Somerset’s Blasucci, Douglas’ Gendason are Broward Wrestling Coaches of the Year
Joe Blasucci saw his powerhouse Somerset Academy boys’ wrestling team set new marks for program success this season.
And Kenneth Gendason oversaw another season of progress for the girls’ program at Stoneman Douglas.
As such, Blasucci and Gendason are the Miami Herald’s Boys’ and Girls’ Wrestling Coaches of the Year for Broward County.
Blasucci, whose teams have been either state champions or state runners-up six of the past seven seasons, saw a team ranging from sixth-graders to sophomores dominate in Class 2A on their way to a state runner-up finish at both the duals and individually-bracketed state tournaments.
Somerset had two individual state champions in unbeaten senior Tristan Sainz at 157 pounds and senior Mateo Martinez at 190 pounds.
The Panthers also had two state runners-up with freshman Carlos Sainz at 132 and sixth-grader Caio Sainz at 106.
Overall, 11 Somerset wrestlers advanced to state and 10 finished on the podium, which set a school record.
On the girls’ side, Gendason guided the Eagles to a Broward County-best 17th place finish at state led by freshman Zeinab Mourad, who went 25-1 and earned state runner-up honors in the 235-pound weight class.
Mourad was joined by senior Ariana Blanc, who also placed at state, finishing seventh at 170 pounds.
The duo continued a recent wave of success for Douglas’ girls’ program as Mourad looks to lead them to more victories next season.
