South Dade rolls to 19th FHSAA IBT wrestling state championship

Somerset, Tampa Jesuit, Hernando also win state titles
South Dade rolls to 19th FHSAA IBT wrestling state championship
South Dade rolls to 19th FHSAA IBT wrestling state championship /

KISSIMMEE – The South Dade wrestling machine cranked out another title.

Wrestling juggernaut South Dade won its 19th IBT wrestling state championship at the FHSAA state championships on Saturday, mathematically running away with the title before the finals were even wrestled.

South Dade’s Bryan Morales picks up head coach Victor Balmeceda after winning the Class 3A 106-pound wrestling state championship on Saturday at Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee / Bill Kemp

South Dade racked up 274.5 points, easily beating second-place Osceola by 155, while crowning six individual state champions – which tied a school record.

“We scored more points than we ever scored in a state championship,” South Dade head coach Victor Balmeceda said. “If you put the team score of the second-place team and the third-place team together, they still don’t beat us.”

Winning individual state championships were: Bryan Morales (106), Elvis Solis Jr. (138), Gavin Balmeceda (165), Kevin Olavarria (175), Christopher Sanchez (190) and Sawyer Bartelt (215).

“The secret is having a great kid’s program,” Balmeceda said. “When you get kids who have been wrestling since they were 5 or 6-years old, they are ready to win state titles.”

South Dade senior Sawyer Bartelt pins Dante DeSantis, from Dwyer, in the 215-pound state championship match on Saturday at Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee.
South Dade senior Sawyer Bartelt pins Dante DeSantis, from Dwyer, in the 215-pound state championship match on Saturday at Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee.  / Bill Kemp

The Buccaneers placed a school record 10 wrestlers in the finals and finished with 12 total medalists. South Dade set a school record with 14-place winners last year.

In 2018, South Dade placed seven wrestlers in the finals and set a school record with six state champions.

Bartelt, who is signed with Iowa State, won his fourth state championship at South Dade and finished with a high school career record of 139-0.

During that stretch, Bartelt never let an opponent score a takedown on him, until his final state championship match Saturday, when Dante DeSantis, from Dwyer, scored an early first-period takedown for a 2-0 lead. Bartelt responded by pinning DeSantis at the 2:33 mark.

“It was a minor setback when he got the first takedown,” Bartlet said. “It just happens, I guess he studied and did his research on me. But I just kept my same goal to win the final. I had to push through it. It is what it is. I'm headed to the next level in college and I just have to get better.”

Osceola senior Anderson Heap celebrates with the crowd after winning his third consecutive Class 3A wrestling state championship on Saturday at Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee.
Osceola senior Anderson Heap celebrates with the crowd after winning his third consecutive Class 3A wrestling state championship on Saturday at Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee.  / Bill Kemp

Osceola senior Anderson Heap won the 150-pound 3A title, his third consecutive championship, while picking up his 200th career win in the state championship match. His teammate, Isfandier Sharipov, won the 132-pound title.

“Winning is just taking advantage of every opportunity, and hard work is going to get you where you need to be,” Heap said.

Cavarius Liddie, from Buchholz, won his second straight title, taking home the 144-pound crown.

“The first one was easier. It is really easy to wrestle someone when no one knows you, and it’s a lot harder when someone comes to take you out,” Liddie said.

Also winning individual 3A individual state championships were: Christian Vazquez (113) Doral Academy, Fredrick Mitchum (120) Miami Southridge, Gabriel Tellez (126) Southwest Miami, Shawn McCallister (157) Harmony and Kaden Darwin (285) Palmetto Ridge.

Class 2A goes back to Tampa Jesuit

Jesuit won 2A, rolling up 201 points and beating second-place Lake Gibson by 53.5. It was the third overall title and second IBT championship for the program. Jesuit crowned three individual champions during the run: Malachi Ortiz (113), Draven McCall (150) and Brandon Cody (165).

“Getting the lead early was a big part of it,”Jesuit head coach Sal Basile said.” There were a couple of years where we had less guys and we were always chasing and trying to catch up. This year we brought 12 guys and 12 guys contributed. We had 12 guys score points the first day and get the lead and that was really the difference.”

Lake Gibson senior Gianni Maldonado battles his way to the Class 2A 157-pound wrestling state championship on Saturday at Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee.
Lake Gibson senior Gianni Maldonado battles his way to the Class 2A 157-pound wrestling state championship on Saturday at Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee.  / Bill Kemp

Gianni Maldonado won the 157-pound title for Lake Gibson, his second straight championship capped with his 204th career.

“It’s been an awesome year from start to finish. I went through some adversity and fought back. It is amazing to win that many times. Most kids get like 30-something in their career.

More 2A state champions were: Solomon Peterson (106) Heritage, Elijah Lowe (120) Lake Gibson, Cameron French (126) and Maximus Brady (132) Mariner, Ryan Phillips (138) and Elijah Penton (175) Winter Springs, Jordan Mills (190) Matanzas, Kaleb Ivie (215) Merritt Island and Ryder Luck (285) Lincoln.

Lake Gibson senior Gianni Maldonado reacts after winning Class 2A 157-pound wrestling state championship on Saturday at Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee. It was the second straight state title of his career.
Lake Gibson senior Gianni Maldonado reacts after winning Class 2A 157-pound wrestling state championship on Saturday at Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee. It was the second straight state title of his career.  / Bill Kemp

Somerset wins 1A title for fourth championship

Somerset Academy rallied from 10.5 points down to Mater Lakes heading into the finals, and won the 1A state championship by 4.5 points with a 156.5 total.

“It was exciting. I knew going into this it was going to be close with Mater Lakes,” Somerset coach Joe Blasucci said. “There is a lot of parody in 1A. It is tight. We brought a lot of kids here. We had to win seven of eight placement matches to win it. And we got a little help from other people.”

It was the fourth state championship for Somerset, which has won two IBTs and two Duals state titles. In the process, Somerset crowned three state champions: Jake Austin (113), Jovani Solis (132) and Kendrick Hodge (165).

Winning 1A individual titles were: Jovanni Tovar (106) Miami Christian School, Derrick Williams (120) Bozeman, Sebastian Degennaro (126) Jensen Beach, Asher Bacon (138) and Michael Kersey (144) First Baptist, Gavin Nolan (150) Clearwater Central Catholic, Enzo Gamba (157) Fernandina Beach, Xander Hawkes (175) Florida, Pete Mocco (190) Coral Springs Charter, Michael Mocco (215) Cardinal Gibbons and Tim Gray (285) Crystal River.

South Dade’s Christopher Sanchez grapples his way to the Class 3A 190-pound state wrestling championship on Saturday at Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee / Bill Kemp

Hernando wins girls tournament

Hernando won the team championship with Grace Leota (170), a two-time winner, as its lone individual champion.

Lake Gibson senior Gabby Tedesco also won her second state title in the 105-pound division.

“It just felt great because last year I was kind of cracking under pressure, even though I won. It just felt great to wrestle tough and not feel the pressure,” Tedesco said.

Lake Gibson senior Gabby Tedecso hugs coaches Briana Kellin and Danny Walker after winning the girls 106-pound wrestling state championship on Saturday at Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee. It was the second straight state title of her career.
Lake Gibson senior Gabby Tedecso hugs coaches Briana Kellin and Danny Walker after winning the girls 106-pound wrestling state championship on Saturday at Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee. It was the second straight state title of her career.  / Bill Kemp

Also winning individual titles were Joslyn Johnson (100) Flagler Palm Coast, Mariah Mills (110) Matanzas, Iyonna Church-Ross (115) Charlotte, Melina Borelli (120) Venice, Christina Borgmann (125) Flagler Palm Coast, Gabriela Caro (130) Douglas, Sofia Delgado (140) Coral Park, Katherine Stewart (145) Bartram Trail, Mya Betel (155) North Miami, Grace Leota (170) Hernando, Cheyenne Cruce (190) Middleburg and Cerenity Whiting (285) Countryside. 

Lake Gibson senior Gabby Tedecso works her way to the girls 106-pound wrestling state championship on Saturday at Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee. It was the second straight state title of her career.
Lake Gibson senior Gabby Tedecso works her way to the girls 106-pound wrestling state championship on Saturday at Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee. It was the second straight state title of her career.  / Bill Kemp

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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.