Valiant Kowboys 2nd in 3A state dual wrestling

Harmony also qualified, fell in Friday's round of 8

  • Osceola defeated Palmetto Ridge and Timber Creek before falling to South Dade in the finals of the FHSAA Class 3A State Dual Wrestling Championships. It was Osceola’s second consecutive runner-up finish and third in the State Duals, which began in 2018. (Photo courtesy Osceola High School).
    Osceola defeated Palmetto Ridge and Timber Creek before falling to South Dade in the finals of the FHSAA Class 3A State Dual Wrestling Championships. It was Osceola’s second consecutive runner-up finish and third in the State Duals, which began in 2018. (Photo courtesy Osceola High School).

    Osceola’s storied wrestling program added another chapter to its legacy Saturday with an impressive runner-up finish at the Class 3A FHSAA State Duals Wrestling Championships

    Now in its seventh year, the tournament was won by South Dade, who defeated Osceola in the finals, 55-15. Long a state wrestling juggernaut in the sport, South Dade won its sixth duals title and will be heavy favorites to win its 11th consecutive 3A team title when the Individual Bracket Tournament is contested in March at the Silver Spurs Arena.

    “Not much to say about the finals,” Osceola coach Rick Tribit said. “I thought last year’s edition of South Dade was the best Florida high school team I have ever seen but after watching them this year, I’m not so sure that is true.”

    Still it was Osceola second consecutive state runner-up finish at the event and third in seven years, which will necessitate Tribit – who is also the school’s Athletics Director – to find room in the gymnasium wall for the school’s impressive growing number of state championship and state runner-up banners.

    Three Kowboys won matches in the final: freshman Adaias Ortiz won a 7-5 decision over Guillermo Jaramilo at 113 pounds, Anderson Heap pinned Jonathan Marino at 157 and Jaquille Knox won by fall over Daguy Massilon at 285.

    The Kowboys earned their way to the finals with impressive wins Friday and Saturday morning. Osceola defeated rival Palmetto Ridge in Friday night’s quarterfinals before handling Timber Creek in Saturday morning’s semifinals.

    In Saturday’s 47-24 win over Timber Creek, the Kowboys came out strong. Nathan Cabrera (157 pounds) held on to beat Juan Viera in the opening match, 8-7. From there Heap, Gunner Holland and Bryan Gari recorded back-to-back –to back falls and Osceola was out to a big 21-0 lead.

    After losing at 220, Knox came up with a huge first period pin at 285, to push the Osceola lead back to 21. With the exception of an Ortiz (pin at 112), Osceola struggled in the lighter weight classes and when Timber Creek’s Josue Baptista edged Isfandier Sharipov by a 3-2 margin at 132, Osceola saw its lead shrink to 33-24. But Ehab Shalaby extended that lead to 37-24 with a 12-0 major decision at 138; and Jayson Ortiz put the match out of reach with a pin at 145.

    “Really pleased with the tournament result,” Tribit added. “We had some younger wrestlers come through this weekend and they are beginning to understand what competition at this level is all about. Given South Dade’s dominance the last decade, second place was a realistic goal and we accomplished that.”

    Osceola earned a hard-fought 41-33 quarterfinal victory Friday night against long-time rival Palmetto Ridge. The match was close throughout, but Holland and Gari came up with big wins at 175 and 190 respectively to secure the win. Holding on to a narrow 32-27 lead, Holland put the Kowboys up 37-27 with a 16-0 technical fall over Owen Pratt. Gari then secured the win for the Kowboys – picking up four points with a 9-0 major decision over Matthew Kniola to extend the lead to 41-27.

    Harmony also qualified for the eight-team single elimination state tournament. It was the Longhorns third appearance overall in the tournament but first as a 3A school.

    Longhorn coach Vic Lorenzano felt that three or four matches would have to go Harmony’s way to get past a solid Wellington team in the quarterfinals. But most of those matches went the other way in a 34-24 loss.

    Trailing early in the match, the Longhorns got pins from Nathan Lyttle (106), Shawn McCallister (157), and Seth Scutero (190) and decisions by Jeremiah Gomez (150) and John Fernandez (170) to keep the match close.

    Osceola again hosted the entire tournament. The Class 2A championship went to Lake Gibson, who edged Tampa Jesuit (31-26); Somerset won the Class 1A title with a 48-21 win over Suwanee.

    IBT district tournaments begin in two weeks. Osceola (Class 3A, District 5), Harmony (Class 3A, District 9), and St. Cloud (Class 2A, District 7) will all host.