Tampa Jesuit serves notice to rest of Class 2A with dominating region final performance
KISSIMMEE — #2 Tampa Jesuit’s lineup from 113-175 pounds is quite formidable and on Friday afternoon at the FHSAA State Duals Tournament, those guys put together 10 straight wins to knock off #4 Charlotte 51-21 for the Class 2A-3 region title.
“That’s a good team we wrestled today and they beat us pretty good last year,” Jesuit head coach Sal Basile said. “And I know they graduated a lot of great kids and we have some new guys but that was a win we wanted.”
Charlotte bookended their four wins and started with a pin from Jaxon Newton (285) and decision victory for Evan Cope (106) and a 9-0 lead.
That’s when Jesuit’s line-up went to work.
Malachai Ortiz (113), Reid Yakes (120), Roman Lermer (126), Xavier Albo (132), Jayden Bowles (138), Mason Basile (144), Daven McCall (150), Kawayran Vazquez (157), Chancellor Haber (165), and Brandon Cody (175) then won each of their matches.
It was quite the statement from the Tigers.
The Tarpons finished the dual with Jett McCauley (190) and Viliam Piekh (215) earning pins.
Jesuit will face #5 Merritt Island in the semifinals. If they win, they’ll advance to the state finals where they will face #1 Lake Gibson or #3 Fleming Island.
The semifinals take place on Saturday at 10 a.m. at Kissimmee Osceola High School. Tickets can be purchased here.
Tampa Jesuit 51, Charlotte 21
106: Evan Cope (C) dec. Brock Glover (J) 9-3; 113: Malachi Ortiz (J) p. Matthew Schuler (C) 3:45; 120: Reid Yakes (J) p. Caden Moore (C) 0:47; 126: Roman Lermer (J) p. Cody Holt (C) 0:47; 132: Xavier Albo (J) dec. Kaiden Ballinger (C) 9-4; 138: Jayden Bowles (J) dec. Wyatt Nevling (C) 5-2; 144: Mason Basile (J) p. Carson Bennett (C) 3:44; 150: Draven McCall (J) dec. Luke Davis (C) 6-1; 157: Kawayran Vazquez (J) p. Jackson Judy (C) 1:27; 165: Chancellor Haber (J) p. Jaden Palmer (C) 5:32; 175: Brandon Cody (J) p. Isaac Schaeffer (C) 0:51; 190: Jett McCauley (C) p. Marvin Mendez (J) 2:12; 215: Viliam Piekh (C) p. Julian Alonso (J) 0:58; 285: Jaxon Newton (C) p. Thayne Swenson (J) 1:58.
Brant Parsons is the founder and executive editor of Kabra Wrestling. After learning and competing in the sport as a kid growing up in Ohio, he started covering Florida high school wrestling in 2004 and formed Kabra Wrestling in the summer of 2021.
