South Dade runs away with 25th title | Class 3A finals breakdown

KISSIMMEE — It looked a little like a dual meet when the Class 3A finalists took the mat on Saturday afternoon in the FHSAA State Wrestling finals at Silver Spurs Arena.

One side of the mat was full of wrestlers in South Dade warmups as the history-making Bucs qualified 10 wrestler for the finals.

Six of them would win, matching the team record, as the Bucs poured in 274.5 points to win the team title by 155 points. It was the most points South Dade has scored in the state tournament. It was also their 25th state title and 11th straight.

“That’s what I dreamed about, having us versus everybody in the state of Florida,” South Dade head coach Vic Balmeceda said. “If you ask me what is better, 14 placers or 10 finalists, I’ll take 10 finalists all day long.”

Bryan Morales (106), Elvis Solis Jr. (138), Gavin Balmeceda (165), Kevin Olavarria (175), Christopher Sanchez (190), and Sawyer Bartelt (215) all won titles for the Bucs.

Kissimmee Osceola (119.5) finished second, followed by SW Miami (102), Doral Academy (72), and Palmetto Ridge (65).

“You’re not going to win them all but we won more than half of them,” Balmeceda said.

See the complete results here (PDF).

The Finals

3A 106: Bryan Morales (South Dade) dec. Rocco Ruiz (Doral Academy) 5-1

Morales started the night off right for the Bucs with a convincing decision win for the sophomore.

(Photo by London Parsons/Kabra Wrestling)

3A 113: Christian Vazquez (Doral Academy) dec. Adaias Ortiz (Kissimmee Osceola) 4-3

After three runner-up finishes, Vazquez earns his first state title with a one-point win in the final.

3A 120: Fredrick Mitchum (Miami Southridge) dec. Luis Acevedo (South Dade) SV-1 6-4

Mitchum earned the state title with an exciting sudden victory takedown.

3A 126: Gabriel Tellez (Southwest Miami) dec. Nathaniel Williams (South Dade) 7-2

Tellez finishes his high school career on top, going 7-0 this season against Williams with all of them being decision victories.

3A 132: Isfandier Sharipov (Osceola (Kissimmee) dec. Dillon Smith (Southwest Miami) 3-2

The first big upset in Class 3A, Sharipov was on fire all weekend and capped it off with a late takedown to win the title.

3A 138: Elvis Solis Jr. (South Dade) dec. Nikolas Blake (Hagerty) 9-7

Solis jumped out to a 6-1 lead and earned his second-career state title.

3A 144: Cavarius Liddie (Buchholz) dec. Tyree Graham (South Dade) 9-3

Back-to-back titles for Liddie as he dominated his finals match to finish his high school career on top.

3A 150: Anderson Heap (Osceola (Kissimmee) tech. Joshua Aviles (South Dade) 24-8

The three-time state champion even took a moment to honor friend and former Osceola teammate Cooper Haase in his celebration.

3A 157: Shawn McCallister (Harmony) dec. Demetri Zertopoulis (Palmetto Ridge) 14-7

A workmanlike effort earned McCallister the title as he scored five takedowns in the match.

3A 165: Gavin Balmeceda (South Dade) dec. Jabore Brown (Treasure Coast) 6-5

Balmeceda earns the elusive state title and celebrates in his father’s arms after the win.

3A 175: Kevin Olavarria (South Dade) dec. Gunner Holland (Osceola (Kissimmee) 4-3

Another hard fought match that saw a South Dade wrestler come out on top.

3A 190: Christopher Sanchez (South Dade) dec. Zahquel Davis (Winter Haven) 11-7

The Kent State commit punctuated his high school career with a state title.

3A 215: Sawyer Bartelt (South Dade) p. Nathan Adras (Dr. Krop) 2:40

One of the best to lace them up in Florida history, Bartelt finishes with four state titles and an undefeated high school career at South Dade.

3A 285: Kaden Darwin (Palmetto Ridge) dec. Jermael Paul (Evans) 7-0

A shutout performance put the stamp on a magical senior season for Darwin.

South Dade runs away with 25th title | Class 3A finals breakdown

The Finals

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