Category: STATE IBTS

We know who won states in 1A & 2A last week.

Jensen Beach & Lake Gibson.

But we also like to toss around ideas about the state tournament, that this region is the best, or no, that region is top-heavy but isn’t the best top-to-bottom.

And the little kid-baseball-stats-nerd-turned-wrestling-writer-stats-nerd loves these kinds of discussions.

So, which region “won” each of the four state tournaments?

These numbers might help start the discussion for Classes 1A & 2A.

There’s two ways to evaluate which region “won” each state tournament — points and qualifiers (with medals broken down). The breakdowns for 1A & 2A follow.

Class 1A

Points:

• 1. Region 4 658.
• 2. Region 3 453.
• 3. Region 1 388.5.
• 4. Region 2 315.5.

Medals:

• 1. Region 4 36 (10 1st, 5 2nd, 5 3rd, 1 4th, 5 5th, 2 6th, 6 7th, 2 8th).
• 2. (tie) Region 1 26 (1 1st, 3 2nd, 2 3rd, 4 4th, 6 5th, 4 6th, 3 7th, 4 8th).
• 2. (tie) Region 3 26 (2 1st, 6 2nd, 3 3rd, 4 4th, 2 5th, 3 6th, 4 7th, 2 8th).
• 4. Region 2 23 (1 1st, 4 3rd, 5 4th, 1 5th, 5 6th, 1 7th, 6 8th).

From the notes above, it’s pretty clear. South Florida is running the show, or #TheShow if you will, in Class 1A.

Class 2A

Points:

• 1. Region 3 614.5.
• 2. Region 2 481.5.
• 3. Region 1 412.
• 4. Region 4 240.

Medals:

• 1. Region 3 37 (7 1st, 6 2nd, 4 3rd, 5 4th, 4 5th, 4 6th, 4 7th, 3 8th).
• 2. Region 1 32 (1 1st, 1 2nd, 4 3rd, 5 4th, 7 5th, 3 6th, 3 7th, 8 8th).
• 3. Region 2 28 (6 1st, 2 2nd, 5 3rd, 4 4th, 1 5th, 6 6th, 3 7th, 1 8th).
• 4. Region 4 15 (5 2nd, 1 3rd, 2 5th, 1 6th, 4 7th, 2 8th).

Some curious things there. Region 3, covering SW Florida, is clearly stronger, but who’s next is a curious question. Region 2, with its hammers at the top of the state standings, had more points thanks to those hammers, but Region 1 having nearly 15% more medals suggests slightly-stronger depth.

We will have girls’ and 3A breakdowns on another post.

By MATMEN, Tuesday, 9:05 p.m.

KISSIMMEE — In the 2016 FHSAA 2A state tournament, Gainesville’s Traevon O’Neal shocked the world by clamping the Ryland Wagner-trained cradle upon Lake Gibson’s Diamante Perry — a future Division I wrestler — in the 113-lb championship match.

O’Neal was the last city of Gainesville state champion in the sport.

Until Saturday night, that is, when the city could claim not one, but two champs. And, next year, one of those two will be returning.

Buchholz senior Kason Nichols (195) and junior Cavarius Liddie (132) both ran the gauntlet of Class 3A wrestlers in their respective weight classes to bring state championships back to Gainesville after mounting the top step of the podium at Silver Spurs Arena.

But the Bobcat pair were not the only state champions to represent Region 1, as Bartram Trail’s Ethan Vugman brought back the first St Johns County state championship, on the boys’ side of the sport, since the late Shane Carpenter did so for Creekside in 2013.

Vugman was the first area wrestler to take the big stage in the 126 final, where he had a rematch of last year’s 120 final against Steinbrenner’s Colin Bradshaw. Where last year the match was wrestled at Bradshaw’s pace, Saturday night was almost exclusively at Vugman’s direction, with an offseason victory over Bradshaw certainly informing his approach. After a scoreless first period, Vugman scored first with a reversal 11 seconds into the second, and he then applied a tough rider for the rest of the second and most of the third. Bradshaw was able to get out, but Vugman had the superior strength advantage, and used it for a 2-1 win and his first state championship, to go with being a four-time state qualifier and three-time placer (4th at 113 in 2021 to go with the runnerup finish last year).

“This time, I was more used to the moment,” Vugman said of his more-composed approach in holding off the lankier Bradshaw’s attacks. “I knew I had the ability to win that match. I’d watched last year’s match over and over again. Winning in the offseason 100 percent made me understand I’m better than this kid. Winning this title and getting 200 (career) wins (during the course of state weekend), it’s the best thing ever. I’ll be going to (the University of) Florida and wrestle on the club team, and I’m excited for that.”

A couple of weights later, it would be Liddie, now a three-time qualifier and two-time placer (3rd last year at 126), who took on defending 3x placer and 2020 champion Danny Martinez of Southwest Miami in the 132 final. Liddie got first takedown 18 seconds into the match and held the lead into the second, only to see Martinez briefly surge ahead with a takedown of his own. Liddie would reverse out, and take the lead on an escape early in the third, but Martinez would regain the lead with 1:20 left and appeared to be on his way to a second title, but Liddie took advantage of a tiny opening to reverse out for the lead, then riding for a 7-6 win.

“Monday (before state),” Liddie said, upon being asked how soon he felt like a title was really possible. “Coaches texted me, telling me, ‘you could win a state title, and I believed them. He (Martinez) pinned me in the first period at Danny Byron. It was my first loss of the season, and getting that first loss really does something to you. Teammates and coaches and family, they all believed in me, they all said I could do it, and I became more confident every match.”

Later in the evening, it would be Nichols’ turn to try for the Bobcat double. After three earlier attempts (2-2 and Saturday qualifier at 132 in 2020, 0-2 at state 160 two years ago and a loss in last year’s blood round), with some good results but not some of the spectacular showings he flashed in his freshman year, he came back more re-energized for his final post-season, capping it off with an 11-5 decision over previously-unbeaten John Roberts of Vero Beach, in which Nichols had four takedowns and a quick turn late in the second period, allowing Roberts only escapes.

“This year I was finally able to push past the boundaries I’d set for myself, I was more able to unlock what I could do,” Nichols said. “After only going 1-2 (at state) last year, I knew I had to change my perspective. It took a lot of work. It was more mental than physical work, honestly, but I’d been OK with winning matches 2-1. I needed to work to dominate, to go after it, score more points, hit more scoring moves.”

The two championship runs, plus the performance of the rest of the Bobcats’ state-qualifying group, did enough to push Buchholz into the top 10 in the overall team standings, as the Bobcats were eighth with 58 points.

Hagerty, with 48 points, was 11th, while Vugman’s title run pushed Bartram into a T-12th finish, with 46. Winter Park, with 23.5 points, was T-22nd, while DeLand was 27th with 19. Lake Mary and Sandalwood tied for 29th, with 15 points, while Fletcher was 32nd with 14. Flagler Palm Coast and Timber Creek each were T-34th, with 12 points, with Lake Brantley 38th (10), Mandarin 39th (nine), Apopka T-40th (eight), West Orange T-47th (five), Evans, Oviedo & Windermere T-54th (three), and Nease & West Port T-63rd with one point. First Coast, Forest, Ocoee and Wekiva all had an entry but did not score.

A brief summary of each weight class follows, along with a look at our predictions made pre-tournament. Look for the photo albums of Saturday’s action on the North Florida Matmen Facebook page (photos will be posted to Instagram later this week).

106
Championship: Andrew Punzalan (Cypress Bay) d. Nathaniel Overman (Bloomingdale), 4-2, TB-1.
Local how they fared: No Region 1 wrestlers medaled.
How crazy were my picks?: I picked seven of eight wrestlers to medal that eventually did medal, with the correct championship final projected. We also had the eventual 3rd correctly slotted into the third-place match, but the other four medalists we had sprinkled into different spots in the medal round. Not too bad, all in all.

113
Championship: Tyler Washburn (Palmetto Ridge) p. Christian Vazquez (Doral Academy), 6:30, SV.
Local how they fared: Timber Creek’s Marlo Clark was 7th. Clark only had to weigh in, in order to finish 7th, winning by medical forfeit over Riverdale’s Charlie Smiarowski.
How crazy were my picks?: We had seven of eight placers correctly earning medals, as noted in my preview, and we had Clark correctly slotted into the the 7th-place medal match. Washburn, Southridge’s Fredrick Mitchum and South Dade’s Guillermo Jaramillo all were picked into the correct medal round as well. So it wasn’t in all too bad.

120
Championship: Luis Acevedo (South Dade) d. Blaine Taranto (Venice), 8-6, SV.
Local how they fared: No Region 1 wrestlers medaled.
How crazy were my picks?: We had seven of the eight eventual placers noted in our preview (the only one we had listed was former Oakleaf wrestler Egan Gustilo, now at Tohopekaliga). We had the correct champiopnship final, and three other wrestlers (Wellington’s Sam Marvel, Osceola’s Evan Martinez and Columbus’ Brandon Villa) all in the right medal-round match.

126
Championship: Vugman d. Bradshaw, 2-1.
(Additional) local how they fared: Lake Brantley’s Dario Duany was 5th and West Orange’s Raymond Cavey 8th. The day didn’t start off well for Duany, even after getting first takedown and building a 3-0 lead, as Doral Academy’s Julian Montero erased that lead and rode effectively in the third period, securing a pin in 4:53. Things turned Duany’s way in the fifth-place match against Olympic Heights’ Adriel Pina, as Duany had a takedown and established control from there, with a pin in 1:30. As for Cavey, he was tied through the first 90 seconds with Southwest Miami’s Angel Delgado, but Delgado then got a takedown, adding a second-period reversal before pinning Cavey in 3:37.
How crazy were my picks?: We had five of the eight eventual placers noted in our preview, including correct placements in both the championship and third-place matches. We also had Duany as an unranked under-the-radar wrestler, and his winning of four consi-side matches to make podium certainly was unexpected by me.

132
Championship: Liddie d. Martinez, 7-6.
(Additional) local how they fared: Hagerty’s Nikolas Blake was 4th and Flagler Palm Coast’s Kole Hannant was 7th. Blake largely dominated his consi-semi match against Strawberry Crest’s Frank Font, with a takedown and later nearfall in the first period, plus a pair of reversals in the second before pinning Font in 3:56. But the shoe was on the other foot against Harmony’s Rey Ortiz, who needed just one takedown to take the pin a few seconds later, in :57. In his final high school match, Hannant didn’t allow a single point against Riverdale’s Zachary Balma, with takedowns in the first and second period, and a reversal early in the third, from which he was able to pin Balma in 5:43.
How crazy were my picks?: We had the top five wrestlers noted in our preview, with the correct championship and third-place finals and seven of the eight overall placers. We didn’t have Hannant on the medal stand, however; he beat the guy we thought (or MAYBE intentionally picked against Hannant) would make it out. So they were not too bad, all in all.

138
Championship: Elvis Solis (South Dade) md. Aaron Lanster (Miami Beach), 11-3.
Local how they fared: Apopka’s Tamarion Kendrick was 6th and was the region’s only medalist. In taking two losses Saturday, Kendrick opened with eventual 3rd Nicholas Romero of Riverview, a former champion, and while Kendrick avoided any turns, he did give up a pair of takedowns and a penalty point in a 6-0 loss. The battle for fifth was tighter against Freedom’s Eric Aja, as neither had a takedown, but Aja did score an escape and forced a penalty point in the third period for a 2-0 win.
How crazy were my picks?: In a battle of state champions, we picked the wrong one in our projections, though otherwise we had the top six correctly placed with Lanster and fourth-place Shawn McCallister (Harmony) in the right medal round, plus I correctly picked the fifth-place match.

145
Championship: Anderson Heap (Osceola) d. Misha Arbos (South Dade), 3-1.
Local how they fared: Winter Park’s James Gonzalez was 5th and Evans’ Tyran Schanck 8th. Gonzalez hung in on mostly equal terms in the consi semi against Blooomingdale’s Jose Milord, but Milord grabbed a takedown late in the second, adding an insurance takedown for a 5-1 decision. Gonzalez then won by injury default in the fifth-place match over Steinbrenner’s Reid Noble. In his only match Saturday, already having secured Evans’ first state wrestling medal finish since 2001, Schanck held off Wellington’s Randy Lancaster for most of the first period before Lancaster had a pair of takedowns and a quick turn, which was enough to keep Schanck’s late reversal and earned stall point at bay in a 6-4 decision.
How crazy were my picks?: We had the top five correctly picked to medal, although we didn’t predict Arbos to defeat Noble in the semis, so the pair were reversed. We did have Schanck as an unranked wrestler under the radar, and any time such wrestlers made podium as Schanck did, that’s a win for us. But otherwise, we struggled with the depth picks in this weight class.

152
Championship: Cooper Haase (Osceola) p. Alexander Soto (Riverdale), 1:12.
Local how they fared: Winter Park’s Joey Parker was 5th and was the only Region 1 medalist. Parker hit some struggles against multiple-time finalist Gavin Balmeceda of South Dade; Balmeceda took advantage, with four takedowns and a quick turn midway through the third for a 12-3 major. However, Parker rallied against Ft Pierce Central’s JT Apicella in the fifth-place match, with a goahead takedown late in the first and a mid-third period insurance takedown good for a 4-1 win.
How crazy were my picks?: As it turned out, not too crazy at all, as we hit on seven of eight eventual placers, and, further, we had each of the championship, third-place and fifth-place medal rounds accurately picked. We only missed half of the 7th place match; our guy lost by one point in round 1, which was the wrong way to go, because Apicella was in his way.

160
Championship: Adrian Ochoa (Southwest Miami) d. Cordell White (South Dade), 3-0.
Local how they fared: Hagerty’s Kamdon Harrison was 3rd and Fletcher’s Josh Daltro 8th. Harrison completed a set of all pins in getting back to the medal round after an 8-6 loss in round 1, opening with a 57-second fall over Wellington’s Mac Andrews, in which Harrison needed just one takedown. Overcoming Palm Harbor University’s Joseph Cuttitta in the third-place match was tougher, especially after giving up first takedown, but he later escaped and had a takedown of his own, adding a quick turn in the second period in taking a 7-4 decision over Cuttitta. Daltro couldn’t get untracked in the medal round against Southridge’s Julian Mayorga, giving up one takedown that Mayorga used to assert control and take a pin in 1:08.
How crazy were my picks?: We had seven of the eight eventual placers noted in our preview, including the correct final. We had Harrison correctly going for third (though not via that path), we had Cuttitta and Mayorga essentially in reverse, while the wildcard of the tournament, who knocked off Harrison in round 1, we thought Daltro would get to that round.

170
Championship: Lawrence Rosario (South Dade) p. Roman Garcia (Palmetto Ridge), 2:22.
Local how they fared: No Region 1 wrestlers medaled.
How crazy were my picks?: First off, have a weekend, Lawrence Rosario! Beating a former state champ and placer in back-to-back rounds isn’t easy. As for the picks, we had seven of eight projected placers make the medal stand, but none of the seven we had placing wrestled for the medals at which we had projected them, but we had a a basic — some might say very basic — idea of what was going to happen.

182
Championship: Franklyn Ordonez (Southwest Miami) d. Dominic Joyce (North Port), 4-2.
Local how they fared: Hagerty’s Hunter Tate was 6th, Bartram Trail’s John McNames 7th and Sandalwood’s Malachi Mista 8th. Tate opened his day with Cypress Bay’s second-ranked Zach Weidler, and Weidler needed only one takedown to assert control, taking a pin over Tate in 1:53. Tate was able to go six with South Dade’s Chris Sanchez in the medal round, but still gave up three takedowns, one in each period, and a pair of third-period nearfalls in falling, 12-2, to take sixth. In the all-local 7th-place match, McNames started fast against Mista, with a pair of nearfalls in the first period in building a 7-0 lead, which largely held up at the of McNames’ fall in 3:25.
How crazy were my picks?: In some ways, our picks were pretty good. We picked the correct third place and half of both the championship and fifth-place matches (we missed on Sanchez, having him in the final). And we had two additional locals in the 7th-place match, neither of which we projected would better. So…”some maybe good, some maybe sheet.”

195
Championship: Nichols d. Roberts, 11-5.
(Additional) local how they fared: Sandalwood’s Duffy Mista was 5th and Flagler Palm Coast’s Dalton Schell 8th. In the consi semis against Miami Palmetto’s Richard Alexander, Mista gave up takedowns in both the first and second periods before losing by fall in 3:45, but rallied to shut out Osceola’s Jomar Sanchez, 4-0, for fifth. After a scoreless first period, Mista reversed out to open the second and then bagged an insurance takedown with :37 left in the match. In his only match Saturday, Schell allowed takedowns in each period to Barbara Goleman’s Edwin Guillen, with two in the final minute to pull away for an 8-4 decision.
How crazy were my picks?: We wound up with seven eventual placers, so that was good. The goodness stopped there. Your state champion was projected for seventh. We did not have Mista on the podium. Our final matched the eventual 3rd against the eventual 6th. Other than Schell, not one wrestler wound up wrestling for the medal we projected this weekend. Not good at all.

220
Championship: Sawyer Bartelt (South Dade) p. Jonathan Fraga (Southwest Miami), 1:46.
Local how they fared: Lake Mary’s Michael Frederick was 4th, Mandarin’s Jaelen Simmons 5th and Bartram Trail’s Shane Armstrong 6th. Frederick and Armstrong met in the consi semis, with both getting takedowns in either the first or second periods before Frederick drew clear midway through the third with a pair of takedowns that Armstrong could not answer, as Frederick took an 8-6 win. Simmons couldn’t get much going in his consi semi with Osceola’s Elijah Vansickle, who had a pair of takedowns and rode for nearly five minutes in a 4-0 win. Frederick also couldn’t come up with any offense in the third-place match against Vansickle, who got a turn in the second period and then chose top in the third, taking a fall in 4:17. In the fifth-place match, Simmons had takedowns in the first and second periods, allowing only escapes and a late penalty point in the second to hold off Armstrong, 5-4.
How crazy were my picks?: Well…they were pretty jacked up. We had one Region 1 medalist, and it was none of the actual guys who did medal (if the preview motivated you, you’re welcome). Wanna know how bad? Only three of our projected medalists — including perhaps the biggest slamdunk finals choice in any weight class in Bartelt — made it on the medals stand. Hey, our under-the-radar guy did finish 7th. That’s something, right? RIGHT?

285
Championship: Mason O’Dell (Mater Lakes Academy) d. Jake Austin (Somerset Academy), 6-4.
Local how they fared: DeLand’s Marion Smokes was 5th and Fletcher’s Toby Matson 8th. After scoring first takedown in the consi semis against South Dade’s Marcelo Rosario, Smokes couldn’t slow Rosario’s response, as he reversed and then pinned Smokes in 42 seconds. However, Smokes set the tone in the fifth-place match agast Ft Pierce Central’s Alaq Dowd-Grant, needing only one takedown for a pin in 1:06. Matson, who was injured at the close of his consi-quarter match Friday evening against Dowd-Grant, medical-forfeited to Columbus’ Derrick Hart to place 8th.
How crazy were my picks?: We had six of the eventual eight placers noted in our preview, and we had the correct championship final, with three additional wrestlers (Cypress Bay’s Gozie Mosi, Smokes & Matson) slotted correctly into the right medal-round match. So they weren’t universally bad; in fact, for 285, they weren’t bad at all.

Final team scores and brackets for the 3A tournament can be found HERE.

By MATMEN, Tuesday, 10:50 p.m.

KISSIMMEE — The main focus of 1A-Region 1 has been north-central Florida. It’s been that way for some time now.

But the Panhandle has been telling us they’re on the way. And, with two finalists in last weekend’s FHSAA 1A state tournament, it’s time to start believing the message.

Panhandle juniors David Mercado (220), of North Bay Haven, and Bay junior Derrick Williams (113), along with Palatka senior Mikade Harvey at 138 and Yulee sophomore Alex Smith at 195, all got to the finals Saturday evening at Silver Spurs Arena.

But only Mercado would take the top step of the podium, decisioning Mater Lakes Academy sophomore Damian Soto, the Region 4 champ, by a 6-4 count to win his school’s first state wrestling title and the third Panhandle wrestler to win state titles in the last four seasons (Pace’s Gabe Jacobs in 2020 in 2A and South Walton’s Max Brewster last year in 1A).

And he didn’t let a broken finger in his left hand slow him down against Soto, breaking open a scoreless tie behind an escape and takedown midway through the period. Soto would reverse out, but Mercado reversed back just as the period ended; that, and a strong ride for nearly all of the third, had to be enough to secure the decision, as Soto did close the gap with a late reverse out, but couldn’t get closer.

“I learned (from previous tournament experiences) that I had to watch how nervous I had been getting before,” Mercado, now a 3x state qualifier and 2x placer (4th at 195 last year), said. “It makes a difference in how you roll. Before, I would just be in a cold sweat, but this year I was able to distract myself, listening to music and talking to coaches. That helped a lot.”

Mercado’s offseason teammate, Williams, was the first of the finals quartet to go on the mats Saturday. A two-time placewinner (Williams was 5th in 2A-106 last year for Mosley), he took on Region 4 champion and Somerset Academy 7th-grader Jovani Solis, the younger brother of 3A-138 champ Elvis Solis of South Dade. Jovani Solis showed he had all the speed and chops of his older brother, taking Williams down five times in an 11-3 major. Solis scored in each period, riding for more than a minute and allowing Williams only three escapes in the match.

Harvey would be closer in his final at 138 against Cardinal Gibbons’ Nicholas Yancey; although he would have only escapes for the first 2 1/2 periods against the defending 2x state champion, Harvey would get a late takedown to close to within a point, but couldn’t follow up on the scoring move, falling by a 7-6 count and finishing his career with three state medals (6th-106 in 2021, 3rd-132 last year along with the second this year).

Smith faced off with Cardinal Gibbons freshman Michael Mocco in the 195 championship match; it was the first meeting they’d had since the 2022 1A quarterfinals at 182, when Mocco was at Coral Springs Charter; then, Mocco won by tech fall en route to a 3rd-place medal. This time, though Smith was able to force Mocco to go all six minutes, he still couldn’t put together any offense, as Mocco had five takedowns and a quick turn early in the third period for a 13-6 decision.

Teamwise, Suwannee had the top Region 1 finish, taking ninth with 68.5 points behind five medal-winning individual efforts. Yulee, with 56 points, was 11th, Florida High (39.5 points) 13th, Fernandina Beach (32) 16th, Bishop Kenny (28) 18th, and North Bay Haven (26) 19th.

Bay, with 21.5 points, was 21st, with Palatka 22nd (20 points), Wakulla & Wewahitchka T-23rd (19 each), West Nassau 27th (16), Liberty County 32nd (11), Episcopal & Raines T-35th (eight), South Walton T-39th (seven), Rutherford T-44th (six) and Union County T-52nd (three).

Jensen Beach surged past Somerset Academy in the finals round to take the team title with 177.5 points to Somerset’s 170, with First Baptist-Naples third (133.5), Mater Lakes Academy fourth (125.5) and Palm Bay fifth (109).

A brief summary of each weight class follows, along with a look at our predictions made pre-tournament. Look for the photo albums of Saturday’s action on the North Florida Matmen Facebook page (photos will be posted to Instagram later this week).

106
Championship: Mason O’Dell (Mater Lakes Academy) d. Jake Austin (Somerset Academy), 6-4.
Local how they fared: Florida High’s Jasper Croom was 5th and Wakulla’s Connor Brown was 7th. After an 11-5 consi-semi loss to Jensen Beach’s Ben Norris, in which Norris grabbed up four takedowns and a second-period turn, Croom reprised his quarterfinal pin in the fifth-place match, falling Chamberlain’s Uy’Kown Wimberly in 3:31. Aside from a mid-first period reversal, Croom had all the offense in the match with two takedowns and a reversal prior to the fall. That was the case for Brown, as well, in a 12-4 major over Weeki Wachee’s Nick Guy, as Brown avenged a round-1 loss by fall with four takedowns and a reversal after giving up first takedown.
How crazy were my picks?: We had six of the eight eventual placers named in the preview, so that’s not too bad. But we had only Barnes, along with runnerup Austin, put into the correct matches. Otherwise there was some shuffling along the way. Our champ pick lost by one in the semis to the eventual champ, so in all not great, but not crazy, either.

113
Championship: Solis md. Williams, 11-3.
(Additional) local how they fared: As far as this year’s coverage area went, Suwannee’s Justin Contreras was the only other medalist, taking 8th, while a St Johns County resident, Cocoa Beach’s Mario Del Vecchio, was sixth. In his only match, Contreras had a rematch with Gibbs’ Al’Zaveon Harris, and the outcome was the same, as he fell by a 5-2 count (Contreras had lost, 3-2 via ultimate tiebreaker, on Thursday), as Harris scored all five points he’d need in the second period. Rematches didn’t go Del Vecchio’s way on Saturday either, as he lost by fall (4:58) to Crystal River’s Blaine Reed in a rematch of the Region 2 final, and then lost by fall (:35) in the medal round to Sarasota Military’s Nate Varley in a rematch of Friday’s quarterfinal, which Varley had won by decision.
How crazy were my picks?: We had seven of the eight eventual placers named in the preview (3rd-place Gian Ortiz, the Region 4 4th whose only loss last weekend was to Del Vecchio in round 1, was the only one left off), and we had the correct final. We had Contreras in that 3rd-place match, and we had Del Vecchio going for 7th, so he moved up a spot. A solid if not spectacular effort.

120
Championship: Sebastian Degennaro (Jensen Beach) md. Jonathan Moder (First Baptist-Naples), 12-1.
Local how they fared: Suwannee’s Topher Pearson was 3rd, Liberty County’s Jay Brown 5th and Wewahitchka’s Jake Parker 6th. Pearson won twice over Region 1 rivals on Saturday, opening with a 14-3 major over Parker in the consi semis behind three scoring moves and an equal number of nearfall situations. Pearson would keep up the pressure in the third-place match against Hernando’s Jordyn Valle, staving off an early 5-point move to dominate the third period with 12 points on a pair of takedowns and two 3-point nearfalls to rally for a 14-8 win. Valle had advanced to Pearson behind a 9-6 consi-semi win over Brown, leading almost the entire way, with a 3-point nearfall early in the third the difference. In the fifth-place match, Parker had two first-period takedowns early to seize early momentum, but Brown would rally with late scores in the next two periods, a takedown in the final second of the 2nd period and then an escape with 12 seconds left to turn back Parker, 5-4, for fifth.
How crazy were my picks?: We had all eight placers in the preview, including the correct final, but we were off in some particulars otherwise. We had Pearson correctly going for third, Brown correctly going for 5th, but Parker was a spot higher than we thought after three consi-side wins (we thought he would not win against Lemon Bay in the consi quarters) and Valle was two spots higher; being a senior does sometimes matter.

126
Championship: Ryan Mooney (Jensen Beach) d. Matthew Velasco (Somerset Academy), 5-1.
Local how they fared: Suwannee’s Brody Boehm was 5th and the region’s only medalist. In the consi semis against First Baptist-Naples’ Asher Bacon, Boehm broke open a scoreless tie with an escape early in the second and made that lead nearly stand up, riding for more than 90 seconds before Bacon was able to reverse for a 2-1 win. In the medal round, though, Boehm put it on Lemon Bay’s Brycen Warren, with two scoring moves and four turns to win by tech fall (16-0 in 3:50).
How crazy were my picks?: We has seven of eight eventual placers named in the preview, with the championship match predicted; we had Boehm and Mater Lakes’ Ethan Tran flip-flopped (not really sure how we managed that, I’d have to look at my notes), and we missed on a consi-round 1 matchup. So for the most part, they were a pretty decent set of picks.

132
Championship: Gavin Nolan (Clearwater CC) d. Tristan Sainz (Somerset Academy), 8-5.
Local how they fared: Fernandina Beach’s Cael Kubatzke was the only Region 1 medalist, finishing 7th. Despite his Jensen Beach opponent, Charlie Armstrong, having the extra motivation of team points, Kubatzke was unfazed even after giving up first takedown, getting a reversal and eventual turn and fall in 1:46 to win his final match of the season.
How crazy were my picks?: We had seven of eight eventual placers named in the preview. But almost none of them, other than Sainz and Kubatzke, were put in the right medal matches. There were definitely some upsets, based upon the rankings, but we had the general idea about most of the placers.

138
Championship: Yancey d. Harvey, 7-6.
(Additional) local how they fared:
How crazy were my picks?: We had six of the eventual eight placers noted in our preview, including the correct championship final (which I did not think would be as close as it was, between a first-time finalist in Harvey and a returning champ in Yancey). The remaining medal-round winners (Palm Bay’s Ronald Theilacker for 3rd, Somerset’s Kevin Concepcion for 5th and Mater Lakes’ Eric Hodge for 7th) we had in the correct medal-match slots.

145
Championship: Jewell Williams (Jensen Beach) d. Michael Kersey (First Baptist-Naples), 6-0.
Local how they fared: Wakulla’s Jae T Thaxton was 7th and the only Region 1 medalist. In his only match of the day, Thaxton got first takedown just 11 seconds in and hit a big turn before the end of the first, adding a takedown and riding in the second, then adding a third before allowing a late reversal in a 9-2 win over Zephyrhills Christian’s Aiden Hutchins.
How crazy were my picks?: We had seven of the eight placers named in our preview, with the eighth placer, Hutchins, named as an unranked wrestler under the radar. But the how and why was kinda jacked up. Our instinct was to go with a defending champ in Williams, but we went against our instinct and we were wrong. We also put forward a defending champ in Florio, and he was knocked off in the quarters by Mt Dora’s DJ Richards, whom we had in the fifth-place match; he wound up there, but only due to injury after his semifinal loss to Williams.

152
Championship: Dylan Fox (Jensen Beach) p. Kalias Nazario (Mater Lakes Academy), 5:21.
Local how they fared: Bishop Kenny’s Roberto Cuartero was 4th and Suwannee’s Austin McKinney was 5th. Cuartero set the tone in the top consi-semi against Somerset’s Luis Bellon, with a 3-point nearfall in the second and a takedown in the third, plus a penalty point en route to a 7-0 decision. In the third-place match, with Palm Bay’s Nathan Furman, Cuartero struggled more, as Furman had a takedown in the first period and reversal in the second, riding after that and eventually winning by pin in 3:40. Furman also set the tone against McKinney in the bottom consi semi, also using a tough ride to win by pin in 3:46. McKinney would rally in the fifth-place match against Bellon, with two takedowns and a 3-point nearfall before taking the fall in 3:41.
How crazy were my picks?: We had six eventual placers noted in our preview, with Nazario knocking off McKinney in the quarters — which we did not expect — en route to the final, which was a rematch of the Region 4 title match. We had Cuartero in the right medal round, but we thought McKinney would fare better in the top half, though we only missed on what happened in the quarters.

160
Championship: Kendrick Hodge (Somerset Academy) d. Gavin Patton (First Baptist-Naples), 9-3.
Local how they fared: Fernandina Beach’s Enzo Gamba was 3rd, Suwannee’s Austin Howard 5th and Wewahitchka’s Conner Roberts 6th. Gamba was on point all day Saturday, needing just one takedown to take a fall in the consi semis over Howard (1:45), then holding Lemon Bay’s Nick Sheets scoreless in an 8-0 major behind three takedowns, plus an escape six seconds into the second period and a penalty point after two stall warnings on Sheets. Sheets fared better in the consi-semi against Roberts, with three takedowns for a 7-1 decision; from there, Roberts medical-forfeited to Howard in the fifth-place match.
How crazy were my picks?: We had seven of the eight eventual placers named in the preview. What we basically got wrong was the Patton win over Howard in the quarters (to be fair, it turned out a 1-0 decision) and the Roberts/Sheets consi semi; otherwise, we pretty much had it right. Sheets winning three matches in the consis after falling to Gamba in the quarters was our biggest miss; we’ll wear that, because we otherwise did well.

170
Championship: Kyle Grey (Lincoln Park Academy) d. Koen Hoffman (Lemon Bay), 3-2.
Local how they fared: Yulee’s Dylan Johns was 4th. Johns was entirely solid for all of the contested time he spent on the mat Saturday, with three takedowns — one in each period — for an 8-4 decision to move into the third-place match. There against Palm Bay’s Brycen Turner, Johns was pushing the pace, with takedowns in both the first and second period before an injury on the mat cut short his match, as he was forced to default to Turner.
How crazy were my picks?: Not much at all. We had seven of the eight eventual placers noted in our preview. We had the correct championship final; we had Johns, Gibbons’ Richard Tauriello and Mater Lakes’ Calogero Mazzrillo in the right medal round. We had McNabb beating Turner in the consi semis; the only one we didn’t account for was former Lake Weir wrestler Grant Kincannon, now at Villages, who was 8th.

182
Championship: Christian Moder (First Baptist-Naples) md. Chase Alden (Lemon Bay), 12-2.
Local how they fared: West Nassau’s Nolan McKelvy was 4th, Florida High’s Xander Hawkes 5th and Bishop Kenny’s Collin Hearn 6th. McKelvy fought off his back in the second period, with Hawkes securing a nearfall, to get a turn of his own early in the third before a second turn led to a pin over Hawkes in 5:48. McKelvy couldn’t manage more than three escapes in the medal round against Clearwater CC’s Carson Schiavello, who had takedowns in each period, the third as part of a 5-point move, in a 9-3 decision. Schiavello got to McKelvy with a second-period fall over Hearn (2:39); in the 5th-place match, there was a brief flurry, with a Hawkes takedown and reversals by each wrestler within a 24-second portion of the first period, with Hawkes taking the pin in 1:23.
How crazy were my picks?: We had six of the eight eventual placers named in the preview, including the correct championship final; what we didn’t expect (but were certainly glad for) were Hawkes and Hearn battling through enough rounds of consis to make podium. The state rankings certainly justified most of my conclusions on this point.

195
Championship: Mocco d. Smith, 13-6.
(Additional) local how they fared: Episcopal’s Christian McGarity was 8th. McGarity couldn’t get any offense started against Sarasota Military’s Caleb Dickerson, falling by a 5-0 decision. Dickerson had takedowns late in both the first and second periods, riding McGarity out for all of the third.
How crazy were my picks?: We’ll just say it. We did not expect Smith to make a run to the final this year, and him pinning our projected finalist in the quarters was not expected at all. That wasn’t me sandbagging the pick; that was all ‘The Hammer.’ And we also thought McGarity was also a year away; I expected a round-1 loss, so his making the podium proved me wrong. But we did have six of the eventual eight placers in our preview. Not great, because I underestimated the local guys.

220
Championship: Mercado d. Soto, 6-4.
(Additional) local how they fared: Florida High’s Collin Bishop was 6th and Wakulla’s Kohl Pippin 8th. Bishop had an uphill struggle Saturday after two Friday wins, with no points scored against Lemon Bay’s Ben Arnett (also the case in their round-1 meeting Thursday) before Arnett won by fall in 4:30, followed by a second loss by pin to Key West’s Ralph Riche (1:20), in which Riche needed just one takedown before winning by fall. As for Pippin, he couldn’t get untracked in the 7th-place match against Pinecrest Prep’s Nathan Chen, as one takedown was enough for Chen to secure a fall in 1:24.
How crazy were my picks?: We had six of eight eventual placers noted in our preview. From there, that’s when things went sideways. One of our finalist picks was injured in the quarters; the other (the #1) lost by a 5-4 count to Arnett. We had Mercado and Soto in the third-place match. We also didn’t have either Bishop or Pippin noted anywhere in the preview, so they both definitely proved us wrong by making podium. The picks, in short, were more than a little crazy.

285
Championship: Devin Williams (Hernando) d. Caleb Rodriguez (First Baptist-Naples), 4-0.
Local how they fared: Yulee’s Braylen Ricks was 4th and Raines’ Gregory Townsend placed 8th. Ricks needed just 46 seconds and one takedown to polish off Palm Bay’s Leonard Christian in the consi semis, but found himself on the other end of that arrangement in the medal round against Key West’s Andre Otto, as Otto — whose only loss was by a 1-0 count against Rodriguez in the semis — needed only one takedown to fall Ricks in 1:07. As for Townsend, he gave good scrap to Jefferson’s Carmine Morton in the 7th-place match, with two reversals and a nearfall, but Morton established control late in the second, taking a pin in 3:46.
How crazy were my picks?: We had the top five placers listed in our preview as being in contention for top-five spots, including the correct championship final (we did have Christian ahead of Ricks on the podium, MIGHT have been some thumbs on our prediction scales there), but we didn’t have a read on the depth of the medals, including Townsend, who won at least one more match than we expected (we thought he might beat Morton but in consi rd 1).

Final team scores and brackets for the 1A tournament can be found HERE.

By MATMEN, Saturday, 2:25 a.m.

KISSIMMEE — There will not be an FHSAA 1A state team IBT trophy coming back to Region 1.

But as many as four individual gold medals could make their way north after tonight’s finals session of the 1A state tournament at Silver Spurs Arena, as Palatka senior Mikade Harvey (138), juniors Derrick Williams (113) of Bay and David Mercado (220) of North Bay Haven, along with sophomore Alex Smith (195) of Yulee, all are in the state-championship matches at their respective weights.

Today’s wrestling begins at 9:30 a.m. — just a few hours after this recap went live — with the consi semifinals, followed by the medal round at approximately 11:15 a.m.

Teamwise, Somerset Academy holds an 11.5-point lead over Jensen Beach, 148-136.5, with First Baptist-Naples standing third at 123.5 and Mater Lakes Academy within shouting distance in fourth at 106.5.

Locally, several teams are in the top 20 after two days of competition, led by Region 1 champ Suwannee in ninth place with 49 points. Yulee is 10th with 44, while Florida High is 12th (31.5), Bishop Kenny 15th (23), North Bay Haven 16th (22), Bay 17th (21.5), and Palatka T-19th (20 points), with both Fernandina Beach & Wewahitchka at T-21st.

A brief summary of each weight class follows. Look for the photo albums of Friday’s action on the North Florida Matmen Facebook page (photos will be posted to Instagram later in the weekend or early next week).

106
Medals secured: Florida High’s Jasper Croom (44-3) will have two matches and will medal anywhere from third through sixth today, while Wakulla’s Connor Brown (51-10) will wrestle for 7th. Croom began the day with a quarterfinal pin (3:28) over Chamberlain, but then took a loss by fall (4:56) to Somerset Academy). Croom will wrestle Jensen Beach’s Ben Norris in the top-half consi semi, and will get another match after that. As for Brown, he earned his medal with a pin (4:53) in consi round 2 over Cocoa Beach’s Adrian Day, but then fell by a 10-9 count to Chamberlain in the bottom consi quarter. Brown will face Weeki Wachee’s Nick Guy for 7th place, in a rematch of their round-1 encounter on Thursday, which Guy won by third-period fall.
Heading home: Suwannee’s Eli Jolicoeur did not compete on Day 2 after reaching the quarters Thursday.

113
Going for gold: Bay’s Derrick Williams (64-1) will kick things off in the finals for the north, after two victories Friday. Williams opened with a 7-3 quarterfinal win over Mater Lakes Academy, but roared through the semis with a third-period tech fall (18-3 in 5:24) over Crystal River. Williams will face Somerset Academy 7th-grader Jovani Solis (45-3) for the state championship.
Medals secured: Suwannee’s Justin Contreras (50-7) will wrestle for 7th place. Contreras was 1-1 on Friday, with a 7-0 decision over Mater Lakes Academy to secure his podium space, but then lost by fall (:59) to Jensen Beach in the bottom consi quarter. Contreras will wrestle Gibbs’ Al’Zaveon Harris for 7th place; that match is also a rematch from Thursday’s first round, which Harris won by a 3-2 count via the ultimate tiebreaker. St Johns resident Mario Del Vecchio (40-6), wrestling for Cocoa Beach, will get two matches Saturday and finish no lower than 6th after two consi-side pins following a sudden-victory loss to Sarasota Military in the quarters.

120
Medals secured: Three area wrestlers — Liberty County’s Jay Brown (8-1 post-season record), Wewahitchka’s Jake Parker (59-10) and Suwannee’s Topher Pearson (49-14) — will all medal and get two matches today, with Parker and Pearson meeting in the bottom-half consi semi. Parker won twice in the consis, with a fall (2:41) over Robinson in round 2 and 13-6 decision over Lemon Bay in the bottom quarter, while Pearson was a front-side semifinalist behind a quarterfinal pin (4:21) over Palm Bay before falling, 5-4, to First Baptist-Naples in the semis. As for Brown, he also made the semis with a quarterfinal pin (5:00) over Robinson, but then lost by tech fall (15-0 in 1:47) to Jensen Beach. Brown will face Hernando’s Jordyn Valle in the top consi semi.

126
Medals secured: Suwannee’s Brody Boehm (58-7) will be the area’s only medalist in the weight class and will get two matches today. After pinning Berkeley Prep (3:21) in the quarters, Boehm took a 12-3 loss to Jensen Beach in the semis. He’ll face First Baptist-Naples’ Asher Bacon, the Region 3 champ, in the top half consi-semi.
Heading home: In his only match of the day, Florida High’s Hunter Stanley lost by fall (1:47) to Bishop Moore and was 1-2 in the tournament.

132
Medals secured: Fernandina Beach’s Cael Kubatzke (49-6) will wrestle for 7th. After taking a quarterfinal loss by tech (16-0 in 4 minutes) to Clearwater Central Catholic, Kubatzke punched his podium ticket with a fall (1:09) in consi round 2 over Palatka’s Ishmael Foster before losing by 14-6 major in the bottom consi quarter to Palm Bay. Kubatzke will face Jensen Beach’s Charlie Armstrong for 7th place.
Heading home: Foster, in his only match of the day going up against Kubatzke, and South Walton’s Gibson Moore were both 1-2 in the tournament. Moore took two losses Friday, with a 7-2 decision against Mater Lakes Academy in the front-side quarters and a loss by tech (22-6 in 5:59) to Armstrong in consi round 2.

138
Going for gold: Palatka’s Mikade Harvey (32-2) became the area’s second finalist behind a pair of decisions on Friday, with a 10-8 win in the quarters over Mater Lakes Academy and a 9-3 semifinal win over Zephyrhills Christian. Harvey will wrestle Cardinal Gibbons’ Nicholas Yancey (45-1) for the state championship.
Heading home: In his only match of the day, Yulee’s Austin Adamson took a 9-2 loss to Mater Lakes Academy and was 1-2 in the tournament.

145
Medals secured: Wakulla’s Jae T Thaxton (59-3) was the area’s only medalist in the weight class and will wrestle for 7th today. After a 9-0 loss to Jensen Beach in the quarters, Thaxton made sure of his medal with a fall (3:56) over Hudson in consi round 2, but then lost by fall (3:41) to Cardinal Gibbons in the bottom consi quarter. Thaxton will face Zephyrhills Christian’s Aiden Hutchins for 7th place.
Heading home: In his only match of the day, Fernandina Beach’s Cole Misciagna took a 6-4 loss to Hutchins, and was 1-2 in the tournament.

152
Medals secured: Bishop Kenny’s Roberto Cuartero (48-2) and Suwannee’s Austin McKinney (67-4) both will have two matches today. Cuartero took a 9-5 front-side quarterfinal loss to Palm Bay, but rallied for two pins in the consis, with falls over McKeel Academy (3:20) in the blood round and over Bayshore (1:32) in the top consi quarter. Cuartero will wrestle Somerset Academy’s Luis Bellon in the top consi semi. As for McKinney, after a 4-1 loss to Mater Lakes Academy in the quarters, he came back behind two bonus-point wins, falling First Academy in 4:27 in consi round 2, and then majoring Cardinal Gibbons, 11-2, in the bottom consi quarter. McKinney will face Palm Bay’s Nathan Furman in the bottom consi semi.

160
Medals secured: Three area wrestlers — Fernandina Beach’s Enzo Gamba (46-2), Suwannee’s Austin Howard (56-8) and Wewahitchka’s Conner Roberts (54-5) — will all get two matches and medal today, with Gamba and Howard meeting in the top half consi-semi. After opening with a 6-0 win over Lemon Bay in the front-side quarters, Gamba fell by an 8-2 count to Somerset Academy in the semis, while Howard lost by a 1-0 decision to First Baptist-Naples in the quarters, coming back with an 11-2 major over Cardinal Gibbons in consi round 2 and a 7-5 decision over Avon Park in the top consi quarter. Roberts pinned his way into the semi, falling Avon Park in 2:53, but then rode out First Baptist-Naples for four minutes to no avail in a 2-0 loss in the semis. Roberts will face Lemon Bay’s Nick Sheets in the bottom consi semi.
Heading home: In his only match of the day, Rutherford’s Keaton Schirmer fell by a 7-5 count in consi round 2 to Avon Park, as Schirmer was 1-2 in the tournament.

170
Medals secured: Yulee’s Dylan Johns (48-3) is the area’s only medalist ‌in the weight class, and will have two matches today. After finding a takedown in sudden victory for a 7-5 decision over Palm Bay in the quarters, Johns never could get untracked in a 13-6 semifinal loss to Lincoln Park Academy. Johns will face Cardinal Gibbons’ Richard Tauriello in the top consi semi.
Heading home: In his only match of the day, Suwannee’s Dustin Wood took a 5-0 loss to Villages in consi round 2, going 1-2 in the tournament.

182
Medals secured: Three area wrestlers — West Nassau’s Nolan McKelvy (34-4), Florida High’s Xander Hawkes (50-6) and Bishop Kenny’s Collin Hearn (41-10) — will all medal after two matches today, with McKelvy and Hawkes meeting in the top-half consi semi. McKelvy had a quarterfinal pin (3:27) over Somerset Academy, but couldn’t get through First Baptist-Naples in the semis, taking a 13-5 loss by major. Hawkes won twice by fall in the consis on Friday, with first-period pins over Crystal River (:49) in round 2 and over Cardinal Gibbons (1:43) in the top consi quarter. Hearn, meanwhile, also won twice by max points in the wrestlebacks Friday, with a fall (4:51) in round 2 over Somerset, then winning by injury default over Jensen Beach in the bottom quarter. Hearn will face Clearwater Central Catholic’s Carson Schiavello in the bottom consi semi, a rematch from round 1, which Schiavello won by first-period fall.
Heading home: In his only match of the day, Rutherford’s Bryson Schirmer took a 15-9 loss to Jensen Beach in consi round 2, going 1-2 in the tournament.

195
Going for gold: Yulee’s Alex Smith (38-0) continued to bring the hammer, with two Friday falls to reach the final. Smith had second-period pins over Jensen Beach (3:15, against a 60-match winner) in the quarters, then handed Palm Bay his first loss of the season in a semifinal fall (3:16). Smith will face Cardinal Gibbons’ Michael Mocco (43-1) in the state championship.
Medals secured: Episcopal’s Christian McGarity (34-11) will wrestle for 7th. After a 6-5 quarterfinal loss to Berkeley Prep, McGarity locked up his medal with a fall in consi round 2 (3:13) over Somerset Academy, then took a second one-point loss in the top consi quarter, this time by a 5-4 count to Hernando. McGarity will wrestle Sarasota Military’s Caleb Dickerson for 7th place.
Heading home: In his only match of the day, Union County’s Danny Thornton took a loss by fall (3:34) to Jensen Beach in consi round 2, going 1-2 in the tournament.

220
Going for gold: North Bay Haven’s David Mercado (60-3) won twice on Friday to get to his first state final; after a quarterfinal pin (4:25) over Palm Bay, Mercado shut out Key West, 6-0, in the semis. Mercado will wrestle Mater Lakes Academy’s Damian Soto (38-5), the Region 4 champ, for the state title.
Medals secured: Florida High’s Collin Bishop (35-7) will have two matches today and finish no lower than 6th, while Wakulla’s Kohl Pippin (36-10) will wrestle for 7th. Bishop won twice in the consis Friday, with an injury-default win over Zephyrhills Christian to secure his medal spot, then shut out Pippin in a physical District 2 scrap in the bottom consi quarter, 4-0. Bishop will wrestle Lemon Bay’s Ben Arnett in the bottom consi semi in a rematch of their round-1 battle on Thursday, which Arnett won by a 6-0 count. Pippin guaranteed himself a medal with a 3-2 consi-round 2 victory over Palm Bay before facing Bishop, and will face Pinecrest Prep’s Nathan Chen for 7th place.

235
Medals secured: Yulee’s Braylen Ricks (35-2) will have two matches today, while Raines’ Gregory Townsend (23-9) will wrestle for 7th. After a 24-second pin in the quarters over Bishop Verot, Ricks struggled in the semis, taking a 6-1 loss to Hernando. Ricks will wrestle Palm Bay’s Leonard Christian in the top-half consi semi. As for Townsend, he lost by fall (:39) in the front-side quarters to Key West, but rallied in the consis, pinning Villages in 34 seconds to earn his podium spot before a loss by pin (1:13) to Christian. Townsend will wrestle Jefferson’s Carmine Morton for 7th place.
Heading home: In his only match of the day, South Walton’s Carlos Sanchez lost by fall (1:10) to Booker in consi round 2, going 1-2 in the tournament.

Second-day brackets can be found HERE.

By MATMEN, Saturday, 12:10 a.m.

KISSIMMEE — The team race in Class 3A is long ago put to bed; South Dade saw to that perhaps as early as Thursday night.

But for seniors Ethan Vugman of Bartram Trail and Kason Nichols of Buchholz, along with Bobcats junior Cavarius Liddie, there is still gold to pursue.

Those three area 3A wrestlers will be in the finals when those are set to begin Saturday afternoon at approximately 4:15 p.m. And, to boot, they’re the reasons why their teams are the top teams in Region 1 as far as the state team standings go, as Buchholz stands in 7th place with 50 points, just 1.5 back of fifth-place Bloomingdale.

Bartram Trail, with 39 points, is 11th, whiel Hagerty is 13th with 33. Those are the only Region 1 teams in the top 20 as things stand going into Saturday’s rounds.

Saturday wrestling begins at 9:30 a.m. with consi semis, followed by the medals round at approximately 11:15 a.m.

A brief summary of each weight class follows. Look for the photo albums of Friday’s action on the North Florida Matmen Facebook page (photos will be posted to Instagram later in the weekend or early next week).

106
Heading home: West Port’s Mathew Pishotta and Windermere’s Egehan Yilhan were both 1-2 in the tournament. Both had one match on Friday, with Pishotta losing by first-period injury default to Palm Harbor University and Yilhan by tech fall (15-0 in 2:51) to Seminole Ridge.

113
Medals secured: Timber Creek’s Marlo Clark (44-11) will be the area’s only medalist, wrestling for 7th. On the front, Clark lost by fall (1:29) to Southwest Miami, but then punched his podium ticket with a 13-7 win over Palm Harbor University before taking a consi-quarters loss by fall (1:12) to South Dade. Clark will wrestle Riverdale’s Charlie Smiarowski for 7th.

120
Heading home: All four Region 1 wrestlers were 0-2 on Thursday and did not compete beyond that date.

126
Going for gold: Bartram’s Ethan Vugman (57-1) added two more falls to his round-1 pin from Thursday, with a quarterfinal pin over Sumner (2:42) and a semifinal fall over South Dade in 5:39, in which Vugman dominated the match from start to finish. Vugman will face Steinbrenner’s Colin Bradshaw (25-2) in a rematch of last year’s 120 state final, which Bradshaw won by a 6-3 count (though Vugman won over Bradshaw during the 2022 offseason).
Medals secured: Lake Brantley’s Dario Duany (38-7) will have two matches on Saturday and could finish anywhere between 3rd-6th, while West Orange’s Raymond Cavey (33-9) will wrestle for 7th. Duany had a pair of wins in the consis on Friday, with decisions over Sumner (4-0) in consi round 2 and over Cavey, 4-0, in the bottom consi quarter. Duany will wrestle Doral Academy’s Julian Montero in the bottom consi semi. As for Cavey, he secured his medal with a 9-4 win over North Port in consi round 2 before facing Duany in the quarters. Cavey will wrestle Southwest Miami’s Angel Delgado for 7th.
Heading home: In his only match of the day, Buchholz’s Jedidiah Brown took a 4-2 loss to Delgado in consi round 2, going 1-2 in the tournament.

132
Going for gold: Buchholz’s Cavarius (CJ) Liddie (55-6) picked up a pair of bonus-point wins in reaching the final Friday, opening with a 9-1 major in the quarters over Doral Academy before falling Strawberry Crest in 3:43 in the semis. Liddie will face Southwest Miami’s Danny Martinez (46-3) in the state championship.
Medals secured: Hagerty’s Nikolas Blake (55-7) will have two matches on Saturday, while Flagler Palm Coast’s Kole Hannant (45-10) will wrestle for 7th. After a quarterfinal loss by pin (:34) to Harmony, Blake took two wins on the back, with a fall (1:28) over Fletcher’s Cole O’Brien in consi round 2, followed by a 4-1 win in the top consi quarter over Hannant. Blake will wrestle Strawberry Crest’s Frank Font in the top consi semi. As for Hannant, his day began with a loss by fall (3:26) to Martinez, but he made sure of his podium finish with a 5-0 win in consi round 2 over Tohopekaliga before falling to Blake. Hannant will wrestle Riverdale’s Zachary Baima for 7th, in a rematch of their round-1 match on Thursday, which Hannant won by a 5-2 count.
Heading home: The loss by fall to Blake was O’Brien’s only match of the day, as he went 1-2 in the tournament.

138
Medals secured: Apopka’s Tamarion Kendrick (36-5) will be the only area medalist in the weight class, as he will have two matches on Saturday. After an 8-1 loss in the quarters to Miami Beach, Kendrick locked up a medal with a 10-2 major in consi round 2 over region rival Kellen Chapman of DeLand, then took an 11-7 win in the bottom consi quarter over Bloomingdale. Kendrick will wrestle Riverview’s Nicholas Romero in the bottom consi semi.
Heading home: With his loss to Kendrick the only match of his day, Chapman finished the tournament with a 1-2 record.

145
Medals secured: Winter Park’s James Gonzalez (22-7) will have two matches starting in the consi semis on Saturday, while Evans’ Tyran Schanck (24-7) will wrestle for 7th. Gonzalez opened the day with a 7-0 win over Viera in the quarters, but then took a 9-3 loss in the semis to Osceola. Gonzalez will wrestle Bloomingdale’s Jose Milord in the top consi semi. As for Schanck, he was 1-1 on Friday, with an 8-7 win over Viera to punch his podium ticket, but then lost by a 14-4 major to Southwest Miami in the bottom consi quarter. Schanck will wrestle Wellington’s Randy Lancaster for 7th.

152
Medals secured: Winter Park’s Joey Parker (41-6) is the only area medalist and will have two matches on Saturday. After taking an 8-0 loss in the quarters to Riverdale, Parker dominated to two bonus-point wins in the consis with a tech fall (24-9 in 4:17) over Oviedo’s Luke Forsberg, followed by an 11-3 major over Doral Academy. Parker will face South Dade’s Gavin Balmeceda in the bottom consi semi.
Heading home: With the loss to Parker his only match of the day, Forsberg finished the tournament at 1-2.

160
Medals secured: Hagerty’s Kamdon Harrison (52-10) will have two matches on Saturday, while Fletcher’s Josh Daltro (40-9) will wrestle for 7th. Harrison won by fall twice in the consis on Friday, with pins over Harmony (1:07) in round 2 and over Southridge (5:23) in the top consi quarter. Harrison will face Wellington’s Mac Andrews in the top consi semi. As for Daltro, he began Friday by securing his state medal with a 5-1 win in consi round 2 over Olympic Heights, but then lost by fall (3:18) to Ferguson in the bottom consi quarter. Daltro will wrestle Southridge’s Julian Mayorga for 7th.
Heading home: After a 10-9 loss to Ferguson in consi round 2, Flagler Palm Coast’s Kelton Howard was 1-2 in the tournament.

170
Heading home: Nease’s Alan Rivera and Buchholz’s Max Szabo both had one loss in their only consi-side matches Friday, as both were 1-2 in the tournament after Rivera fell to Celebration, 10-5, and Szabo took a 1-0 loss to Doral Academy in consi round 2.

182
Medals secured: Hagerty’s Hunter Tate (34-6) will wrestle twice on Saturday starting in the consi semis, while Sandalwood’s Malachi Mista (39-15) and Bartram Trail’s John McNames (47-7) will face off in a District 1 rivalry match for 7th. After losing by fall in sudden victory (6:54) to Southwest Miami in the quarters, Tate took two wins in the consis, with a 6-3 win over Ft Pierce Central in round 2, followed by a 17-7 major over Mista in the bottom quarter. Tate will face Cypress Bay’s Zach Weidler in the bottom consi semi. Mista, likewise, lost in the quarters by fall (:17) to South Dade, but earned his state medal with a fall (2:28) over South Plantation in consi round 2 before meeting Tate. As for McNames, he lost by a 10-0 major in the quarters to North Port, but earned his medal with a fall (4:42) over Strawberry Crest in the blood round before falling, 15-4, to Steinbrenner in the top consi quarter.
Heading home: DeLand’s Gavin Rodriguez-Cayro was 1-2 in the tournament, with Friday losses by pin on the front to Cypress Bay (2:54) and in consi round 2 to Steinbrenner (3:33).

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Going for gold: Buchholz’s Kason Nichols (48-5) continued his bonus-point run through the weight class with two Friday pins, opening with a quarterfinal pin over Barbara Goleman (5:34), then needing one very quick takedown for a 23-second pin over Miami Palmetto in the semis. Nichols will face Vero Beach’s John Roberts (31-0) for the state championship.
Medals secured: Sandalwood’s Duffy Mista (49-9) will have two matches on Saturday, while Flagler Palm Coast’s Dalton Schell (44-9) will wrestle for 7th. Mista opened the day with a loss by pin (:49) to South Dade in the quarters, but then won twice in the consis by decision, with a 3-2 win over Olympic Heights to earn his state medal, followed by a 7-6 win over Schell in the top consi quarter. Schell had lost by fall (2:00) to Roberts in the quarters, but punched his podium ticket with a 6-0 win over Tohopekaliga in consi round 2.

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Medals secured: Three area wrestlers — Mandarin’s Jaelen Simmons (26-9), Bartram Trail’s Shane Armstrong (34-6) and Lake Mary’s Michael Frederick (31-5) — all will earn medals Saturday and will each have two matches, with Armstrong and Frederick starting against each other in a rematch of the third-place Region 1 match last weekend. Armstrong opened the day with a 4-1 loss in double-OT to Osceola, but then took tight wins over Dr Krop (1-0) in consi round 2 and over Ft Pierce Central (3-1) in the bottom consi quarter, while Frederick reached the championship semis with an injury-default win over George Jenkins, but then lost by fall (2:15) to South Dade in the semis. As for Simmons, he lost by fall (2:20) to South Dade in the quarters, but then rallied for a pair of decisions in the consis, taking down Riverdale, 5-2, to secure his medal and then decisioning Columbus, 11-5, in the top quarter.

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Medals secured: DeLand’s Marion Smokes (45-6) will have two matches on Saturday in going for third place, while Fletcher’s Toby Matson (43-7) will wrestle for 7th. Smokes began the day with a quarterfinal pin over Ft Pierce Central (2:46), but then lost by fall (3:51) to Harmony in the semis. Smokes will wrestle South Dade’s Marcelo Rosario in the bottom consi semi. Matson fell by a 3-2 count to Harmony in the quarters, but then won by injury default in consi round 2 over Olympic Heights to reach the medal round before a loss by pin (3:33) to Ft Pierce Central. Matson will wrestle Derrick Hart of Columbus for 7th place.
Heading home: Timber Creek’s Peter Nesheiwat took a pair of losses on Friday to go 1-2 in the tournament, with decision losses on the front to Cypress Bay (9-5) in the quarters and in consi round 2 to Hart, 4-2.

Second-day brackets can be found HERE.