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
