MELBOURNE — Deltona will have two boys wrestlers in the state tournament field.
Saturday, at the 1A-Region 2 tournament at Palm Bay, Wolves juniors Kevin Kerns (132) and Nathan Hatch (285) qualified out for the FHSAA state tournament, which begins Thursday afternoon at Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee.
Kerns took third at 132, while Hatch qualified fourth at 285 after not wrestling the 2021 post-season.
Deltona was 12th in the 31-team tournament, with 53.5 points. Seabreeze, the other coverage-area team, was 16th with 40.
Host Palm Bay ran away with the title, rolling up 212 points as a team. Hernando was second (153), followed by McKeel Academy (125), Villages (106.5) and Tenoroc (103.5).
A summary of Saturday follows —
106
Championship: Palm Bay junior Logan Delos Santos (45-9) won twice, with a 15-3 major over Central, Brooksville senior Eric Hurley in the semis and a 9-5 win in the final over Mulberry sophomore Jonathan Espinosa (40-4). Espinosa pinned his way into the final, with a semis pin over Hernando sophomore Kyle Pearson (4:58).
3rd place: Hurley (30-7) pinned his way back to third, with pins over Villages’ Devinn Dunn (3:33) and Pearson (4:09). Pearson (37-13) secured his state space with a blood-round fall (3:50) over Space Coast’s Ashton Swanson.
113
Championship: Satellite junior Alex McMiller (41-5) bonus-pointed through the day, with a 15-1 major in the semis over Mt Dora’s Jackson Sommer and a championship pin (2:51) over Crystal River junior Blaine Reed. Reed (41-2) picked up his third pin of the region with a semifinal fall (1:03) over McKeel’s Jackson Lietz.
3rd place: After a quarterfinal loss to Reed, Space Coast senior Raider Morelli (38-5) had four bonus-point wins in the consis, with Saturday victories over Leesburg’s Cameron Dillon (pin in 1:30), Sommer (pin in :47) and Hernando junior Jordyn Valle, 15-3, for third. Valle (27-10) also had three consi-side pins to qualify out, with pins over Weeki Wachee’s Anthony D’Angleo (2:02) and Lietz (:51).
120
Championship: Palm Bay senior Shaver Jackson (37-4) opened the day with a semifinal pin (2:49) over First Academy 8th-grader Clint Plotner, then pushed past Hernando junior TJ Rodier, 5-2, to win the title. Rodier (45-5) decisioned Space Coast’s Anthony Edwards, 5-1, to reach the final.
3rd place: Plotner max-pointed in the consis, with a blood-round fall over Mt Dora’s Manuel Quinonez (3:00) and injury-default win for third over Tenoroc junior Brandon Coleman. Coleman (38-14), who’d lost in sudden victory in the quarters to Plotner, won three times in the consis, including Saturday wins over Leesburg’s Aidan Cooper (6-5) and Edwards (7-5 in sudden victory).
126
Championship: Tenoroc junior Kris Hunter (52-7) had his third bonus-point win in the semis (2:34) over Villages’ Blaise Nelson, then came back with a 12-7 win in the final over Bishop Moore junior Mason Medina. Medina (31-4) reached the title match behind a 9-3 semis win over Satellite sophomore Anthony Dicks.
3rd place: Dicks (42-11) won a pair of 6-minute matches in the consis, with an 18-10 major over Hernando’s Cael Phillips in the semi and a 10-3 decision over Weeki Wachee junior Ashton Breeding. Breeding (34-11), who’d lost by injury default to Dicks in the quarters, won three consi-side matches, with Saturday wins over McKeel’s Jean Benavidez (12-5) and Nelson (pin in :32). Deltona’s Kyle Yasses fell in the consi quarters, taking a 4-3 loss to Phillips.
132
Championship: Palm Bay junior Ronald Theilacker (46-7) bonus-pointed through the tournament, with Saturday pins in the semis over Weeki Wachee’s Lane Beck (3:05) and in the championship match over Hernando junior James Gadson (:59). Gadson (42-9) edged Master’s Academy senior Dominic Rubino, 6-5, in the top-half semi.
3rd place: Kerns (44-9), who’d lost in sudden victory (9-7) to Rubino in the quarters on Friday, pinned his way back to the medal round, with Saturday falls over Satellite’s Blaze Holly (4:36) and Beck (2:21), then scored late in the third for a 3-1 win over Rubino (23-14), who’d advanced to state after a 5-4 win over Seabreeze senior Joseph Kent. Kent, the only wrestler in the tournament not to be pinned by Theilacker, got to the blood round after a 48-second pin over McKeel’s Cade Beke.
138
Championship: After a walkover forfeit in the semis, First Academy junior Daniel Ward (27-6) found a takedown in sudden victory for a 7-5 championship win over Cocoa Beach sophomore William Day. Day (50-10) reached the final with a 5-0 semis win over Hernando senior Diego Mojica.
3rd place: Mojica (38-9) bonus-pointed to third, with consi-side wins over Tenoroc’s Wes Booker (9-0 major) and Mulberry senior Kristian Abercrombie (pin in 2:21). Abercrombie won three times on the back after a quarterfinal loss by pin to Day, with Saturday wins over Bishop Moore’s Gabriel Romano (pin in 1:14) and a walkover in the consi semi.
145
Championship: Master’s Academy sophomore Brandon Cody (43-4) bonus-pointed into the final, with a Saturday semis TF (21-5 in 5:25) over Space Coast’s Caeden Hadry, then shut out Palm Bay junior Nathan Furman, 3-0, for the title. Furman (42-9) pushed past District 8 rival and Satellite sophomore Ryan Beirne, 5-1, to get to Cody.
3rd place: Beirne (39-8) earned two bonus-point wins on the back, with a blood-round TF (18-2 in 3:11) over Mulberry’s Thomas Danielson and a third-place pin over McKeel freshman Bradley Torres in 2:53. Torres (48-17), who’d lost by quarterfinal TF to Furman, powered through three consi-side decisions, including Saturday wins over Seabreeze’s Hayden Herndon and Space Coast’s Hadry by identical 9-5 scores.
152
Championship: After a 19-5 semifinal win over Leesburg senior Dominic Delgado, Master’s Academy senior Michael Shannon (42-2) won the title by forfeit over Palm Bay junior Avery Jackson (26-8), who advanced to the final by disqualification over Tenoroc senior Leighton Tinch.
3rd place: Tinch (35-5) pinned his way back to third, with falls in the semis over McKeel’s Deacon Warren (:29) and for third place over Delgado (31-7). Delgado (31-7) punched his Kissimmee ticket with a blood-round fall (2:49) over Astronaut’s Darren Brazale.
160
Championship: After pinning his way into the final, including a Saturday semi pin over Villages junior Kevin Coon (1:40), McKeel senior Vish Williams (49-4) took a 7-4 decision in the final over Palm Bay junior Brycen Turner. Turner (39-9) bonus-pointed into the final, with a 17-6 major over Central, Brooksville’s Peyton Chancey to go with his two Friday pins.
3rd place: Coon (51-6) also pinned his way back to third, with falls in the consi semis over Mt Dora’s Anthony Dawson (1:29) and for third place over Nature Coast senior Caleb Murray (1:45). Murray (36-7), who’d lost in round 1, had to win four consi-side matches to get out, with Saturday wins over Space Coast’s Samson Tootle (pin in 4:18) and over Chancey, 6-4, in the blood round.
170
Championship: Satellite junior Michael McCarthy needed just 5:03 of combined mat time to win the title, pinning through all four rounds, with Saturday falls in the semis over McKeel junior Owen McKeel (1:53, his longest match of the tournament) and in the championship over Weeki Wachee junior Sam Daniels in 50 seconds. Daniels (34-9) advanced to the final afer a 10-9 semifinal win over Space Coast’s Allen Wasmund.
3rd place: McNabb (41-6) bonus-pointed his way back to third, with a fall over Atlantic’s Noah Anderson (:56) in the consi semis and a 9-1 major over Hernando senior Nate Greene for third. Greene (41-12), who’d lost by fall to McCarthy in the quarters, won three times to punch his Kissimmee ticket, with Saturday wins over Crystal River’s Jayden Jobe (pin in 3:13) and over Wasmund (15-4 major).
182
Championship: Villages senior Jaden Markus (42-3) bonus-pointed to the championship, with a fall in the semis (5:10) over Space Coast freshman Mason Alsobrook and a 16-5 major in the title round over McKeel senior Wayne Campbell. Campbell (51-5) got to Markus after surviving an 11-10 semifinal win over Palm Bay sophomore Octavion Osby.
3rd place: Osby (42-9) won by fall twice in the wrestlebacks, with pins over Mulberry’s Abel Manville (2:24, semis) and over Alsobrook (2:48), his District 8 rival, for third place. Alsobrook (24-16) pinned Tenoroc’s Isai Rivera in 1:22 to qualify out; Alsobrook had falled Rivera in 1 minute in round 1 on Friday.
195
Championship: After pushing past Palm Bay senior Caleo Carrera, 6-5, in the semis, Villages senior Izaiah Jauma (45-4) had an easier go in the final against Space Coast junior Jaydon Sheely, winning by third-period TF (21-5 in 4:18). Sheely (40-9) advanced to state on his third 1st-period pin of the tournament, pinning Mt Dora’s Russell Fickett in 1:48 in the bottom-half semi.
3rd place: Carrera (41-9) took a pair of decisions in the consis, with a 7-1 win over Lake Region’s Javarious Johnson in the semi, followed by a 4-0 win for third over McKeel junior Ben Lietz. Lietz (55-8), who entered the consis after a 3-2 quarterfinal loss to Carrera, won three times on the back, including Saturday wins over Crystal River’s Thomas Hughes (5-0) and by medical forfeit over Fickett. Deltona’s Nate Tsang lost by fall to Johnson (2:57) in the consi quarters.
220
Championship: Tenoroc junior Darian Gillins (54-6) pinned his way into the final, including a Saturday semifinal pin (4:58) over Seabreeze’s Pedro Sierra-Bonilla, then found a takedown in sudden victory for a 3-1 championship win over Crystal River sophomore Tim Gray. Gray (43-7) reached the final behind a top-half semifinal 12-6 decision over Mulberry junior Keontay Smith.
3rd place: Lake Region sophomore Omarion James (19-9), who’d lost by fall in the quarters to Gray, won four consi-side matches to rally back to third, with Saturday wins over Astronaut’s Corey Shugg (8-2), over Sierra-Bonilla (12-2) in the blood round, and then over Hernando junior Jayshawn Nantce, 5-1, in the medal round. Nantce (41-9), who’d lost by pin to Sierra-Bonilla in the quarters, had three consi-side wins, with a Saturday pin (4:28) over Villages’ Garrett Harrison in the quarters and a 7-5 sudden-victory win over Smith in the semis.
285
Championship: Palm Bay senior Carlos Gerardino (42-1) max-pointed into the final, with a Saturday semifinal fall over Hatch (:47), then escaped out from bottom for a 2-1 ultimate-tiebreaker win over Hernando junior Devin Williams. Williams (38-5) got to Gerardino with his third 1st-period pin of the weekend, pinning Mulberry senior Joquorius Taylor (1:50) in the semis.
3rd place: Taylor (44-4) won by fall twice in the consis, with a consi-semi pin (:59) over Weeki Wachee’s Riley Henchey and a third-place fall (2:19) over Hatch. Hatch (42-12), who’d won by fall twice on Friday, added a third pin in the blood round to punch his Kissimmee ticket, pinning Cocoa’s Blake Shaffer in 58 seconds.
Brackets for this region and all four regions in 1A can be found HERE.
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