Cradle Cancer finals breakdown
A weekend of great competition took place at Jensen Beach’s Cradle Cancer Invitational. (All photos Brant Parsons/Kabra Wrestling)
JENSEN BEACH — The Cradle Cancer Invitational hosted some of the top wrestlers across the state, and even the top wrestler in the nation, over the weekend.
South Dade won the team title, scoring 268.5 points to outdistance runner-up Minisink Valley (NY) 199.5 and third place Charlotte 189.
We’ve broken down the boys finals below.
FINALS BREAKDOWN
106: Solomon Peterson (Heritage) dec. Bryan Morales (South Dade) 5-2
Peterson wrestled impressively all weekend and his two takedowns in the first two periods was enough to win this one and stamp him as a 2A title contender.
113: Adaias Ortiz (Kissmmee Osceola) dec. Malachi Ortiz (Jesuit) 3-1
A tight battle where nobody budged until Ortiz clinched the win with a takedown with 20 seconds left for a well-earned win.
120: Luis Acevedo (South Dade) dec. Roman Lermer (Jesuit) SV-1 4-2
One of the best matches of the finals, Acevedo scored his second takedown of the match in sudden victory to pull off the win between two returning state champions.
126: Camren French (Mariner) dec. Gabriel Tellez (Southwest Miami) 4-2
French opened up the bout late in the second period with a takedown and then withstood a late Tellez rally to win.
132: Maximus Brady (Mariner) dec. Dillon Smith (Southwest Miami) 7-0
Back-to-back titles for Mariner as Brady was in control the entire match, scoring four points in the first with a takedown and two nearfall points and not allowing a point for the entire six minutes.
138: Elvis Solis (South Dade) tech. Jayden Bowles (Jesuit) 25-9
Solis compiled 11 takedowns over the 5 1/2 minutes in earning the tech fall.
144: Cavarius Liddie (Buchholz) dec. Anthony Tresch (Minisink Valley) 1-0
Liddie showcased some impressive riding skills, earning this victory on top while keeping Tresch from scoring in the third period.
150: Anderson Heap (Kissmmee Osceola) dec. Luke Greiner (Minisink Valley) 7-2
Heap’s patience and endurance were on display as each wrestler battled to a 0-0 tie through two periods, before Heap took the match over with three takedowns in a 1:04 stretch in the third.
157: PJ Duke (Minisink Valley) p. Franco Rivas (Wellington) 2:28
The match the gym was seemingly waiting for so they could get their only glimpse on Saturday of the Penn State commit from New York. The #8 pound-for-pound ranked wrestler in the country by FloWrestling did not disappoint.
165: Enzo Gamba (Fernandina Beach) dec. Willie White (Southwest Miami) 8-4
A tremendous performance by Gamba was one of the highlights of the weekend as he knocked off two #1 wrestlers in Class 3A on the way to improving his record to 30-0 and winning the title.
175: Jabore Brown (Treasure Coast) dec. Nolan McKelvy (Fernandina Beach) 7-2
Brown built a impressive 5-0 lead in the first on his way to a winning the Cradle Cancer crown.
190: Jordan Mills (Matanzas) dec. Chris Sanchez (South Dade) 10-7
An exciting final that had those left at Jensen Beach fully engaged by the end as the two top-ranked wrestlers in Class 2A and 3A respectively put on a show.
215: Sawyer Bartelt (South Dade) p Kaleb Ivie (Merritt Island) 2:52
The other pin in the final came from the other nationally-ranked wrestler as the South Dade senior continued his ride to the finish of a dominant Florida high school wrestling career.
285: Tim Gray (Crystal River) dec. Leonard Christian (Palm Bay) 3-1
A takedown in the first minute was the difference and these two big guys battled hard to finish off a great two days of wrestling at Jensen Beach.
