3A-11 Preview: Jupiter looking for same magic to secure the three-peat
BY BRANT PARSONS — Jupiter came into last season in a state of chaos but found its identity through the season and still pulled off a second-straight district title.
It was a shocker for new head Nate Smith, who after taking over the program right before the season began, was still getting to know his team.
“I really wasn’t expecting that because we didn’t even have a full lineup,” Smith said. “I think all of us were blown away and it gave us a lot of positive momentum.
The Warriors will hope to continue to ride that wave as they bring back an experienced team that has some freshman coming in that are ready to compete.
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Last season: Jupiter found some magic last year in the district tournament to outscore Dwyer by 31.5 points.
Last year’s district tournament results
Last year’s region tournament results
Wrestlers to watch: Jorge Bravo (Palm Beach Gardens), Corrado DeSantis (Dwyer), Cash Ciliento (Jupiter), Jagger Pentney (Jupiter)
The favorite: Jupiter. Two straight district title teams and this year’s version might be better than last year’s.
Team to watch: Dwyer. The Panthers were close last year but lost five district finals bouts. Look for them to battle this year again.
District duals: Dec. 20 at Dwyer
District IBT: Feb. 14 at Forest Hill
Kabra Says: I would never have picked Jupiter to win the district title last year, and this year I can’t think of a reason not to. So beware.
Jupiter Warriors
Coach: Nathan Smith (2nd season)
Assistant coach: Trey Burlingame
Recent district results: 2023:1; 2022:1; 2021:5-3A10; 2020:4-3A10; 2019:4-3A9; 2018:1-3A9; 2017:3-3A9; 2016:6-3A9; 2015:3-3A9; 2014:3-3A9; 2013:3-3A9; 2012:3-3A9
Last state champion: Jesse Stephanos, 2013 (182)
Notable losses (Graduation/Transfer): Ian Wolski, 45-12, SQ, RC, D2; Connor Olivares, Jr., 34-18, SQ, RC, D2 (Transfer to Wellington)
Notable returning wrestlers: #9-138 Cash Ciliento, Sr., 46-12, SQ, R3, DC; #11-144 August Zoratti, Sr., 37-18, RQ, D2; #11-165 Jagger Pentney, Sr., 35-18, RQ-BR, D3; #18-285 Shantavous White, Jr., 38-20, RQ, D2; Colin Snowney, Sr., 30-20, RQ, DC; Tosh Burlingame, So., 9-12, RQ, D4; Alex Davis, Sr., 20-17, RQ, DC; Ben Green, So.
New wrestler: Sam Gilbert, Fr.
What they are saying: "We're signed up for some pretty hard tournaments. So I think I think we'll get a pretty good idea of who we are. As long as I can just keep everybody healthy, I think we'll make a name for ourself this year. I'm pretty pumped."
On last year: "I didn't even really get to know a lot of the guys until the end of the year so it took me took me all year just to kind of figure out who was who and who had what potential and who was really committed to the sport and who wasn't. But the biggest obstacle for me was more of the admin side - Track Wrestling and getting weight assessments and field trip forms and all that kind of stuff. So that was the most stressful part for me - the paperwork side of it. So going into this year, I got a lot of that done ahead of time and I am not going to have to worry about that."
On incoming freshman: "My ninth graders are some of my best recruiters. They're bringing all their friends. They're really excited about it. First day of ninth grade, we had a wrestling table set up and we were being bombarded by the ninth graders because all their friends are already in the club. So it's just it's brought a lot more attention to the team."
Outlook: This is a solid team from 126 pounds up, the question will be which freshman can make the biggest impact in the lower weights. If a few of them can make the jump, the Warriors could be looking at a third straight district title.
Dwyer Panthers
Coach: Stephen DeSantis (3rd season/11th overall)
22-23 dual record: 7-2
Recent district results: 2023:2; 2022:4; 2021:8-3A10; 2020:8-3A10; 2019:7-2A14; 2018:7-2A14; 2017:7-2A14; 2016:6-2A14; 2015:7-3A9; 2014:5-3A9; 2013:7-3A9; 2012:8-3A9
Notable losses (Graduation/Transfer): Jordan Townes, 18-7, RQ, D2; Keyontae Harvey, 25-8, RQ, DC; Hunter Krieger, 17-9, RQ, D2.
Potential notable returning wrestlers: #6-165 Corrado DeSantis, Sr., 27-10, SQ, R2, DC; #14-157 Dante DeSantis, Jr., 31-10, RQ-BR, DC; Luciano Paniccia, Jr., 17-17, RQ, D2; Kevin Sammiel, Jr., 16-17, RQ, D4; Lucas Schmidt, Sr., 8-8, RQ, D2; Stonington Kizun, Jr., 19-14, RQ, D2; Ryan Wolfe, Sr., 25-12, RQ, D4.
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Palm Beach Gardens Gators
Coach: William George (19th season)
Assistant coaches: Larone Madison, Karyn Hart
22-23 dual record: 0-2
Recent district results: 2023:3; 2022:2; 2021:3-3A10; 2020:3-3A10; 2019:2-3A9; 2018:3-3A9; 2017:5-3A9; 2016:3-3A9; 2015:2-3A9; 2014:1-3A9; 2013:2-3A9; 2012:5-3A9
Last state champion: Bryan Canedo, 2020 (195)
Notable losses (Graduation/Transfer): Tyrus Randle, 17-11, RQ, D3; Allen Menefee, 13-12, RQ, D4; Zach Joseph, 25-7, RQ-BR, DC.
Notable returning wrestlers: #6-113 Jorge Bravo, Sr., 30-6, SQ, RC, DC; Brandon Morales, Sr., 7-12, RQ, D2; Evan Crespo, Jr., 16-14, RQ, D4; Kenneth Poitier, Sr., 10-13, RQ, D4; Jaylin Bein-Aime, Sr., 7-9, RQ, D3; Hudson Bernier, Jr.; Alex LaSalle, So.; Mikai Clarke, So.; Ainsley Sheriff, Sr.
What they are saying: “We are a relatively inexperienced group that did a lot of off season training and competition.”
Outlook: Bravo is back and looking to get onto the podium this year. He’ll chase that while leading a group still growing in the sport.
Seminole Ridge Hawks
Coach: Barry Staats
Recent district results: 2023:4; 2022:3; 2021:2; 2020:2; 2019:4-3A10; 2018:5-3A10; 2017:4-3A10; 2016:2-3A10; 2015:2-3A10; 2014:2-3A10; 2013:1-3A9; 2012:2-3A9
Notable losses (Graduation/Transfer): Marco Luciano, 36-6, 6th, R2, DC; Austin Duffy, 34-10, SQ, R2, DC; Peter Duffy, 31-15, RQ-BR, D3.
Potential notable returning wrestlers: #15-285 Joel Leon, Jr., 23-12, RQ-BR, DC; Micah McDonald, So., 8-13, RQ, D3; Troy Daher, So., 9-21, RQ, D4; Jeremiah Derosier, Jr., 25-18, RQ, D3; Vincent Popple, So., 6-29, RQ, D4.
Palm Beach Central Broncos
Coach: Shawn Eastman (2nd year head coach/6th overall)
Recent district results: 2023:5; 2022:5; 2021:5; 2020:6; 2019:5-3A10; 2018:5-3A10; 2017:6-3A10; 2016:4-3A10; 2015:4-3A10; 2014:3-3A10; 2013:4-3A10; 2012:5-3A10
Last state champion: Gabe Terry, 2012 (195)
Notable losses (Graduation/Transfer): Evelio Vazquez, 10-10, RQ, D3; Mateo Lopez, 16-6, RQ, D2; Cole Overbey, 20-10, RQ, D3.
Potential notable returning wrestlers: Giovanni Vazquez, Jr., 12-9, RQ, D3; Benedicto Baltodano, Sr., 5-2; Mateo Pelaez, Jr., 12-13, RQ, D3; Joseph Solitario, Sr., 19-8, RQ, DC.
Royal Palm Beach Wildcats
Coach: Anthony Rodriguez
Recent district results: 2023:7; 2022:7; 2021:4; 2020:8; 2019:2-3A10; 2018:2-3A10; 2017:2-3A10; 2016:5-3A10; 2015:5-3A10; 2014:4-3A10; 2013:6-3A9; 2012:7-3A9
Notable losses (Graduation/Transfer): Jayden Jones, 13-7, RQ, DC.
Potential notable returning wrestlers: Edwin Lugo, Jr., 2-10, RQ, D4.
Forest Hill Falcons
Coach: Leslie Toussaint (4th at school/9th overall)
Recent district results: 2023:2; 2022:6; 2021:7; 2020:5; 2019:3-3A10; 2018:3-3A10; 2017:3-3A10; 2016:3-3A10; 2015:1-2A15; 2014:1-2A15; 2013:8-2A14; 2012:7-2A14
Last state champion: David Sanchez, 1999 (103)
Notable losses (Graduation/Transfer): Ketler Omega, 5-7, RQ, D2; Cyrus Keaton, 8-8, RQ, D3; Nicholas Cassie, 3-8, RQ, D3.
Potential notable returning wrestlers: Edgar Gonzalez, Jr., 10-8, RQ, D3.