Breakdown: Knockout Christmas Classic finals
KISSIMMEE - The 2023 Knockout Christmas Classic finals did not disappoint, with three matches going into overtime and last second wins in others.
Here’s a breakdown:
106: Gabe Swann (Carroll Central) dec. Keagan Mesina (Mater Lakes Academy) 4-2
Swann scored two near fall points in the second period and then held on for the win with two escapes in the third in tightly-contested final.
113: Christian Vazquez (Doral Academy) dec. Adaias Ortiz (Kissimmee Osceola) 7-2
The Doral Academy senior won this final by controlling the takedown game, earning three of them in the match.
120: Teague Strobel (West-Oak) dec. Roman Lermer (Jesuit) 5-3
Strobel’s takedown with 1:05 left in the third period sealed this hard-earned win.
126: Antonio Mills (Mill Creek) dec. Sebastian Degennaro (Jensen Beach) 6-5
Six points in the third period powered Mills to this win in one of the best finals of the bunch.
132: Jovani Solis (Somerset) dec. Tanner Spalding (Woodward Academy) SV-1 5-3
A takedown with 19 seconds left in sudden victory gave Solis the win between two wrestlers that didn’t give up much the final two periods.
138: Drew Gorman (Buford) p. Nikolas Blake (Hagerty) 2:35
Blake made this one interesting against the #4-ranked wrestler in the country, going up 4-0 less than a minute into the match, but it was Gorman’s second takedown of the match that led to the pin.
144: Jaydon Robinson (Winter Springs) dec. Cavarius Liddie (Buchholz) 8-3
Robinson showcased his quickness with four takedowns in this match to win the Knockout title in his first appearance.
150: Anderson Heap (Kissimmee Osceola) dec. Dallas Russell (Jefferson) 10-3
It’s a three-peat for Heap and the Kowboys senior methodically took him his third career Knockout title.
157: Gianni Maldonado (Lake Gibson) dec. Seth Larson (Flowery Branch) 3-0
All of the scoring action here came in the second period with Maldonado’s takedown giving him control that he never relinquished.
165: Logan Fowler (Cleveland) dec. Kendrick Hodge (Somerset) 5-1
Fowler controlled the match from the start, scoring a takedown early and adding one more to build his final margin.
175: Dominic Bambinelli (Mill Creek) dec. Gunner Holland (Kissimmee Osceola) 4-2
Bambinelli earned the win with two scoring moves in an athletic final that had plenty of action.
190: Jordan Mills (Matanzas) dec. Lucas Szymborski (Cleveland) 3-1
Mills won one of the more exciting finals with a takedown with just 11 seconds left to seal a hard-fought win.
215: Sawyer Bartelt (South Dade) dec. Aaron Riner (Buford) 8-1
Bartelt became the third four-time Knockout champion with a methodical, if not frustrating, win in the final where he dominated offensively.
285: Kaden Darwin (Palmetto Ridge) dec. Tim Gray (Crystal River) TB-1 7-6
A wildly entertaining, and at times confusing, final to the Knockout tournament saw the Palmetto Ridge wrestler score a reversal in the tiebreaker.
