New super district in 1A highlights FHSAA reclassification

BY BRANT PARSONS —

When the dust settled in Kissimmee at last year’s Class 1A state IBT tournament, four of the top five teams were from Region 4, including team champion Somerset Academy.

This year, the competition figures to heat up even earlier with three of those five teams now being housed in the new Class 1A-14 district.

The FHSAA released new classifications for the 2021-2022 wrestling season and one of the districts that stood out was 1A-14 with Somerset, third-place American Heritage-Delray Beach, and fifth-place Cardinal Gibbons all being grouped together.

“This will make for great theater,” Somerset coach Joe Blasucci said. “You will be pounding each other in districts and then again in regions and in many cases at the state tournament as well. I suspect our district will represent a tremendous amount of state medals. ”

The new grouping has many comparing it to the ultra tough 3A-16 district that houses 20-time state champion South Dade, last year’s state runner-up Southwest Miami, and traditionally solid programs like Columbus and Miami Palmetto.

“I think it’s great for the sport of wrestling,” Cardinal Gibbons head coach Jamel Morris said. “It’s going to grow the sport of wrestling seeing three top programs going at it.”

The district will also be one to watch for the state duals tournament, where one of the top teams in the state won’t advance from the district.

“Whoever wins has to then beat Jensen Beach, another top five team in the area, just to make it to the state dual championships,” Blasucci said.

Some other highlights from the reclassification was Class 2A runner-up Palmetto Ridge moving up to Class 3A for next season along with sixth place Harmony.

Six-time defending 3A-1 region champion Fleming Island will be competing in Class 2A next year, moving down to district 2A-2.

Along with Palmetto Ridge’s move up, another notable move in Class 2A saw Tampa Jesuit move regions with the Tigers now competing in region 2A-3.

There were also some programs that are expected to compete in the 21-22 season that were not listed in the classifications. Kabra Wrestling is following up on that situation.

Moving up to Class 3A

First Coast

Fort Lauderdale

Harmony

Largo

Melbourne

Palmetto Ridge

Poinciana

Sarasota

Moving up to Class 2A

American Heritage-Plantation

Arnold

Citrus

Coconut Creek

Ed White

Menendez

Merritt Island

Miami Northwestern

Ridgeview

Rockledge

Stranahan

Wesley Chapel

Wesley Chapel Cypress Creek

Zephyrhills

Moving down to Class 2A

Delray Beach Atlantic

Doral Reagan

East Bay

Fleming Island

Leto

North Miami

St. Cloud

Wharton

Wiregrass Ranch

Moving down to Class 1A

Chamberlain

Deltona

Gulf

Hialeah-Miami Lakes

Island Coast

Miami Killian

Robinson

Seabreeze

Sebring