Losses prepared Lawrence Rosario for state title triumph

South Dade’s Lawrence Rosario celebrates his state title with his head coach Vic Balmeceda after winning the Class 3A 170-pound weight class at the FHSAA State Wrestling Championships at Silver Spurs Arena in March. (Brant Parsons/Kabra Wrestling)

BY BRANT PARSONS — The losses helped Lawrence Rosario.

During the season, the South Dade senior compiled a 57-9 record and had multiple losses to two-time defending state champion Gunner Holland and Fargo All-American Roman Garcia.

“I was losing and when I did lose, I realized that I can beat the people that I was losing to,” Lawrence Rosario said. “Every time I think I had the chance to beat them but it was my mentality and how I thought about them and their accomplishments.”

In the state tournament, Rosario got his revenge on the mat. During the semifinal round in the Class 3A, 170-pound weight class, he scored a hard-fought 5-3 win over Holland.

Then on the big stage on Saturday night, he pinned Garcia in the second period to win the state title and spark a celebration on the mat where Rosario had to catch his head coach Victor Balmeceda in his arms.

“When I got to state, I didn't care who these people are and I thought how it's going to be my last high school tournament and I'm not going to wrestle it scared,” Rosario said. “I really just thought about how I'm one of the best in the country and that has to be my mentality.”

Along with wrestling with confidence, Rosario also learned from those losses leading up to the postseason and worked to fix things in the South Dade room.

“Toward the beginning of the season, I was getting scored on too much on the legs,” Rosario said. “So, I started working with my partner Gavin (Balmeceda) and I’d work on my reattacks and to be more effective on my offense because my wrestling is kind of defensive.”

The work helped with the two wrestlers earning praise in the room for their drilling and Rosario coming to Kissimmee ready to showcase what he had worked on.

“We got to the end of the season and me and Coach got it to where I’m defensive — but my defense is my offense.”

Lawrence Rosario (white/blue single) defeated Palmetto Ridge’s Roman Garcia in the state championship bout. (Brant Parsons/Kabra Wrestling)

STATE CHAMPION FEATURES

Kabra Wrestling is looking to feature as many state champions as we can over the next few months and tell a little story about what makes them special.

If you won a state championship and would like to be featured, please contact Kabra Wrestling to set up an interview.

2023 State Champions

3A-106: Andrew Punzalan (Cypress Bay)

3A-113: Tyler Washburn (Palmetto Ridge)

3A-120: Luis Acevedo (South Dade)

3A-126: Ethan Vugman (Bartram Trail)

3A-132: Cavarius Liddie (Buchholz)

3A-138: Elvis Solis (South Dade)

3A-145: Anderson Heap (Kissimmee Osceola)

3A-152: Cooper Haase (Kissimmee Osceola)

3A-160: Adrian Ochoa (Southwest Miami)

3A-170: Lawrence Rosario (South Dade)