2 Longhorns wrestled in Class 3A championship matches Saturday
Harmony's Tristan Horn battled, but could not overcome, Southwest Miami's Lazaro Soto for the 106-pound Class 3A championship. His efforts did help the Longhorns to a seventh place in the 3A team competition. PHOTO/KATIE WILLIAMS
For a third consecutive year, Harmony High School has a state wrestling champion.
In 2025, it was Nathan Lyttle sweeping through the field to capture the Class 3A, 113-pound weight class.
For Lyttle, a junior, it capped a perfect 49-0 season. Entering the season as Florida’s top-ranked 113 wrestler he rolled through the first two rounds with a pin over Josh Sabbia (Oviedo) and a 8-1 decision over Rocco Duyguylu (Douglas) before taking a narrow 6-5 win over Kevin Mclean (Flagler Palm Coast).
Saturday’s championship match against Lake Mary’s Damonyai White, proved to be his biggest test. The two spent the first period cautiously sizing each other up – with both wrestlers being warned for lack of action. Then, Lyttle scored his lone points of the match with a reversal midway through the second period.
Starting on top in the third period, he rode White out for the first 86 seconds before giving up an escape. Neither wrestler could gain an advantage in the final 30 seconds with Lyttle hanging on for the 2-1 win.
“(White) was one of the few wrestlers I hadn’t competed against or seen this season,” Lyttle said. “Our styles are pretty much the same. I got the reversal in the second and being able to ride him out for most the third was a huge factor.”
“The conclusion of a great season for Nathan,” Harmony coach Vic Lorenzano said. “I thought White wrestled a smart match. When wrestlers attack Nathan, he usually counters those attacks and scores off of them. I think White knew that by staying cautious, he could keep the match close.”
Should Lyttle repeat next season, he would join Sawyer Root (2014-15) as the only wrestlers in Harmony history to win multiple state titles.
Tristan Horn (106 pounds) almost matched the perfection of Lyttle, finishing the season at 46-2. He breezed through the first two rounds of the tournament with pins over Dylan Vu (Venice) and Donovan Jenkins (South Plantation), reaching the finals with a 3-1 decision in Friday night’s semifinal over George Steinbrenner’s Alzider Ortiz.
Saturday’s championship match against Southwest Miami’s Lazaro Soto (43-5) just didn’t go Horn’s way; Soto dominated the match, recording takedowns in each period and adding a penalty point for a 10-0 win.
Finishing with 47.5 team points, Harmony finished seventh place in Class 3A.
“We didn’t have the depth that we had in previous seasons. But we took seven wrestlers to states, had a state champion, top 10 finish and were regional champions,” Lorenzano added. “I’m really proud of the effort all these guys put in this season.”
Of the 30 boys and girls wrestlers from Osceola County to reach the state championship tournament, Horn and Lyttle were the only finalists. Osceola who saw an incredible streak of at least one individual state champion for 18 consecutive years end when Izzy Sharipov (28-8) and Nathan Cabrera (32-10) fell in the semifinals.
Sharipov was a defending state champion, who was injured for most of the season and had to gut his way through districts and regionals to even reach the state tournament. He reached the semifinals with a 9-8 decision over Miami Beach’s Imran Dzhabrailov before losing by technical fall to South Dade’s Jovani Solis – who went on to win the state title at 138. Sharipov eventually reached the podium – beating Santiago Alvarez (Spanish River), 7-6, in the fifth-place match.
Cabrera lost in the semis to South Dade’s Tyree Graham (50-4), who also won a state title. Cabrera made the consolation finals, where he pinned Tyrell Robby (Wellington) for third place. David Yi-Sanchez took sixth place at 165 to give the Kowboys three all-state wrestlers.
Tohopekaliga also had two all-state wrestlers, as Nathan Barrett (5th place) and Bryan Battles (8th place) reached the podium at 150 and 165 pounds. Barrett won his first two matches before losing in the semifinals to South Dade’s Armand Williams, 12-5. Osceola (43) finished in 11th place overall; Tohopekaliga (16.0) was 33rd.
South Dade sent nine wrestlers to the finals, won six championships and won its 12th consecutive state championship and 17th overall. Mater Lakes Academy ran away with Class 1A while Somerset edged Tampa Jesuit (170-166) for the 2A title.
The 2025 FHSAA Girls State Championship was also held at Silver Spurs. With girls wrestling being one of the fastest growing sports in the United States, 125 schools from around the state sent athletes to the single classification tournament.
Osceola qualified seven for the state tournament with five wrestlers reaching the podium: Aniyah Wayne (6th-100), Paola Ramirez (3rd-125), Denalie Dauphin (5th-140) and Ericka Hernandez (4th-145). Osceola (62 points) came up with a top ten finish in seventh place. Flagler Palm Coast won the team championship.;'
