Freedom advances everyone in district romp, Wiregrass Ranch makes history | Friday recap
BY BRANT PARSONS — On Friday, Orlando Freedom finally got to see its intended lineup in action - and it went really well.
In the first tournament where the Patriots had all 14 of their starting wrestlers on the mat, they stormed to a team title in the girls 1A-5 district tournament, having 11 champions, 13 finalists, and advanced everyone to next week’s region tournament while scoring 367.5 points.
“It was a great team effort,” Freedom coach David Bush said. We are in a very tough region and we know the importance of getting the girls to state tournament, but getting all 14 to the region tournament is a great start.”
Hananeel Gregorie (100), Yhoalibeth Ruiz (105), Josie Reeves (110), Alianna Mason (120), Eduarda Franklin Soares (130), Ceajah Brown (135), Elody Rodriguez (145), Jikayla Hutto (155), Chloe Riley (170), Mekialla Mauvis (190), and Rotchiva Clermont (235) all won individual titles for Freedom.
Reeves, a sophomore, had been wrestling at 100 pounds and impressed her coaches with her performance at 110.
Isabel Duarte (115) and Sky Athey (140) both made the finals while Genesis Escoria advanced with a third place finish at 125 pounds.
“There are only three tournaments that matter during the season and we just got through the first one,” Bush said. “We are looking to make the state series a little more interesting than some may have thought.”
Ocoee finished in second place with 179 points. The Knights advanced seven to the regions and had Bailee Spitulski (125) win an individual title.
Third place Horizon had a district champion with Deleilah Viteri (115) winning and Evans’ Tracy Saintil (140) also finished atop the podium.
Wiregrass Ranch makes history with exciting finish.
Needing a win from one of its stars in the final, Wiregrass Ranch clinched it’s first girls district title when Megan Preston won the finals of that 170-pound weight class at the girls 1A-7 district tournament.
Her win put the Bulls 5.5 points ahead of runner-up Bartow.
Mariam Kovziridze (125) and Nicollette Watson (140) also won titles for Wiregrass Ranch.
Bartow’s Jayla Azcona (100) won a district title for the Yellow Jackets.
Also winning district titles on the day were George Jenkins’ Miayalee Ortiz Martinez (105), Trynity Bradley (120), and Alyssa Gerber (155), Lake Gibson’s Amileshka Ortiz (110) and Kaitelynn Oliver (135), Tampa Freedom’s Joya Hodge (115) and Ky`mari Riley (190), McKeel’s Kiley Earle (130), Auburndale’s Sariana Jones (145), and Mulberry’s Mia Jones (285).
On Today’s Schedule
The girls district round ends with two final tournaments today.
G1A-1: at North Bay Haven, 12 p.m. (CST)
G1A-6: at Viera, 10:30 a.m.
Brant Parsons is the founder and executive editor of Kabra Wrestling. He has been covering high school wrestling in Florida since 2004. He can be reached at brant@kabrawrestling.com.
