Osceola falls to South Dade
As expected, South Dade regained the FHSAA Class 3A Duals Championship on Saturday afternoon with a convincing 44-9 win over host Osceola. South Dade reached the finals earlier in the day with a 67-12 win over DeLand.
The Buccaneers were never challenged in either of Saturday’s matches, winning 12 of 14 weight classes against DeLand in the morning semifinals and taking 10 of 13 against the Kowboys in the finals.
South Dade regained the title after being upset in the semifinals last year. South Dade has won five of the six team titles since the Duals Championship was created for the 1998-99 season and is also favored to win its 10th consecutive team title when the traditional individual-bout tournament is held in March.
“There’s a reason why South Dade has won 23 combined state team championships heading into this event,” Osceola coach Rick Tribit said. “They have great coaches, great talent and a great program. I am extremely proud of our guys, though. They battled and scratched their way to a secondplace finish to go with a district and regional championship.
“We’ll use the momentum to get ready for state IBT tournament.”
Osceola’s three individual wins in the final came from their three defending state champions.
Anderson Heap defeated Misha Arbos 10-7 with a takedown and back points in the final seconds of the third overtime period. Cooper Haase needed an escape and takedown late in the third period to get by Gavin Balmeceda 6-3. Gunner Holland got a takedown in the final
At Osceola High
3A semifinals
Osceola 38, Ft. Pierce 30 South Dade 67, DeLand 12 3A finals
South Dade 44, Osceola 9
2A semifinals
Fleming 51, Merritt Island 18 Lake Gibson 40, Charlotte 28 2A finals
Lake Gibson 37, Fleming 19
1A semifinals
Zephyrhills Christian 45, Hernando 32 Jensen Beach 49, Suwannee 19
1A finals
Jensen Beach 57, Zephyrhills Christian 12
15 seconds of his match Lawrence Rosario 3-1.
The closeness of those matches did not surprise Tribit.
“Those guys are quality wrestlers and have competed against our guys plenty of times in the past,” the coach said. “Both sides knew what to expect.”
Osceola’s “Triple H” combination of Heap, Haase and Holland played a key role in getting Osceola to the finals as it needed a comeback to unseat Ft. Pierce Central in the semifinals, 38-30.
Falling behind 15-6 earlier and trailing by seven points with four matches remaining, Heap brought Osceola back to within one by recording a fall over Damion Allison. Haase then pinned JT Apicella in the next match to put Osceola up 32-27 before Holland clinched the victory with a second-period pin over Bryan Malara.
“Our big three came through in the semis, but we had some other
to beat outstanding performances, including Jomar Sanchez getting a fall [at 195] and Isfandier Sharipov getting a major decision at 132,” Tribit said. “Even keeping the losses close play such a big role in dual meets because of the scoring.”
Holland wrestled in two different weight classes Saturday and has split the season between 160 and 170.
Tribit was noncommittal about where he would wrestle in FHSSA IBT.
“At the end of the day, we will sit down before districts and make that decision,” Tribit said. “It will simply be based on what is in the best interests of Gunner.”
Although it was not competitive against South Dade, DeLand coach Chris Folsom said he was pleased with the performance of his team, which qualified for the duals championship for the first time. With a 48-23 win over Hagerty in Friday’s quarterfinal, DeLand finished in a tie for third.
DeLand’s two wins against South Dade both came via pinfalls, with Joshua Folsom defeating Matthew Abreu at 142 and Marion Smokes beating Marcelo Rosario at 285.
“Two years ago we took 31st place at IBT regional competition, so our program is definitely headed in the right direction,” Coach Folsom said. “Dual meets are so different from the individual tournaments, so we will flip the switch and start prepping for the state tournament. But I am certainly pleased with the effort we put forth this weekend.”
After losing three of the first four matches, Lake Gibson came from behind to defeat Fleming Island 37-19 for the Class 2A crown, while Jensen Beach defeated Zephyrhills Christian 57-12 for the 1A title.