Orange Belt Conference championships at Gateway Jan. 29
Although wrestling short-handed because of injuries and illness, Osceola will compete for a state championship this weekend as it hosts the 2025 FHSAA State Duals Championships Friday and Saturday at the Kowboys Gym.
Founded in 2018, the event was created to supplement the traditional Individual Bracket Tournament (IBT) in March as a way of recognizing the top overall duals teams in the state. Since its inception, Osceola has qualified every year, finishing second in 2020, 2023, and 2024.
After winning districts two weeks ago with a hard-fought win over runner-up Harmony, both Osceola and the Longhorns advanced to the sub-regional in Viera on Jan. 19. The Longhorns were eliminated with a tough 38-34 loss to host Viera first round where they had to forfeit four weigh classes due to injuries and illness.
Still, the Longhorns had a chance to stay alive when Seth Scutero recorded an overtime victory at 190 pounds as Harmonty briefly took a 34-32 lead.
Osceola came from behind to defeat Ft. Pierce Central in its semifinal match, 38-34. Trailing by three with two matches remaining, Osceola’s Deacon Delong recorded a major decision at 190 and Jean Gonzalez defeated Logan Henghold, 8-1, to advance Osceola to the finals.
In the sub-regional championship match, Osceola trailed 24-9 but then won seven matches to defeat host-Viera, 47-24. Delong and Gonzalez recorded major decisions and Elijah Van Sickle put a stamp on the victory with a fall in the final match.
The win sends Osceola against Wellington in a Friday night quarterfinal. Coach Rick Tribit notes that it will be a tough road for Osceola to match its last two runner-up duals performances.
“We really need to get healthy to have a chance,” Tribit said. “Between illness and injury we were missing six starters at practice on Monday and Tuesday of this week.”
South Dade, winners of the last two championships and six of the previous seven, will he the heavy favorites to repeat as 3A Championships. Jensen Beach and Jesuit are expected to challenge 2024 champion Lake Gibson for the 2A title; while Somerset, Zephyrhills Christian and Suwanee are three of the top teams in 1A.
Osceola County’s eight schools will be back in action Wednesday, Jan. 29 when Gateway hosts the 2024 Orange Belt Conference tournament beginning at 1:30 p.m. That tournament once again promises to be a dogfight between the Longhorns and the Kowboys.
Osceola won its second straight OBC Championship with a 222-217 win over the Longhorns last year, despite Harmony placing more wrestlers than Osceola in the finals and claiming one more individual championship,
The Kowboys have won 10 of the last 13 OBC titles; Harmony won three straight from 2020-22. This year’s championship may very well come down to which team overcomes its injuries and illness the best.
“We’ve been nowhere close to full strength and it’s doubtful we will be for OBC’s,” Harmony coach Vic Lorenzano said. “But I’m so proud of how these kids have fought through adversity the past couple of weeks and we’ll do the same this week.”
In addition to the boys’ OBC Championship, the girls’ OBC tournament will be held simultaneously on Wednesday where Osceola and Harmony are expected to contend for the team title.
More from the mat: Harmony competed in last week’s prestigious Jerry Mita Invitational in Largo, where the Longhorns finished third (168.5) behind champion Miami Southridge (227.5) and 1A power Zephyrhills Christian (217.5) in the 40-team field.
Nathan Lyttle (113) and Tristin Horn (106) absolutely dominated their weight classes. Lyttle picked up four pins and a technical fall in remaining undefeated (25-0) on the season, while Horn went to 25-1 with three pins, a technical fall and a decision. Navan Irving (120) and Brody Williams (144) placed third and second in their respective weight classes. Harmony took just 10 wrestlers to the tournament and nine scored points.
Host St. Cloud, Tohopekaliga, Poinciana and Gateway participated in the Cousins Milton Winter Memorial last week. Toho captured 6th place and St. Cloud was 7th in the 21-team field. South Dade (296.5) took the team championship by a scant two points over Winter Springs (293.0)
Top five performances by county wrestlers included St. Cloud’s Jacob Delarosa (2nd -120), Andrew Colantonio (5th-285), Yompol Borrero-Santiago (5th-165); Tohopekaliga’s Daniel Furtado (4th-138), Juan Hildago (5th-157), Bryan Batles (2nd-165), Josue Mota-Marte (2nd-175) and Valentino Benavides (4th-190). Poinciana’s Raeven Velasco was 5th at 175.
