South Dade’s Vic Balmeceda is Miami-Dade Wrestling Coach of the Year

Vic Balmeceda has already established a boys’ wrestling powerhouse at South Dade.

Can he do the same with girls’ wrestling?

The foundation is there.

Balmeceda’s two South Dade teams were the top among South Florida teams at the FHSAA state championship, and it’s why he’s once again the Miami Herald’s Miami-Dade Wrestling Coach of the Year.

South Dade’s boys team mounted a strong comeback on the final day of the state tournament to win the school’s 17th individual bracket tournament state title, its ninth consecutive team title and 13th overall under Balmeceda. Two wrestlers won state titles (Ansel Cervantes in the 195 pound class and Sawyer Bartelt in the 220 pound division), while four more wrestlers had third-place finishes. It was enough for South Dade to pull past Southwest, which led over the first two days of the tournament before the Bucs made their mark on the final day.

On the girls’ side, South Dade finished in fifth place in the FHSAA’s inaugural girls’ wrestling state championship with 61.5 points, 18.5 points more than the next closest team from the county (Norland, which finished eighth).

The Bucs’ edge over most of the other South Florida teams came with its depth. South Dade had wrestlers in 11 of 14 weight classes this year, with seven advancing to state. Four of those seven had podium finishes, led by Ferny Hernandez’s third-place finish in the 170-pound class and followed by Anisah Paz (145 pounds, fifth), Gabriela Serge (155 pounds, sixth) and Natalie Duran (105 pounds, seventh).

This story was originally published April 6, 2022 at 8:15 AM.