COUNTY WRESTLING PREVIEW
The first weekend in December brought opening matches for most county high school wrestling programs, with Osceola and Harmony expected to remain the top programs among Osceola schools. The biggest change among programs is new man in charge of the Kowboys program, as Athletic Director Richard Tribit takes over as head coach for the legendary Jim Bird – who resigned earlier in the year to move to North Florida to be closer to family.
During his time as Osceola, Bird put together a remarkable string of at least one individual state champion for 16 consecutive years. That streak continued in the 2021-22 season when Anderson Heap, Cooper Haase and Gunner Holland all won titles.
All three are back this year, although Holland’s season started a little later as he was a quarterback on Osceola’s football team that made a run to the state semifinals this year.
Haase will be an overwhelming favorite to become just the second wrestler in Osceola history (after Fox Baldwin) to win four individual championships. He went 50-3 last season, with all three losses coming to other state champions – including a second place finish at the ultra-prestigious Knockout Classic. He won a championship at the Border Wars Classic and swept through OBC, district and regional competition before winning three straight matches via pin fall at the FHSAA meet.
“My goal last season was an undefeated season and that’s certainly the goal this year,” Haase – who has committed to West Point – said. “We are wrestling in some great events this year and it won’t be easy but going undefeated is one of the goals this year.”
Osceola opened its season with a third-place finish at the Rumble at the Reservation at Lake Gibson High School in Lakeland. Wrestling with Holland, the Kowboys tallied 169 points to finish behind national power Lake Highland Prep and Class 2A power Lake Gibson.
Haase (3-0), Heap (30), and Jomar Sanchez (30) each claimed individual championships. Haase (152-pound class) took care of business to remain undefeated overall; while Heap needed a 3-1 decision over Lake Gibson’s Hayden Whidden in the 145-pound final to take his title. Sanchez (220) was also dominant, recording two pins and a majority decision.
While Holland will be a force when he fully returns, Osceola should be strong at several other weight classes including Evan Martinez (120), Isfandier Sharipov (126) and Deacon Law (160). Martinez is a homegrown kid from Osceola’s program and wrestled at Freedom High last year. All three of those wrestlers took third place at Rumble.
“We’ve had some minor injuries and other small setbacks so far this season, but it’s nothing too serious,” Tribit said. “Gunner, Elijah Palmero and Akeem Knox are all back from football and that will certainly help our depth. We will face a lot of top level competition again.”
Gateway High also competed in the Rumble and took fourth place overall, while Poinciana was sixth. Gateway’s top performers included a second-place finish by Elijah Abreau, a thirdplace showing by Ivan Rivera (106) and fourthplace finishes by Dashawn Reese (160) and Aiden Cooper (195).
Poinciana’s top wrestlers this year will most likely include senior Landon Trigueros, who took third at 113 and Jayden Swaby, who was 4th in the 220-pound weight class.
It will be extremely interesting to see how Harmony fares this season in their second year at the Class 3A level. The Longhorns defeated Osceola (210-195.5) to win their third consecutive Orange Belt Conference Championship but finished in fifth place in the state team championship (76 points), one sport behind Osceola (106.5). The Longhorns sent 10 wrestlers to the state championship and had four all-state performers – including Nelson Toro, who finished second at 220.
In addition to Toro, head coach Vic Lorenzano returns many talented wrestlers this season, including Shawn McAllister (138), Antonio Palotico (160), Rey Ortiz (132) and Landon Davis (120) – who will most likely drop to 113 for state tournaments.
In early season action, the Longhorns traveled to the Miami area for the 48th edition of the Sea Horse Open, the oldest wrestling championship in Florida. Rey Ortiz and Nelson Toro each won individual championships; while McAllister (third) and Palotico (second) each finished near the top of the podium.
The following weekend, Harmony hosted the Longhorn Duals where they went a perfect 5-0 with wins over Cypress Creek (72-12), St. Cloud (76-6), Lake Nona (66-12), George Jenkins (48-34) and Olympic Heights (43-31).
“Things have been going well for us in the early going,” Harmony coach Victor Lorenzano said. “We have sent 10 wrestlers to the state championship the last two years as we continue to build our program. Team–wise, getting into the state duals will be a goal for us and continue to build on our medal count at the state IBT. Winning a fourth straight Orange Belt Conference Tournament is also a goal.”
St. Cloud head coach Mike Short said his team is both young in age and wrestling experience. “I just want to see us compete every week to the best of our ability. We have a nice core of kids and they will battle with anyone they face. While the goal is to be on the medal board in the room, right now our main focus is getting better daily and weekly,” he said.
His top wrestlers are Nate Heron (Jr., 132), John Fernandez (Jr., 182), Andres Colantanio (Soph., Hwt) and Jose Martinez (Sr., 170). Terrance Griffin (So., 160) is a promising newcomer to the Bulldogs’ squad.
Tohopekaliga Coach Peggy Estevez has several experienced wrestlers returning, including Jayson Ortiz (Jr., 138), Jacob Noid (Sr., 170), Luis Rosario (Sr, 182) and Chris Luyanda (Sr., 195). Newcomer Egan Gustilo (Sr., 120) could also figure in the mix.
“Our goal for this year is to continue building this program up to its capabilities. With my fourth year here, we have gone from the underdogs, to having wrestlers ranked and sending them to the state tournament,” Estevez said. “Our expectation is we will again qualify more than a handful to the regional and state tournaments as we continue to build on our early successes.”
