South Dade, Somerset seek state championship repeat
Miami-Dade and Broward counties combined to win two of the three wrestling state titles last season as longtime power South Dade won Class 3A and relative newcomer Somerset Academy won Class 1A.
South Dade has won eight straight state championships, the longest active streak in Florida wrestling. In Florida history, only Brandon has won more consecutive titles, but that school’s 16-year run ended in 2017.
Lake Highland Prep had won six straight 1A titles — through 2020 — before deciding to break away from the FHSAA in order to wrestle more of a national schedule.
That decision opened up 1A for Somerset, a Pembroke Pines school coached by Joe Blasucci.
“If not for Lake Highland the past several years, we could have won four or five more state titles,” Blasucci said. “They cost us many individual state titles, too.”
Somerset is now on top in 1A, but for how long? Following last season, Blasucci lost six athletes who won at least one state title during their time at Somerset, including seniors Darian Estevez, Chase Gillis, Skyler Caban and Sean Concepcion.
In addition, two other state champs transferred to high schools outside the state: Christian Fretwell (Pennsylvania) and Bas Diaz (Iowa). Fretwell and Diaz are freshmen this season and had a lot of time left at Somerset had they stayed.
Somerset plans to reload around heavyweight Matthew Jimenez, who finished second at state last season.
“I think we’ll have at least three kids win state titles this season,” Blasucci said. “The champs are not dead yet.”
Of course, no other South Florida wrestling program is more deserving of the “champs” label than the South Dade Bucs, who have won 16 state titles overall, including 14 under coach Victor Balmeceda.
The Bucs have some standout wrestlers competing at top colleges, including Bretli Reyna at Iowa, Isaiah Crosby at Oregon State and Brevin Balmeceda — the coach’s oldest son — at Oklahoma State.
This season, the Bucs’ stars are seniors Alex Couto and Adrian Morales, junior Cordell White, sophomores Sawyer Bartelt and Gavin Balmeceda (the coach’s youngest son) and freshman EJ Solis.
Bartelt is the superstar of the bunch. As a freshman last season, he went undefeated, winning
GMAC, district, regional and state titles without yielding a single takedown all season.
“He’s on track to becoming one of the ‘GOATs’ of Florida wrestling,” coach Balmeceda said.
Bartelt is so good — and so tough — that he won a national title this past summer despite needing ACL knee surgery.
He didn’t know the extent of the injury at the time — he likely didn’t want to know — and still won in Greco-Roman style at the prestigious Fargo tournament in North Dakota. He also finished fifth in freestyle wrestling.
Bartelt, a 5-11, 205pounder, is also a middle linebacker, but he missed the entire football season due to the injury.
He is expected to return to wrestling in January.
“Our football team had built its entire defense around him,” Balmeceda said.
“He’s been wrestling since he was 5 years old. Thousands of kids burn out, but he’s hungry to be the best.”
Balmeceda said Palmetto Ridge, which finished second at state last season in Class 2A, will look to challenge his Bucs in 3A this season.
Miami Southwest, which finished second in 3A last season, is perhaps the second-best FHSAA wrestling program in the state.
But the Eagles have been stuck in South Dade’s shadow.
This season, Eagles coach Mick Arteaga lists his top wrestlers as Gabriel Tellez, Kevin Placer, Favian Olivia, Lester Martinez, Adrian Ochoa, Danny Diaz and Adrian Sans.
Other Miami-Dade/ Broward challengers include
Columbus and Cypress Bay in 3A and Cardinal Gibbons and Mater Lakes in 1A.
Gibbons is tied for fifth in Florida history with five state titles and finished fifth in 1A last season. They return junior Nicholas Yancey, a state champ at 113 pounds; senior Danil Korchenskiy, who was third at 160; senior Matthew Palermo, who was fourth at 120; and senior Peyton Vargas, who was fifth at 106.
THIS AND THAT
American Heritage, which finished ninth at regionals, has moved up to Class 2A. They also return nine regional qualifiers, including Jaeden Kinlock, a 5-11, 195-pounder who signed a football scholarship to play linebacker for Harvard.
Cypress Bay, which finished 11th in the state in 3A last season, is led by seniors Rafael Diniz, Conor Ivory and Jared Campbell.
Miramar is led by senior Imari Milton, a district champ and state qualifier.
AAAIf anyone knows of a noteworthy girls’ wrestling or weightlifting programs in Dade/Broward, please email: wvilla07@yahoo.com