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Osceola’s Anderson Heap stands on top of the podium after winning the FHSAA Class 3A State Wrestling Championship at 157 pounds. It was Heap’s third career state championship. PHOTO/OSCEOLA HIGH SCHOOL
Deciding on an Osceola News-Gazette Wrestler of the Year was difficult; three different Osceola County wrestlers won individual FHSAA state championships. Osceola’s Anderson Heap placed in several national tournaments while winning a third consecutive state to earn the nod.
Heap capped his incredible career in March, blitzing his way to the state title at 157 pounds. He pinned his first three opponents in the tournament before dominating South Dade’s Joshua Aviles in the championship match, 24-8.
During a 58-5 senior year, in December he became a three-time champion of the prestigious Knockout Christmas Classic beating Dallas Russell, a defending Georgia state champion. He also finished fourth at both The Powerade and The Escape The Rock, Pennsylvania events that are considered among the country’s toughest invitational tournaments. Four of his five losses came in those national tournaments but Heap said it was those losses that he belonged with the national elite.
“I felt blessed to have had the opportunity to face nationally-ranked wrestlers. Not only did it make me a better wrestler but gave me the confidence that I belonged with that group,” Heap said.
As for the future, Heap will wrestle at Davidson College in North Carolina. Heap says that in addition to the school’s athletic program, the school’s academic reputation played a key role in his decision. Heap, who hopes to pursue a career in medicine, is currently ranked eighth academically in his Osceola High class. U.S. News and World Report ranked Davidson tied for the 13th as the best among “National Liberal Arts Colleges” in America and second in “Best Undergraduate Teaching,” making the school an ideal fit for Heap.
“Absolutely academics played a major part in the decision,” Heap said. “I wanted to go to a place where I knew I would be challenged both academically and athletically.”
Heap credits former teammate Cooper Haase, a four-time OHS state champ, for a lot of his success.
“We were always in the same youth programs but we became really close in eighth grade. We were always near the same weight classes, with him being usually a weight class above me, so we drilled together all the time,” Heap said. When you get to work out with a great wrestler every day, it can’t help but make you better.”
“What makes Anderson so great is that his unique understanding that nothing in this sport is given, it has to be earned,” Osceola Coach Rick Tribit said. “As a youth wrestler, he was always matched up with bigger, stronger kids in the wrestling room and he quickly learned that he had to work and battle twice as hard to be successful. His intelligence is also a huge factor. In my coaching career, Anderson was one of the few guys who were always thinking two or three moves ahead of his opponent.”
Two other state champions received strong consideration. Harmony’s Shawn McCallister became the Longhorns’ third state champion when he captured the 150-pound title at this year’s 3A meet. McCallister capped a 47-1 season with a 14-7 decision over Palmetto Ridge’s Demetri Zertopoulis in the championship match, and McCallister upset Heap in the Orange Belt Conference Tournament in January.
Osceola’s Isfandier Sharipov (326) used a takedown with less than 10 seconds remaining to upset Southwest’s Dillon Smith in the 132-pound championship final, capping a battle through the bracket.
The rest of the All-County wrestling team:
106 pounds: Nathan Lytle (Harmony). 41-3 record, won OBC tournament, third place in state tournament.
113 pounds: Adaias Ortiz (Osceola): Freshman went 51-8 reached the finals of the state championship before dropping a heart-breaker to Doral Academy’s Christian Vazquez in the championship match, 4-3.
120 pounds: Taylyn Fisk (Osceola): 33-14 record, seventh place at state.
132 pounds: Isfandier Sharipov (Osceola).
138 pounds: Nathan Barrett (Tohopekaliga): 38-3, fourth at state tournament, OBC champion.
150 pounds: Shawn McCallister (Harmony).
157 pounds: Anderson Heap (Osceola).
165 pounds: Deacon DeLong (Osceola): OBC champion, advanced to regionals.
177 pounds: Gunner Holland (Osceola): Two-time state champion finished 47-7 senior year as state runner-up.
190 pounds: Bryan Gari (Osceola): Posted a 24-9 record and was seventh at state tournament.
225 pounds: Case Roberts (Harmony): Went 33-13, second place at OBCs.
285 pounds: Jacquille Knox (Osceola): District champion was fifth at regionals.
