68-62, for the team title, with Lake Brantley third (57), Seminole fourth (52), Oviedo fifth (47), Winter Springs sixth (16) and Lake Howell seventh (14).
Here’s a summary of the day —
105: It might have been only a two-person bracket, but the one match in it was pretty wild, with six nearfall situations (four one way, two the other), as Lake Brantley’s Vanessa Martin-Soto held off being put to her back twice by Oviedo’s Camryn Harber in taking a 19-15 decision.
110: Oviedo’s Amy Trevino was the only girl to weigh in, earning her conference title as soon as she made weight.
115: In a two-person bracket, Lake Mary’s Jocelyn Higgins gave up first takedown, but rallied quickly thereafter, reversing and eventually pinning Hagerty’s Karson Cuozzo in 1:29 for the championship.
120: In a two-person bracket, returning state placer Brianna Pena of Seminole had scoring moves in both the first and second periods, with a first-period 3-point turn prior to falling Lake Mary’s Sarah Cutter in 2:36.
125: Hagerty’s Megan Kaplan pinned her way through the bracket, with a fall over Seminole’s Michelle Lopez (3:14, semis) and a 43-second pin of Lyman’s Kaylee Holloway for the title. Holloway reached the final with a second-period fall (3 minutes) over Lake Mary’s Savannah Strickland. Lopez went on to pin Strickland (1:23) for third.
135 (no wrestlers at 130): Seminole’s Isabelle Martin also won twice for her bracket, with a semifinal pin (1:38) over Oviedo’s Jana El’harake, followed by a 13-6 decision over Winter Springs’ Mathewa Casseus in the final. Martin trailed early in the second after being put to back, but rallied with three scoring moves down the stretch, as well as a pair of turns, to secure the win. El’harake rallied back for third, repeating her quarterfinal pin over Lake Mary’s Olivia Boni with a second fall in 1:55.
140: Defending state champ Jada Llamido of Hagerty needed just 1 minute to rack up two pins, with falls in the semis over Seminole’s Tatiana Louisius (:30) and over Lake Howell’s Ava Barhorst (:30) in the final. In that timeframe, Llamido had a pair of takedowns and 2-point turn. Barhorst got to Llamido with a second-period pin (2:40) over Oviedo’s Delaney Graves in the semis; Graves, in turn, rallied for third with a fall (2:06) over Louisius.
145: In a three-person bracket, Lake Brantley’s Lanyla Hudspeth won twice by fall, with pins over teammate Emily Song (1:51, semis) and Hagerty’s Megan Dathe (2:57, final). Hudspeth scored in both periods, picking up the fall after a second-period reversal out. Dathe had a bye into the final, and Song had a bye for third.
155: Lake Mary’s Taylor Chavers was the only girl to weigh in, earning her conference title as soon as she made weight.
170: Similarly to her teammate at 155, Lake Mary’s Tayla Sutton was the only girl to weigh in, taking her title at the scale.
235: Lake Brantley’s Marcela Maya-Escalana also was the only wrestler to weigh in at her weight class.
Full brackets from the tournament can be found HERE.
North Florida Matmen 