LAKELAND -- A lot of success for Miami-Dade County wrestling, but no team trophy for its defending state champion.

South Dade had four wrestlers win individual state titles, and one state runner-up. It wasn't enough to catch Kissimmee Osceola, which walked away from The Lakeland Center on Saturday night with its first state championship.

Osceola finished with 157 points, ahead of South Dade's 151. The Bucs, who entered the meet as the defending Class 3A state champions, have finished at least in second place for the past seven seasons.

Miami-Dade County dominated the meet once again, placing four teams in the top six with at least one wrestler advancing to 12 of the 14 weight classes in Class 3A. Combined with Class 1A, where Monsignor Pace finished third as a team, Dade had an overall total of 18 finalists -- one of the highest totals for any county in the state meet's 45-year history.

''All tournament, we had some surprise wins,'' South Dade coach Vic Balmaceda said. ``It just seemed like we didn't have enough firepower. If there's one team I don't mind finishing ahead of us, it's Osceola. They wrestled great, and they deserve it.''

American finished third in the standings with 119 points and had its first individual state champion in 26 years. Columbus finished fifth, and Braddock was sixth.

In only his second year wrestling, American junior heavyweight Henry Chirino capped an undefeated 40-0 season with a 6-2 victory against Lakeland's Brenton Clayton. American nearly had a second champion, when junior Armani Harris came within a second of earning his first state title at 112. But leading Vero Beach's John Duran 7-5, Duran scored a takedown at the buzzer to send the match to overtime. In the third extra period, Duran escaped a hold and scored the championship-winning point.

Chirino was the only wrestler in the county who finished with a perfect season.

''Wrestling has become my life,'' Chirino said. ``I've sacrificed a lot to get better at this sport, and a night like tonight proves that the hard work pays off.''

A memorable weekend for Chirino was historic for South Dade's Kendrick Sanders and Braddock's Eric Chandler, who were among the seven Dade wrestlers who won individual state titles. The two will be remembered among the greats in the county's rich wrestling history.

Chandler and Sanders became the seventh and eighth wrestlers from Dade to finish their careers with three state titles, joining South Dade's Eric Brown (1995-97), Southridge's Ralph Everett (1997-99), Palmetto's David Flowers (1976-78), Goleman's Allan Herrera (2001-03), Belen's Jason Machado (2002-04) and Southridge's Jeffery Portwood (1980-82).

Sanders, a two-time Greco Roman national champion, finished off his final opponent, American's Leo Santibañez in the 145-pound championship, the same way he did every postseason foe. Sanders pinned him in 3:06.

Sanders' next wrestling competitions will be as part of the prestigious Dapper Dan and Cliff Keen Dream Team All-America wrestling squads to which he was recently selected. He finished his senior season with a record of 52-1, and a 148-3 mark for his career.

''When I was growing up, I never thought in a million years I would be a three-time state champ,'' Sanders said. ``I'm grateful to all of the people who supported me throughout my life.''

Sanders' pin followed a dramatic victory by Bucs' senior Wilson Metellus at 135 pounds. In the only head-to-head meeting between South Dade and Osceola in the finals, Metellus upset defending state champion Pete Baldwin 7-4. Baldwin entered the match undefeated at 55-0.

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