Bartelt wins 4th straight Florida Knockout Christmas Classic title, Heap, Gorman, Bambinelli repeat as champs

KISSIMMEE, FLORIDA – The Rock ‘N Roll Hall of Fame may be in Cleveland, Ohio but someone might want to consider building a wrestling hall in Cleveland, Tennessee.

Cleveland High School, from Cleveland Tennessee, won the 11th annual Osceola Knockout Christmas Classic wrestling tournament at Silver Spurs Arena Saturday, which featured wrestlers from Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. It is considered the most prestigious regular season tournament in the Southeast.

Cleveland edged out defending tournament champions South Dade 193.5 to 189. Buford, Georgia was third with 170. Cleveland produced seven medal winners, including 165-pound champion Logan Fowler.

“I think we performed well. We wrestled well on the backside,” Cleveland head coach Joey Knox said. “This was our second time coming and we knew it was tough. We knew South Dade and Bufford, both great programs and teams. So, we came down here almost a little headhunting.”

South Dade (135.5) entered the second day of competition with a 10.5-point lead over second-place Cleveland (125) while Buford was third with 116.5.

Also winning medals for Cleveland were Lucas Szymborski (190) second, Chase Walker (113) third, Jose Cordero (106), Zac Bosken (126) and Tyson Russell (285) fourth and Cy Fowler (175) sixth.

Cleveland has won six consecutive Tennessee (TSSAA) state championships and is riding a 128-dual meet win streak. This past season, Cleveland became the first school in the country to win boys and girls wrestling state championships in the same year.

Additionally, four wrestlers repeated as Knockout champions this year, South Dade senior Sawyer Bartelt, Osceola senior Anderson Heap, Bufford junior Drew Gorman and Mill Creek junior Dominic Bambinelli, who won a 4-2 decision over Osceola senior Gunner Holland in the 175-pound title match.

Bartelt, who signed with Iowa State this past month, became only the third wrestler to win four consecutive Knockout championships after taking down Aaron Riner from Buford 8-1 in the title match.

“I didn’t really like it because the kid kept running out of bounds and getting me a little mad,” said Bartelt, who caught a thumb in the eye from Riner in the match, which really seemed to ignite him.

“Everything was a little blurry and it got me a little mad. After winning the first three (here) it kind of feels like a regular tournament. I’m just here for my team pretty much. I was just trying to get team points.”

Heap won his second consecutive Knockout Classic title and his third overall, besting Dallas Russell from Jefferson 10-3 in the 150-pound title match. He is a two-time state champion.

"It was another chance to get better because we have another tournament coming up in Pennsylvania,” Heap said. “Competing on this stage is just really fun and it allows me to visualize myself here in March (at the FHSAA Finals). This is good, but at the same time, states is what you want to win.”

Gorman repeated as Knockout champion after pinning Hagerty sophomore Nikolas Blake in the 138-pound title match. Gorman is a two-time Georgia state champion and will be looking for his third straight this season.

“It was a tough one because the kid hung me in a cradle early and I had to fight off my back, which was tough. I was able to get out of bounds and pin him eventually,” Gorman said. “This is a great tournament; I love this one. There is great competition.”

Also winning individual titles were Gabe Swann (106) Central, Christian Vazquez (113) Doral Academy, Teague Stroble (120) West Oak, Antonio Mills (126) Mill Creek, Jovani Solis (132) Somerset, Jaydon Robinson (144) Winter Springs, Gianni Maldonado (157) Lake Gibson, Jordan Mills (190) Matanzas and Kayden Darwin (285) Palmetto Ridge.