Mason O’Dell (Mater Lakes Academy)

On how jiu-jitsu background helps: “I already had my hips and I knew how to move a lot of people so it was just my being new to it and learning it more.”

On defending his title: “I love competition so when everybody wants to come after me, it makes me want to go harder.”

His coach on him: “He checks all the boxes. He has the capability, the toughness, and mental toughness and he has some real potential. So whatever he wants to do with this sport we’re going to be there supporting him.”

Kason Nichols (Buchholz)

On challenges in season: “The adversity was great. It helped me out and I didn’t feel nervous when the state tournament came around.”

On wrestling: “Wrestling means everything to me. That’s all I’ve done my entire life so pretty much everything in me has something from wrestling. It helped me become a better person and a harder worker.”

On mentality before the final: “I felt really calm and confident. I really wasn’t doubting myself at all. Sometimes I have doubts going into matches but I brought my A-game.”

Anderson Heap (Kissimmee Osceola)

On leadership: “I want to really work on that so I can be a leader to this team. I need to get more to come to the extra practices to get work in. I feel if I do things like that I can push the whole team to become better.”

On wrestling at Osceola: “I take a lot of pride in wrestling for Osceola and I feel we have a pretty good team. We have people whose kids have already graduated and they’re still helping out. It’s really cool to have those people helping at the state tournament and watching us to give us that support system.”

On the recruiting process: “It was satisfying knowing that I put in all the work and colleges were reaching out. I’m honestly just happy to wrestle. I’m definitely ready to wrestle at the next level and I feel like I could definitely do something there and make a name for myself.”

Elijah Penton (Winter Springs)

On when he believed he could be a state champion: “Toward the end of my freshman year where I made it to state when I don’t think I was supposed to. I honestly thought I could then win it in my sophomore year but didn’t. I did realize that I was actually doing pretty good and then when I won Knockout, I thought that I’m probably going to win this.”

On success: “My mindset really didn’t change too much. I wake up at five in the morning and run. I try not let winning get to my mind. I try not to build too much of an ego off of that. Obviously I stayed confident in what I can do and I like to push my teammates but I don’t let it become a think where I won so I can be chill now. I still have to do that same thing.”

On finding balance in life: “I enjoy running. I like going to the gym and lifting. I like hanging out with my friends so I try to keep a good balance between everything so that when I’m wrestling, my mind is fully on it.”

Luis Acevedo (South Dade)

On being part of South Dade: “You’re part of a dynasty. I’ve had such great people around me and great coaches and they all know about the legacy. I’ve done it since I was a little kid and I’ve been supposed to go to South Dade my whole life. It’s just a blessing. When you see everybody doing well around you, it just makes you a better person and a better wrestler.”

On South Dade’s reaction to losing in state duals in 2022: “I feel like that loss made my team 100 times better. We’re not used to losing like that so when it did happen, it definitely opened some eyes up and made us harder workers. Going back into the room the Monday after losing had a completely different vibe. Everybody was just going crazy hard. There were no shortcuts, everybody was going hard and it’s been like that ever since.”

On his nerves before the final: “It’s crazy because I wasn’t nervous before the final. I had no nerves and felt so calm and me not being nervous made me nervous.”

Cavarius Liddie (Buchholz)

On his teammate Kason Nichols also winning a state title: “It was pretty special because we were the first homegrown state champions. We’re the first state champs to have been produced from the start at Buchholz.”

On what he likes about wrestling: “It’s different from other sports where you have teammates to back you up. In football, if you miss a play, you have teammates to help you pick the player up. In wrestling you’re in charge of all of your actions and everything that happens. I think it builds character and makes you a better person.”

On defending his state title this year: “I’m just ready to be more of an athlete and work harder than everyone else. That way it’s easier to defend because no one will be on my level - I’m just training more and more each day.”

Ethan Vugman (Bartram Trail)

On his family’s support: “The biggest thing that got me through all of this was my brother (Nick). He’s almost four years older than me and he just graduated from the University of Florida, which is only about 90 minutes from where I live. Whenever he had a chance, he would come down and train with me. He’d watch my film and would text me what I needed to work on then when he could come to town, we’d always work on it too. He always goes out of his way just to do the smallest things for me and he wasn’t supposed to make it to the state tournament because he had to work in his lab, but he figured out a way to get there. My dad was a huge help as well. He understands what it’s like to be a wrestler and understands that it’s hard. Having both of them there to support me even what it’s hard but they pushed me through that. I don’t know where I would be without both my brother and my dad.”

On giving back to the wrestling: “I definitely see it as something I can do on the side. I want to kind of focus on my career first but whenever I do have time, I want to be able to interact with wrestling and do coaching or camps to stay in the sport. It’s pretty much became my life and I don’t want to leave it behind.”

On what wrestling has meant: “I wouldn’t be who I am without it. I made me disciplined and know that I have to work hard in all aspects of life. When I commit to something, I can’t put half my effort in. One of the things my dad always tells me if that if I’m ever doing anything, I have to give 100% effort. I have to work hard to get the goals I want to achieve.”

Andrew Punzalan (Cypress Bay)

On when he felt he could win a state title: “It was at a random offseason freestyle tournament. I was on a team with Gabriel Tellez, who was last year’s state champ, and we were talking about it and he said ‘dude, everyone’s gone, you’re next.’ And that just got me excited and that got me working.”

On what wrestling has meant to him: “I’ve met some of my best friends from wrestling. All of my values are entirely from wrestling. It truly just changed who I am as a person.”

On how being a senior helped: “The younger kids can be as tough as me and faster than me but I have the experience and can get into the third period and come back. I can be hurt and still be able to go through because I know it’s my last year.”

Cheyenne Cruce (Middleburg)

On her approach to practice: “I make sure to keep in mind that anybody can get caught and anything could happen. You have to stay in a good spot, stay in a good position and just be mindful of where you are at. So I always stay in a good spot and I don’t stand straight up during practice and do that in every practice so it just becomes second nature muscle memory to you.”

On growing the sport for girls: “All of us girls just want the same opportunity as the guys in wrestling. The only way to do that is to keep the sport from declining again and just keep increasing the population of the sport. I feel like I have the opportunity for younger wrestlers, boys or girls, to really look up to and try and strive to become better themselves.”

On her goals: “I placed fourth a year ago at Fargo which was cool as a freshman, but that’s not the goal anymore. The goal now is to be a champ. And I want to be a three-timer for Florida.”

Nelson Toro (Harmony)

On winning a title after finishing as runner-up as a junior: “I feel like I let everyone down and I had all of the parents there, even the parents of guys who didn’t make it to the state tournament was there but I lost to (Sawyer) Bartelt in the final. Getting back there and getting it done means so much because everyone in the program knows I put the work in. Having them all there made me feel like I accomplished something big and they were proud of me and I was just glad to get it done.”

On his offseason work: “I’d go in early to workout with a friend and that’s what helped push me over the edge. I also got experience going to Las Vegas, Iowa, Pennsylvania and South Carolina and just all those tournaments. There are a lot of tough guys out there and it’s not what you see in Florida.”

On his cheering section at the state tournament: “I love the Florida wrestling community. I’m friends with so many people and I’ve been on so many teams with these guys. I love going to the state tournament especially because I see all my friends. I still have all of these connections and guys that I’m close with. It’s an easy way to meet cool people and it’s nice having that.”

Aireaana Gavere (Milton)

On being the only girl wrestling growing up: “I was very blessed to have amazing coaches in my youth program and they let me walk in with open arms. It was my coaches and my parents would tell me to just keep going and it doesn’t matter what others say. There were times where it wasn’t fun, walking into a tournament and people won’t talk to you, and people don’t want to wrestle you and things like that. But every single tournament, every single practice, I would just go out there and I would prove why I deserved to be on the mat alongside all of those boys.”

On taking her expected lumps in college: “I just want to work and get better and that’s what I’m most excited about this next year. Even if it means for a year I’m getting my butt beat, I know that in the next few years, it is going to be all worth it.”

On sacrifices made to be successful: “I would choose going to practice over hanging out with friends or something like that. I never want to stop and just settle. I just want to keep improving and be the best person and athlete I can be. That’s definitely what motivates me and makes me want to do those different things instead of hanging out.”

Gabriela Caro (Douglas)

On what field of medicine she’d like to go into: “Right now I’m thinking of neurosurgery but that’s still up in the air. I feel like if I go to medical school, I might something that I like more. I just really want to help people - that’s my main thing.”

On wrestling: “I’ve always thought about doing wrestling when I got to high school because I’ve been doing jiu-jitsu since I was eight. When I got to high school, it was the COVID year so I couldn’t do it because I have high health risk people in my family but when we got back to school, I signed up for wrestling as soon as I could and started going to practices. Initially I just joined wrestling because I wanted to get better takedowns and stuff for jiu-jitsu and then I realized that ‘I’m kind of decent’ and maybe I could do more than just get better at jiu-jitsu.”

On how wrestling has helped: “Wrestling has taught me a lot about time managed and the discipline that goes into it. I’ve learned that time is precious and we’re going to put in work during the season and it’s going to be rough but you have other things to do too. I have over three hours of practice and then I get home and I have to take a shower, have dinner, and do my homework. It put me on a regimen and it really disciplined me.”

Lawrence Rosario (South Dade)

On winning: “I always believed that I can beat them and I never really thought that I couldn't beat them. And I had my mom, my brother, and my coaches telling me that I can beat them, giving me courage. So once I finally did it, I was just ecstatic.”

On his celebration: “Coach has been like a father figure to me and we ran to each other and he jumped into my arms. “

On the South Dade room: “It's like like being around winners. I always knew that nobody liked South Dade but once you get around that you realize that there is no hate there and we all just love each other like we are an actual family and we just want to improve each other. We're all there for each other. And honestly the coaches are the best coaches I've ever had.”

Jessey Colas (Braden River)

On winning: “Nobody likes to lose. So me personally, I got tired of losing, especially last year when I had 12 losses. This year I was just like, okay, I'm not losing any more. I just don't like the feeling of losing or getting pinned. I just went in there with the mindset that if I lose, then I like to think of it as like my mom will die or something. I tried to think of it like if I lose then something bad's gonna happen. So I made sure I won every time.”

On going 71-0 in his senior season: “It came down to the experience because every weekend we were at a tournament and I would get the maximum out of matches. I just just got comfortable wrestling no matter who I was facing and getting to different positions and being comfortable wrestling and all that mat time really paid off.”

On his mindset: “Last year, I took seventh. And that was my first time being there, so I was just like, just go out there have fun, whatever happens happens. I didn't get what I wanted. So this year being my last year, I was in the mindset, just go like nothing matters. Finish on top.”

Kendall Bibla (Matanzas)

On growing girls wrestling: “I try to introduce this sport to many younger girls and just younger people in general because I tell them my story of how much it helped me and made me happier and a better person. And that once you start wrestling you can’t stop because it’s just a think that you have to keep going. And that’s what really set me off to just keep going on the path I was going on.”

On coming to the sport of wrestling: “I never really did like sports much. When I was seven, I started karate but didn’t really like it but once I started jiu-jitsu, I really got into it. And then my jiu-jitsu instructor told me I should try wrestling and I did and really like it and that’s what brought me to where I am today.”

On what makes her a great wrestler: “The love I really have for the sport - it’s my favorite thing to do. And I know that if I keep working at it, it’s going to make me a better person, and it really has.”

David Mercado (North Bay Haven)

On picking up wrestling from jiu-jitsu: “I’ve always been pretty good at learning things physically and catching on pretty quick. After having already done jiu-jitsu, there were just a few little changes to how I normally would do.”

On early success wrestling: “It allowed me to grab some experience while I was able to remained spirited without getting put down by too many losses.”

On his celebration with his coach after winning the state title: “It felt weird because to be honest, I didn’t go in expecting to win things. I wanted to definitely but I just never fully expected it and when it finally happened I was so excited and even after a full match I was still jumping and I jumped at eye level to my coach and knocked him over.”

Milana Borrelli (Lake Nona)

On what wrestling has meant to her: “Wrestling has given me the mindset, the mental toughness, and the grit that you need to survive in this world. Everything I do about my day is always productive, always to make me better, always to help my future and I think these characteristics have really been built from wrestling, on and off the mat. I did team sports before where I had to rely on my team and we all had to work together, but in life, if just you versus the world. I think that’s something that wrestling has taught me the most. And being humble, being grateful, and all of these other characteristics from wrestling that shaped my personality.”

On growing the sport for other girls: “I hope I can inspire so many girls to come out and try this sport. I think the ones who already have loved it. It just brings out someone in you that you never thought you could have seen before. So being the person to be able to influence young girls and people all around to try the sport is a really cool feeling and it’s something I want to do for the rest of my life. The sport is growing significantly so far, but I think it can be grown so much more so I’m excited for the future.”

More on her family’s influence: “My mom and dad raised me to always seek to be better, there’s always something you can be improving on and working on. So I think if there’s a day that goes by that I’m not doing something to better myself, it feels like a wasted day.”

Brian Burburija (Clearwater Countryside)

On winning state titles at Countryside: “It proved that no matter what school you go to, you can be successful. You know there are kids that think they need to go to certain school just to be successful. Yeah, going to a better school and having good partners helps. But if you have a good mindset, and if you have a great coach, my coach is great, but it’s all about you and no matter what school you go to, it’s up to you to be good. You can go to one of the top wrestling schools int he country and still be an average wrestler. It’s all about your mindset and determination.”

On his wrestling success: “It was hard. Going from freshman year not making state to winning a second state title in my senior year - there’s a lot of hard work and a lot of dedication. I put my whole life into wrestling. I didn’t get involved in partying and just made wrestling all or nothing. So, if you want to achieve that level of success, you have to put a lot into it.”

On challenging himself his senior year: “It’s just constant improving and getting better for the next level. There’s something you can always improve. I’m not the best out there and you constantly have to improve because you’re never the best, there’s always someone above you.”

Cooper Haase (Kissimmee Osceola)

On his mother getting involved in the sport and running tournaments: “It’s crazy that she got involved with it because my mom wasn’t too much of a wrestling fan at the start. But how she got into wrestling was she told my dad that she could run a wrestling tournament better than what the rest of them were when I was a kid and my dad didn’t believe her. My family is very competitive and we make bets and yeah, I think my mom definitely proved that she can run a tournament pretty effectively.”

On getting better by teaching wrestling to others: “I do believe that it does make you better. At the camp I did this year, I was teaching the kids and I was like, wait, this kid did it completely wrong. But maybe what he did might actually work, so let me write that down and see. So let’s see if this works or not and sometimes failure creates more opportunities for you.”

On learning moves from teaching beginners: “Trying to explain a move to someone who knows wrestling is not hard but when you’re trying to explain to a kid that’s only been wrestling for a year, you can can’t use terms like pivot or rotate. You have to use very simple words and breakdown all the moves. I think that makes me better because I know the details that are going into my moves. When you’re wrestling, you don’t realize the detail that you’re putting into each move, but when you’re showing the moves, then you realize that detail. Then you start really learning wrestling.”