Lake Gibson, South Dade, Somerset win FHSAA Duals wrestling state championships

KISSIMMEE, FLORIDA – If the state championship is going to come down to the final match, it’s only fitting the top-two ranked wrestlers in the state step onto the mat to decide it.

Lake Gibson seized its sixth Class 2A state championship on Saturday at the FHSAA Duals wrestling state championships after nipping longtime rival Tampa Jesuit 31-26 in the championship duel on Saturday at Osceola High School.

“This is probably the hardest (championship) we’ve ever won since the inception of the Duals,” Lake Gibson head coach Danny Walker said. “I don’t know how we quite did it, but it was amazing,”

Trailing 26-25, Lake Gibson senior defending state champion Gianni Maldonado pinned Kawayran Vazquez from Jesuit at 4:56 to deliver the Braves their sixth Duals state championship and their 10th overall wrestling state title.

“To be honest it was just like any other match,” Maldonado said. “I just went out there and did what I was taught to do since I was a little boy. It started off slow and then built and built, but I  just executed at the end of the day. This is the best moment of all of them. It’s what every kid dreams of.”

Also picking up wins in the finals for Lake Gibson were Jace Brownlow (175), Gabrial Solis (215), John Arellano (285), Gabby Tedesco (106), Christian Fretwell (132) and Austin Chung (144).

Lake Gibson reached the finals after knocking off Fleming Island in the semifinals 48-17, which delivered Walker his 350th career win.

“It feels good, and as a coach it means I am changing that many lives and that many paths. It also means I’ve been coaching a long time,” Walker said.

Somerset Academy won the 1A state title while Miami South Dade romped across the mats to win the 3A championship.

It was the sixth Duals state championship for South Dade, which knocked off tournament host Osceola 55-15 in the finals.

“There was no pivotal moment at all,” said South Dade head coach Victor Balmeceda, who is now just two wins away from reaching 500 career wins at 498-24.

“We came with every intention to dominate. We knew the only team that could beat South Dade this weekend was South Dade. Every duel, we won at least 11 matches.”

The Buccaneers also dominated South Plantation 72-3 in the regional final Friday before routing Wellington Community 59-9 in the semifinals Saturday morning.

“One of the highlights of the weekend was knocking off a state champion,” said Balmeceda, referring to the 175-pound match where Kevin Olavarria edged Gunner Holland from Osceola in the finals 7-5. Holland won the 160-pound 3A title two years ago. “Beating Holland, that was a big match for us. But it was complete domination overall. I couldn’t be any happier.”

Balmeceda’s son, Gavin, battled all weekend with an ankle injury and still came away with a tech fall over Osceola’s Deacon Delong in the finals, 15-0. He finished 3-0 at the tournament with two pins.

“A lot of kids would have sat out but he knew we needed him. He did it with his ankle all strapped up,” he said.

Balmeceda also pointed out that it was the last Duals state tournament for two of his defending state champions, Luis Acevedo (120) and Sawyer Bartelt (215), and both finished 3-0.

Also picking up wins for South Dade in the final were Bryan Morales (106), Nathaniel Williams (126), Armand Williams (132), EJ Solis (132), Tyree Graham (144), Joshua Aviles (150) and Chris Sanchez (190).

Balmcedea said the state title will pose a challenge for him come Monday when he must re-motivate his team for a run at a possible 19th IBT state championship in March.

“To be honest, it doesn’t help. You win a state title, and you think the season is over, but it’s not over. There are still six more weeks to the season. So, it’s hard to get these kids motivated and on track. We have to re-boot.

“All we know is we have a ring locked in the bank and we are playing with house money now. We have to focus now. If we can get every kid to wrestle to the level they can wrestle, then the state championship will come with that.”

Somerset handled Suwannee 48-21 in the 1A state final to deliver the program its second Duals state championship and third state title overall.

“We knew the Duals would be tough coming out of the region and district we are in, but they overcame,” Somerset coach Joe Blasucci said. “By the time we got here, the team felt they were on a mission.”

Jake Austin (113), Matteo Gonzalez (120), Dylan Fernandez (126), Darion Shannon (132), Jovani Solis (138), Kendrick Hodge (165), Noah Perez (175), Rafael Lopez (190) and Adrian Tejada (215) delivered Somerset wins in the final.

The championship duel also delivered Blasucci his 325th career win.

“I’ve been lucky enough at Somerset that they let me develop a program for 13 years and we were able to accomplish that and three state titles now,” said Blasucci, who noted the team’s biggest victory might have come last week when they rallied from 25 points down against Mater Lakes in the regional semifinals to reach the state tournament.

In the 1A semifinals, Somerset knocked off Zephyrhills Christian 45-25 after topping defending state champions Jensen Beach 50-16 in the regional finals Friday.