Wrestler of the Week: Alex Smith’s national title moment

BY BRANT PARSONS — For Lake Highland Prep’s Alex Smith, it was the big moment he was waiting for.

The junior put an exclamation point on his season by winning a national title at NHSCA Nationals in Virginia this month.

“It felt like I finally jumped over a big wall I’d been facing for a long time,” Smith said.

Smith was voted Kabra Wrestling’s Reader’s Choice Wrestler of the Week where all eight NHSCA national champions from Florida were nominated.

The national title came after he reached the podium in the National Prep Tournament in February, placing third at 215 pounds.

Smith will be looking to improve upon that performance next season and hopes to use his performance in Virginia Beach to springboard him to even bigger success.

“(The national title) is going to give me the confidence to continue to show up big time during my senior year,” Smith said.

CJ Torres (Lake Highland Prep), Gabriel Tellez (SW Miami), Jayce Paridon (Lake Highland Prep), Jeremiah Chavis (Zephyrhills Christian), Kendrick Hodge (Somerset), Lucas Boe (Lake Highland Prep), Omer Barak (Lake Highland Prep), Robert Kucharczk (Lake Highland Prep) also earned national titles.