Haase, Heap lead way for Osceola’s dominance
The streak remains alive. For a 17th straight year Osceola has placed an athlete on top of the podium at the FHSAA state wrestling championships and this time it was doubly impressive at Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee.
Junior Anderson Heap (56-2) won a decision against South Dade’s Misha Arbos (46-8), 3-1, to capture the Class 3A, 145-pound title. It was a rematch of the State Dual Championships in January, where Heap also won 10-7 in overtime. It was Heap’s second consecutive state championship after finishing second as a freshman.
After a scoreless first period, Heap trailed 1-0 in the second period but got a takedown with 36 seconds remaining and rode Arbos out. Starting from the bottom in the third period, he got a quick escape to make it 3-1 and the match finished with both wrestlers on their feet.
“No doubt [Arbos is] a great wrestler and a tough kid,” Heap said. “But I know he likes to lead with his left foot and that’s the side I like to attack. After the takedown, riding him out for the rest of the period was a big key to the win.”
Cooper Haase (49-1) would then tie school history moments later in the 152 final, taking down and pinning Riverdale’s Alexander Soto in the first period. It was Haase’s fourth consecutive state championship — tying former Kowboys great and all-time national wins leader Fox Baldwin.
“I grew up watching Fox and three-time champion Malyke Hines and I wanted to be like them,” Haase said. “Watching Anderson win the match right before me, fired me up even more.”
Haase finishes his Osceola career 204-11, with only two losses in the last two years — both coming against nationally ranked wrestlers.
About the only real setback for the Kowboys came at 170 where two-time state champion Gunner Holland lost 5-3 to South Dade’s Lawrence Rosario in Saturday’s semifinal.
He would come back to defeat Doral Academy’s Albert Manzini by pinfall in the consolation semis before recording a major decision over Miami Palmetto’s Ronald Butler in the third-place match.
“Obviously disappointed,” Holland said. “I had my chances in the semis and came up short. If anything, I promise you will inspire me next season.”
Coach Rick Tribit noted that Holland wrestled the last half of the season with torn ligaments in his hand, along with several other injuries that could require offseason surgery.
“To his credit, he never once complained or used the injuries as an excuse. Gunner is just tough as they come,” Tribit said.
It was one of two third-place finishes posted by the Kowboys as sophomore Elijah Vansickle, who lost a tough 3-2 decision to Jonathan Fraga in the semis, came back to win twice in the consolation bracket. He defeated Lake Mary’s Michael Frederick in the third-place match by a third-period pinfall.
In all, Osceola placed six wrestlers on the podium, scoring 103 team points to take third place in 3A. The Kowboys, who also finished second in the state dual meet championships in January, finished with their 17th consecutive top-six team placement in the state IBT.
“We took seven wrestlers to states and six made the podium. A top-three team finish and a runner-up in state duals,” Tribit said. “Simply put, I could not be any prouder of Cooper, Anderson and our entire team.”
Winter Springs’ Elijah Penton capped a 49-0 season with a 13-5 major decision over Atlantic’s August Batson to take the 2A championship at 170. Although Penton controlled the match the entire way, he did give up his first takedown of the season. He noted that fired him up even more.
“I wanted to finish undefeated without giving up a takedown but he caught me on a mistake and took advantage of it,” he said. “Still, I’ll trade the state title for it any day.”
Harmony’s Nelson Toro capped the list of local champions as he went 46-0 with a hard-fought, 7-4 decision over Palmetto Ridge’s Austin Foye.
“It was a great season for
Nelson, after moving up from 220 last year,” Longhorns coach Vic Lorenzano said. “All season he was giving up 20 or 30 or more pounds to his opponent and while he was quicker and more athletic in most of those matches, there’s always a danger of getting trapped. For him to go undefeated says a lot about how smart a wrestler he is.”
With only four wrestlers in the tournament, Harmony also did well with a sixth-place finish in 3A.
In addition to Toro, Rey Ortiz (132) and Shawn McCallister (138) finished on the podium taking third and fourth place.
“We had a lot of injuries this year and only were able to get four to the state tournament,” Lorenzano said. “But three made the podium, including our second state champion in school history. It was a very satisfying season.”
Winter Springs (seventh in 2A) and Hagerty (12th in 3A) also recorded top 12 finishes in the area.
Winter Springs sent five to the tournament, with Ryan Phillips (132) taking third in the 2A consolation finals and Jonathan Adams (145) and Ransom Randolph (160) each placing sixth.
Hagerty put three on the podium with a third-place finish by Kamdom Harrison (160), a fourth by Nikolas Blake (132) and a sixth by Hunter Tate (182).
Heritage’s Keith Cole made the finals of the 145-pound Class in 2A, but ran into a buzzsaw as Lake Gibson’s Hayden Whidden dominated and won by second-period pin.
Heritage also placed Gabriel Ferreria (56-9), who took fifth at 138; Kaleb Gabrielson, who was seventh at 160; and Solomon Peterson, who was seventh at 106. Heritage posted a top-10 finish in 2A (eighth, 54 points).
South Dade (270.5 points) qualified all 14 of its wrestlers for the state tournament and took home four individual titles to easily win the 3A team title.
It was its 10th consecutive state IBT crown and 19th overall. Lakeland’s Lake Gibson (171.5) won the 2A crown over Fleming Island (156) while Jensen Beach (177.0) edged Somerset (170) for the class A title.