Vote: Who should be the SBLive’s Florida Wrestler of the Week (1/16/2024)?

Take a look at these 12 candidates and cast your vote

The 2023-24 Florida high school wrestling season is underway and with it comes the SBLive Florida Wrestler of the Week poll.

ScorebookLive.com will run the poll each week. There will be one mixed poll for both boys and girls. Voting will conclude on Friday, Jan. 19th at 11:59 p.m. and the winner will be announced in next week’s new poll.

Send nominations from the past week’s tournaments and duals to BillKempSports@gmail.com by Monday at noon. Please include the player’s first and last name, school, weight class and their accomplishments for the week.

Lake Gibson sophomore Christian Fretwell wins a 120-pound championship match against Davenport sophomore Tallon Widrick at the Brian Bain Invitational this past February at Auburndale.
Lake Gibson sophomore Christian Fretwell wins a 120-pound championship match against Davenport sophomore Tallon Widrick at the Brian Bain Invitational this past February at Auburndale / By Bill Kemp

Here are this week's nominees:

Gabby Tedesco, Lake Gibson, Senior

She helped Lake Gibson win its regional second-round showdown with Winter Springs with a 7-0 win over Zavian Chavoz in a 106-pound match.

Christian Fretwell, Lake Gibson, Junior

He moved up to 138 pounds and pinned Nathaniel Matthews from Lyman and edged Ryan Mills from Winter Springs 5-4 in the 2A regional rounds Thursday.

Jaydon Robinson, Winter Springs, Senior

The top-ranked 144-pounder pinned Austin Chung from Lake Gibson and picked up a tech-fall win over Ruben Ocasio from Gateway in two 150-pound matches at the regional meet.

Maite Countinho, Freedom, Senior

She placed first in the 106-pound division at the Lady Bear Classic, pinning Sofia Ramos from Harmony, Samantha Singh from Jones and Yhoaliberth Ruiz from Freedom in the championship match.

Elvis Solis, South Dade, Junior

The defending 138-pound state champion defeated Alec Gonzales from Columbus with a 19-3 tech fall in a 138-pound regional first-round match and then pinned Didier Novoa from Southwest Miami in the second-round regional.

Gian Ortiz, Jensen Beach, Senior

He pinned Asher Daly of Coral Springs Charter during a first-round 120-pound regional dual and Caden Cagiano from Cardinal Gibbons during a second-round match.

Jovani Solis, Somerset, 8th

The defending 113-pound state champion pinned AJ Ferreira from Florida Christian in a first-round 132-pound match to remain undefeated.

Gian Ortiz, Jensen Beach, Senior

He pinned Asher Daly of Coral Springs Charter during a first-round 120-pound regional dual and Caden Cagiano from Cardinal Gibbons during a second-round match.

Enzo Gamba, Fernandina Beach, Senior

He went 2-0 in the 1A regional rounds Thursday, pinning Jameson Lang from Union County and beating Benny Lewis, 4-2, from Baker County. He also defeated top-ranked wrestlers Willie White from Southwest Miami and Gavin Balmaceda from South Dade to win the Cradle Cancer 165-pound bracket last week.

Anderson Heap, Osceola, Senior

He picked up an 18-3 tech-fall win against Devin Blunt from Strawberry Crest in a 152-pound regional first round match and then pinned Darian Monserrate from George Steinbrenner in the second-round match.

Kendrick Hodge, Somerset, Senior

The defending 160-pound state champion pinned Tyler Quesada from Florida Christian in a 165-pound regional first round dual match and then pinned Darian Vargas from Mater Lakes in a 175-pound second-round match.

Kaden Darwin, Palmetto Ridge, Senior

The top-ranked heavyweight picked up two pins at the regional meet, the first over William Belen from Plant City and the second over Kristopher Ralsto from Riverdale to remain undefeated. 


Published
Bill Kemp
BILL KEMP

Bill Kemp is an award-winning sports journalist at the state and national levels. Over the course of 25 years, he’s covered more than 4,000 sporting events including the NFL regular season, playoffs and Super Bowls, Major League Baseball regular season and spring training, NASCAR racing at Daytona and Talladega International Speedways and major college football regular seasons and bowl games. He was named by the Associated Press Sports Editors as a Top 10 sports columnist and Top 3 by the Alabama Press Association for best sports column and sports page design. He has served as preps editor at the Lakeland Ledger as well as sports editor at five different newspapers in Florida and Alabama. He has been published in dozens of newspapers including USA Today, the Miami Herald, the Orlando Sentinel, the Jacksonville Times Union and the Tampa Bay Times. He holds a bachelor's degree from the University of South Florida. He has been writing for SBLive Sports since 2022.