Class 3A: South Dade takes title and proves naysayers wrong | Weight class breakdown

BY BRANT PARSONS —There were times early in this season when South Dade did not look like the South Dade of old.

Injuries and illnesses left the Buccaneers looking less like the state juggernaut they’ve been and more like a team waiting to be caught.

That might have been just enough to wake the giant up.

South Dade hit its stride in time to win the state duals title in January and then in the first weekend of March, they romped to a 13th state IBT title in Florida.

The Bucs finished with 174 points, 40 more than runner-up Miami Southridge and 43 ahead of third-place Hagerty. South Dade also finished with six individual state champions as the Bucs went 6-for-6 on Saturday night.

“We suffered adversity within this season and everyone doubted us,” head coach Humberto Reyna said. “We got our butts whooped in the beginning of the season and there were people saying that South Dade is not the same anymore, which is great because it gave my kids something to work for. People doubting us is what made these kids have that work ethic and come in and prove the state wrong.”

Winning state titles for the Bucs were Bryan Morales (113), Guillermo Jaramillo (132), Jovani Solis (144), Armand Williams (150), Tyree Graham (165), and Jonathan Moreno (175).

“I tell my kids, go out there and battle,” Reyna said. “You know it's gonna be a grind and you know why you're in the arena. You're a gladiator for a reason. Entertain the people. The only way out is to death. Go out there and just fight hard and make a name for yourself. People know South Dade, but make a name for yourself. You go. When you go get what you want.”

3A-106

Champion: Alzider Ortiz dec. Eli Valdez 4-1. The lone takedown in the match was scored by Ortiz in the first period.

How they placed:

1. Alzider Ortiz (Steinbrenner)

2. Eli Valdez (Park Vista)

3. Chase Wolgamuth (Hagerty)

4. Sebastian Rodriguez (Harmony)

5. Ajani Flanders (Boone)

6. Paul Rios (Riverview)

7. Nadir Shalaby (Freedom)

8. Alejandro Ravelo (Southwest Miami)

Best non-finals match: Wolgamuth dec. Rodriguez 9-6. This third place match was exciting all the way to the end when the Hagerty sophomore earned the win with a takedown in the third period.

Bracket buster: Valdez. Not only did the Park Vista junior prove us wrong by reaching the podium — he was a state finalist.

What we’ll remember most: Ortiz is a great story and a wrestler who is beloved by his coaching staff and teammates. His state title hug is one we won’t soon forget.

Final bracket:

Kabra’s picks:

3A-113

Champion: Bryan Morales dec. Shawnley Clervoyant 3-2. Morales scored the state-title winning takedown with 13 seconds left in the third period.

How they placed:

1. Bryan Morales (South Dade)

2. Shawnley Clervoyant (Wellington)

3. Donovan Jenkins (South Plantation)

4. Chris Schnobrick (Olympic Heights)

5. Leo Ortiz (Harmony)

6. Vincent Nikollaj (Hagerty)

7. Tyler Metellus (Monarch)

8. Abigail Gonzalez (Miami Southridge)

Best non-finals match: Ortiz dec. Metellus 8-7, TB-1. Ortiz scored a takedown 16 seconds into the second tie-breaker period to pull off the one-point win and advance to the consolation semifinals.

Bracket buster: Gonzalez. Okay, we had no idea what to do with the two-time girls state finalist after she finished fourth in her region.

What we’ll remember most: Morales gave us fireworks in the final and Gonzalez gave us some of the loudest crowds all weekend in her first two matches.

Final bracket:

Kabra’s picks:

3A-120

Champion: Lazaro Soto dec. Nathan Lyttle 3-2. Soto scored the lone takedown with 42 seconds left to take home his second state title.

How they placed:

1. Lazaro Soto (Southwest Miami)

2. Nathan Lyttle (Harmony)

3. Kevin Mclean (Flagler Palm Coast)

4. Justo Medina (Davenport)

5. Lincoln Derby (South Plantation)

6. Janmichael Broche (Braddock)

7. Jaden Williams (Wellington)

8. Carter Rivera (St Cloud)

Best non-finals match: Williams dec. Niccolo Pellicano (Venice) 8-4. These two wrestled a tight match in the consolation placing round. Williams distanced himself in the third with a takedown to advance onto the podium.

Bracket buster: Derby. We had the South Plantation junior ranked tenth coming into the weekend and he leapt above that number with a fifth place finish.

What we’ll remember most: Soto and Lyttle gave us the state final we had hoped to see — a thrilling battle between two great wrestlers that was won during one second of action.

Final bracket:

Kabra’s picks:

3A-126

Champion: Jovanni Tovar p. Connor Barnes. Tovar was leading the match 17-4 when he ended it with a pin just three seconds before the end of the second period.

How they placed:

1. Jovanni Tovar (Miami Southridge)

2. Connor Barnes (Oakleaf)

3. Mario Dibella (Bartram Trail)

4. Gary Jackson (Miami Palmetto)

5. Dominic Rodriguez (Christopher Columbus)

6. Andrew Taylor (George Jenkins)

7. Jose Callava (South Dade)

8. Joey Davis (Lake Brantley)

Best non-finals match: Tovar dec. Dibella SV-1 12-9. The now three-time state champion Tovar was pushed to his limit by Dibella in this match. The Bartram Trail junior led the match multiple times and scored a takedown with seconds left to almost pull off the upset but Tovar quickly earned the escape, and then advanced to the semifinals and eventual state title with a takedown nine seconds into sudden victory.

Bracket buster: Taylor. We should have given the region champ more credit. He worked his way to sixth on the podium.

What we’ll remember most: Dan Ward loves his saying “death, taxes, and Tovar” and this weekend certainly lived up to it along with an exciting quarterfinal match.

Final bracket:

Kabra’s picks:

3A-132

Champion: Guillermo Jaramillo dec. Sebastian Gonzalez 8-4. Two first period takedowns were enough for the now two-time state champion.

How they placed:

1. Guillermo Jaramillo (South Dade)

2. Sebastian Gonzalez (Southwest Miami)

3. Robert Twilley (Flagler Palm Coast)

4. Immanuel Gibbs (Tocoi Creek)

5. Brentley Crawley (Hagerty)

6. Nevan Irving (Harmony)

7. Leonardo Perdomo (Bloomingdale)

8. Porter Daniels (Palmetto)

Best non-finals match: Draven Thompson (Winter Haven) dec. Gibbs 14-13. This opening round match featured six takedowns and a reversal and was exciting until the end when Thompson advanced with a late takedown.

Bracket buster: Daniels. After finishing fourth in his region, he reached the podium here. One of two wrestlers from his region to make it.

What we’ll remember most: Jaramillo was part of a South Dade night that saw all six wrestlers in the finals win state titles.

Final bracket:

Kabra’s picks:

3A-138

Champion: Stefano Garcia maj. Zachary Berry 13-2. Garcia scored four takedowns in a strong performance in the final.

How they placed:

1. Stefano Garcia (Miami Southridge)

2. Zachary Berry (Palm Harbor University)

3. Gregory Jackson (Miami Palmetto)

4. Skyler West (Ft Pierce Central)

5. Kai Benedetti (Wellington)

6. Sebastian Bonachea (Oakleaf)

7. Raphael Barros Taquechel (Ocoee)

8. Angel Legrand (Cypress Creek)

Best non-finals match: Legrand dec. Landon Caviness (Tocoi Creek) SV-1 18-15. Legrand scored 10 points in the third period with three takedowns to rally and send that match to sudden victory. The Cypress Creek senior then scored a takedown 14 seconds into the extra frame to advance to the podium.

Bracket buster: Benedetti. We didn’t have the Wellington junior placing and he ended up in fifth place.

What we’ll remember most: Garcia reached the final for the second straight season and this time left with a state title.

Final bracket:

Kabra’s picks:

3A-144

Champion: Jovani Solis maj. Mateus Sgai 12-2. The now four-time state champion blew the match open with nine points in the second period.

How they placed:

1. Jovani Solis (South Dade)

2. Mateus Sgai (Doral Academy)

3. Hunter Jessee (Hagerty)

4. Ericson Coney (Miami Southridge)

5. Kase Hopper (Venice)

6. John Antonucci (Tocoi Creek)

7. Grayson Lopez (Land O`Lakes)

8. Javin Taylor (Boca Raton)

Best non-finals match: Hopper dec. Antonucci 7-6. In this fifth place match, Hopper earned a reverse with 31 seconds let and held on for the win. The winning move by the Venice senior came just 21 seconds after Antonucci had taken his first lead of the match with a takedown.

Bracket buster: None. This weight class was perfectly picked by us - except for the seventh-place match, which was decided by a point.

What we’ll remember most: The best just keep getting better. Solis became a four-time state champion this weekend at Silver Spurs and its worth pointing out that he’s only a sophomore. We should get two more years of watching him in action.

Final bracket:

Kabra’s picks:

3A-150

Champion: Armand Williams dec. Nathan Barrett 5-1. A takedown in the second period proved to be the winning move for the two-time champ.

How they placed:

1. Armand Williams (South Dade)

2. Nathan Barrett (Harmony)

3. Kingsley Mincer (Freedom)

4. Massimiliano Pellicano (Venice)

5. Nelson Hued (Southwest Miami)

6. Ricky Montalvan (Doral Academy)

7. Prince Fortuna-Abdullah (Buchholz)

8. Nikolas Gray (Wellington)

Best non-finals match: Mincer dec. Pellicano SV-1 4-1. These two wrestled twice at Silver Spurs and each won a match by this same score. In the third-place match, Mincer earned the bronze with a takedown 33 seconds into sudden victory. In the quarterfinals, Pellicano won 43 seconds in.

Bracket buster: None. The eight on the podium were the eight we picked.

What we’ll remember most: A fantastic weight class that gave us some memorable matches and then was won by a defending state champion from South Dade. It was a theme.

Final bracket:

Kabra’s picks:

3A-157

Champion: Nikolas Blake p. Didier Novoa 1:59. The Hagerty senior was leading 7-1 when he got the pin to win his first title.

How they placed:

1. Nikolas Blake (Hagerty)

2. Didier Novoa (Southwest Miami)

3. Tomas Campian (Christopher Columbus)

4. Imran Dzhabrailov (Miami Beach)

5. Bryson Thompson (Winter Haven)

6. Luke Manghisi (Creekside)

7. Tyler Gray (Wellington)

8. Dylan Leamon (Buchholz)

Best non-finals match: Campian dec. Dzhabrailov 8-6. This third place match came down to the end with Campian securing the bronze medal with a late takedown in the third period.

Bracket buster: Leamon. The Buchholz junior was the one podium wrestler we missed picking.

What we’ll remember most: One of the more heartwarming moments for people who just love the sport of wrestling in Florida as long-time state title contender Blake walked out with his first state title.

Final bracket:

Kabra’s picks:

3A-165

Champion: Tyree Graham dec. Andres Rojas 5-2. A first period takedown just 32 seconds into the match proved to be the difference here.

How they placed:

1. Tyree Graham (South Dade)

2. Andres Rojas (Miami Southridge)

3. Joseph Foalima (Flagler Palm Coast)

4. Drake Bonney (Miami Palmetto)

5. Benjamin Wolgamuth (Hagerty)

6. Elias Enzner (Olympic Heights)

7. Ehab Shalaby (Freedom)

8. Anthony Farnot (Fort Myers Gateway)

Best non-finals match: Foalima p. Bonney 5:29. Another thrilling third-place match that saw Foalima jump out to a 10-3 and then have Bonney tie it up at 10-10 with about a minute to go in the third. Foalima than recovered from being on his back by rolling Bonney to his and scored the pin to win.

Bracket buster: Shalaby. The Freedom senior entered the weekend off the podium in our predictions after a third place finish at his region tournament but he battled his way to seventh.

What we’ll remember most: Graham continued the South Dade roll on Saturday night as he won his second straight title.

Final bracket:

Kabra’s picks:

3A-175

Champion: Jonathan Moreno dec. Valdislav Chechkovsky 10-5. Moreno put the match away in the third with an escape and then title-sealing takedown with two seconds left. Chechkovsky had rallied to make the score 6-5 heading into the final frame.

How they placed:

1. Jonathan Moreno (South Dade)

2. Vladislav Chechkovsky (Tocoi Creek)

3. Jad Urribarri (John I Leonard)

4. Mac Andrews (Wellington)

5. Connor Bonney (Miami Palmetto)

6. Gavin Isaacs (Lake Mary)

7. Jackson Lietz (George Jenkins)

8. Xander Ortiz (Nova)

Best non-finals match: Moreno dec. Isaacs UTB 4-3. You know its an exciting match when South Dade coach Humberto Reyna is jumping and celebrating. This was a nailbiter of a semifinal with between two evenly-matched wrestlers. After finishing regulation at 2-2 and the tiebreakers at 3-3, Moreno took down in the ultimate tiebreaker and secured his spot in the finals with 11 seconds left.

Bracket buster: Ortiz. The only wrestler we didn’t pick to the podium, but we had him ranked #9.

What we’ll remember most: Moreno’s rise to the state title was thrilling and one of the moments of the weekend will be his coaching staff’s reaction to his upset win in the semifinals.

Final bracket:

Kabra’s picks:

3A-190

Champion: Raymond Shaw tech. Theodore Brase 17-1. The two-time state champion Shaw put the pressure on from the first whistle and ended this one just 15 seconds into the second.

How they placed:

1. Raymond Shaw (George Jenkins)

2. Theodore Brase (Fletcher)

3. Tedrick Lee (Christopher Columbus)

4. Luke Palukaitis (Steinbrenner)

5. Daniel Sanchez (Miami Southridge)

6. Christopher Aubain (Freedom)

7. Bryce Johnson (Dwyer)

8. Jackson Pearce (East Lake)

Best non-finals match: Johnson dec. Maverick Lorminey (South Plantation) 8-7. Johnson got onto the podium with a takedown with just seven seconds left in this placing round match.

Bracket buster: Pearce. We did not have the third-place finisher from his region anywhere near the podium, in fact he was ranked #15 and ended up with a medal.

What we’ll remember most: Shaw put on a workmanlike performance all weekend and earned his second state title and medal to take with him onto the University of Virginia.

Final bracket:

Kabra’s picks:

3A-215

Champion: Christian Soto by MFF. Soto won the title by medical forfeit after Isaacs was seriously injured in his semifinal match.

How they placed:

1. Christian Soto (Miami Southridge)

2. Grady Isaacs (Lake Mary)

3. Daniel Damm (West Boca Raton)

4. Jude Dicicco (Hagerty)

5. Markyle Bouie (Sandalwood)

6. Sebastian Morera (South Dade)

7. Anthony Romero (Southwest Miami)

8. Silas Metayer (Ocoee)

Best non-finals match: Soto dec. Dicicco 4-2. On his way to a state title, Soto had to find magic late, snapping a 1-1 tie with a minute to go with a semifinal winning takedown.

Bracket buster: Romero. No huge bracket buster here but Romero did make the podium and we didn’t predict that.

What we’ll remember most: We missed out on a state final here that would have been fun to watch but our hearts are with Grady Isaacs and the Isaacs family as he begins a recovery from his severe injury.

Final bracket:

Kabra’s picks:

3A-285

Champion: Renzo Cooligan dec. Raymundo Romero 2-1. Cooligan scored the state title winning escape in the third frame of the overtime.

How they placed:

1. Renzo Cooligan (Hagerty)

2. Raymundo Romero (Park Vista)

3. Aiden Pizarro (Colonial)

4. Diddier Carrillo Castillo (Monarch)

5. Demo Vogiatzis (East Lake)

6. Derryl Godbolt (Buchholz)

7. Ryan Reid (Palmetto)

8. Gabriel Ortiz (Southwest Miami)

Best non-finals match: Cooligan dec. Vogiatzis UTB 4-1. This weight class had 10 matches go into overtime. That’s wild. There are so many to choose from but we’ll go with the Hagerty junior and eventual state champion advancing to the final here.

Bracket buster: Romero. One of the all-time bracket busters. The Park Vista came in ranked #14 after finishing third in his region and he vaulted all the way into the final where he took the champion to the limit.

What we’ll remember most: One finalist was expected, the other stunned us all and they competed in a final that could have gone either way.

Final bracket:

Kabra’s picks: