Vote: Who should be the SBLive's Florida Wrestler of the Week (Jan. 1-6)?
The 2023-24 Florida high school wrestling season is underway and with it comes the SBLive Florida Wrestler of the Week poll.
Gianni Maldonado (far right), from Lake Gibson, stands on the podium with all the medalist in the 160-pound division at the Don Buchanan Invitational in Clovis, California on Saturday. Maldonado, who is a defending state champion in Florida, finished seventh.
Photo submitted by Danny Walker
ScorebookLive.com will run the poll each week. There will be one mixed poll for both boys and girls. Voting will conclude this week on Friday, Jan. 12th at 11:59 p.m. and the winner will be announced in next week’s new poll.
Send nominations from the past week’s tournaments and duals to BillKempSports@gmail.com by Monday at noon. Please include the player’s first and last name, school, weight class and their accomplishments for the week.
Editor’s note: Our corresponding poll is intended to be fun, and we do not set limits on how many times a fan can vote during the competition. This poll is specifically for fans to vote on the players that have been nominated and in no way discredits any other player that may not be mentioned in our poll.
Here are this week's nominees:
Aurora Guadiana, Wellington Community
She won the 115-pound bracket at the Cradle Cancer-Girls tournament, posting a 4-0 record with three pins to help her team win the tournament.
Luis Acevedo, South Dade
The defending 3A 120-pound state champion won the 120-pound bracket at the Cradle Cancer Invitational with an overtime win in the title match. He was 5-0 in the meet and improved to 19-2 on the season.
Vifianna Caullett, Wellington Community
She won the 125-pound division at the Cradle Cancer-Girls Invitational, posting a 4-0 record with three pins and helping Wellington win the tournament.
Elijah Lowe, Lake Gibson
Posted a 4-0 mark in the 126-pound division at the District 7-2A Duals meet.
Maximus Brady, Mariner
The 2A 126-pound state champions won the 132-pound bracket with three tech falls, a major decision and a 7-0 decision in the final at the Cradle Cancer Invitational. He is now 19-1 on the season.
Nikolas Blake, Hagerty
He won the 138-pound bracket at the 34th annual Ron Peters Tournament with five consecutive pins, improving his season record to 34-2.
Arturo Sanchez, Columbus
He finished first at the John Raich Memorial Tournament in the 144-pound division, posting a 5-0 record.
Jovani Solis, Somerset
The Class 1A 113-pound defending state champion won eight matches, which included three pins and five tech falls, at the 13th annual Somerset Scuffle.
Gianni Maldonado, Lake Gibson
The defending state champion finished seventh in the 160-pound division, going 7-2 at the prestigious Don Buchanan Invitational in Clovis, California. He also posted a 4-0 record at 157 at the District 7-2A Duals meet.
Kendrick Hodge, Somerset
The 1A 160-pound defending state champion placed first in the 165-pound bracket at the 13th annual Somerset Scuffle, with nine consecutive pins.
Michael Mora, Columbus
Finished first at the John Raich Tournament in the 175-pound division, posting a 5-0 record with three pins.
Michael Mocco, Cardinal Gibbons
The defending 1A 195-pound state champion, won the 215-pound bracket at the John Raich Memorial with a bye and three consecutive pins.
Sawyer Bartelt, South Dade
The defending 3A 220-pound state champion won the 215-pound bracket at the Cradle Cancer Invitational to improve to 19-0 on the season. He posted three pins, a tech fall and a major decision through five matches.
