Harmony wrestlers star at Longhorns Rotary Classic
Camden (Ga.) captured three championships and placed nine wrestlers on the podium to run away with the team title at the 14th Annual Knockout Christmas Classic wrestling tournament at Silver Spurs Arena.
Orlando’s Freedom High outdistanced Viera (148-106) for the girls’ team title.
Camden champions included Jayme Jones (106 pounds), Brandon Higgins (144) and Ryan Wilder (190). Wilder came in as the top-ranked wrestler in the tournament, ranked 6th nation in his weight class. He dominated his final over another top-50 nationally ranked and previously undefeated Xander Dorsett of Ola HS (Ga.). A twotime state champion, Wilder improved his high school career record to 173-0.
Jefferson (Ga.) was second in the team race, posting champions in Danny Krutules (150) and Dallas Russell (157). Brothers Peter and Michael Mucco from Cardinal Gibbons High posted back-to-back championships at 215 and 285 respectively. Peter Mucco won by injury default; while Michael recorded seven takedowns in the first 75 seconds of his match for a 21-6 technical fall win over Blake Elder of Jensen Beach.
Mill Creek (Ga.) also saw two brothers make the finals as Antonio Mills won the title as 132; while brother Teequavious Mills came in as the No. 1 seed at 120 but lost 4-0 to Miami Southwest’s Lazaro Soto. A senior, Antonio becomes the first wrestler in history to win four Knockout Classic championships.
The finals were not without a few surprises. St. John Neumann’s Eric Perez came in as a 14th seed but pulled several upsets before running out of gas in the finals to Miami Southridge’s Jovani Tover by an 18-3 score. While it was no shock that second-seeded Chris Dennis (Central Bucks, Pa.) defeated No. 1 seed Brodie Melzonie (Nolensville, Ga.) at 175 – the 20-2 margin of victory was surprising. Merritt Island’s No. 3 seed Tim Boda took down No. 1 seed Tim Sievers (Social Circle, Ga.) in the final seconds for a 3-1 win.
Host Osceola High entered seven wrestlers in the Knockout. Jonathan Olma (157) had the most success. After a firstround bye, he lost his second match but rallied for a couple of victories in the consolation round. Angel Almonte (120) and Jovani Ortiz (113) also picked up wins for the Kowboys in the consolation round.
Now in its fourth year with girls wrestling as an officially sanctioned FHSAA sport, the girls division saw a record 361 wrestlers competing in 14 weight classes. The Girls Knockout pretty much followed script, as nine No. 1 seeds and three No. 2 seeds emerged as champions.
The most exciting final events came at 155 pounds where Mackenzie Schultz of Enterprise defeated Lake Mary’s Zaria Slater, 5-4 and in the 235-pound championship match South Dade’s No. 2 seed Kenzie Barrett used a thirdperiod escape to edge top-seed Makiella Mauvais of Orlando Freedom, 4-3.
Osceola entered 11 girls. Top performers included Bailey Devries (190), who went 3-2 and reached the consolation semifinals to tie for fifth place. Aniyah Wayne (100) won her first three matches, including a 3-1 upset of No. 1 seed Addie Shaw of Indian Land (S.C.). She gave eventual runnerup Paola Perez a solid match in the semifinals, dropping a 6-3 decision and then bowed out in the fourth round of the consolations to record a tie for seventh. Osceola’s Isabella DellaValle (170) and Jessayra Rivera (110) won two matches each, while Amada Citron (135) and Lillian Carter (100) each picked up a victory.
In other tournament action Saturday, twelve teams competed at the Longhorns Rotary Classic on Saturday. Harmony posted five individual champions in the IBT event, including Adriel Rodriguez (106), Leo Ortiz (113), Nathan Lyttle (120), Nevan Irving (132), and Nathan Barrett (150).
Lyttle, a defending state champion, improved to 15-0. Irving (16-1) and Barrett (171) have just one loss this year; while Rodriguez (21-2) and Ortiz (19-2) went 4-0 in the tournament.
“I thought our guys looked really good today against some quality teams,” coach Vic Lorenzano said. “Our elite guys are really performing well and scoring a lot of points against some tough competition; while our younger studs demonstrated great maturity and poise today.”
Brody Williams (138) and Adam Colvin each picked up second place finishes for the Longhorns, who finished with 256.5 points for second behind Ft. Pierce Central (268.5). Poinciana (49) placed 12th.
