Inspired Nelson Toro made Harmony history with state title

Harmony’s Nelson Toro stands atop the podium at the FHSAA State Wrestling Tournament at Silver Spurs Arena back in March. (Photo courtesy of Nelson Toro)

BY BRANT PARSONS — Harmony’s Nelson Toro always thought he could be a state champion, but it was after reaching the state finals as a junior that he realized just how bad he wanted it.

With that in mind, Toro hit the offseason harder than he had before, training early and often and traveling across the country to get better.

“Since I started training, I knew winning a title was what I needed to do, so I put in lots of extra work, extra running, and extra weightlifting,” Toro said.

The work paid off as Toro won the FHSAA Class 3A 285-pound title with a 7-4 win over Palmetto Ridge’s Austin Foye.

Toro, undersized for a heavyweight who often gave up 40-45 pounds to his opponents, also finished the season unbeaten at 46-0.

“I’d say it’s just match strategy,” Toro said. “I work to control the pace and make good decisions and not get stuffed under them. I calculate the risk and reward and take my time and slow my opponent down.”

That strategy was used in the final against Foye.

“He was tough,” Toro said. “I had to slow him down because I know he has some big moves so I had to make sure I had my ties and make it my match.”

Toro also made history with the title.

He is the second wrestler in Harmony history to win a state title and the first to win one after starting in the program. (Sawyer Root won in 2014 after moving to Harmony from Alaska for his senior year).

“I love the program and I’ve wanted to wrestle for Harmony since I saw one of their duals meets against a rival in middle school,” Toro said. “I love being the first homebred state champion.”

It’s also a program that Toro hopes to give back to.

“I really want to help out here and maybe coach at Harmony,” Toro said. “Just volunteer whenever I can, however I can. If I can help, I definitely will.”

The next step for Toro will be at the University of Buffalo. Toro committed to the Bulls on July 6.

Harmony’s Nelson Toro (r) battles Palmetto Ridge’s Austin Foye in the 285-pound final. (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)