Even shorthanded, South Dade shows off its depth to claim another GMAC wrestling crown
Being without two defending state champions and a top 5 placer at state might cripple a lot of wrestling teams’ chances of winning a tournament.
Not South Dade.
Besides its top-notch talent, the Bucs’ depth is continually the reason they are on the state’s longest active state championship streak and one of the longest in the country regardless of sport.
South Dade leaned on that abundance of talent to ensure it would secure another GMAC championship as it secured its second in a row on Saturday at its home gym.
Even with seniors Gavin Balmeceda and Luis Acevedo (each defending state champions) and sophomore Guillermo Jaramillo (a fifth-place finisher at state last year), the Bucs won seven individual county championships and three runners-up.
South Dade scored 333.5 points to edge longtime rival Southwest, which finished second with 294 points.
South Dade’s back-to-back follows a run of two GMAC titles in a row by Southwest prior to last season. The Eagles had a strong outing of their own on Saturday, however, as four of their wrestlers won GMAC titles, matching a school record. Antonio Morales won the 113-pound title while Gabriel Tellez prevailed at 126 pounds, Dillon Smith at 132 and Willie White at 165.
The Bucs, who won their sixth duals state title in December, are aiming to extend their streak of 10 consecutive Individual Bracketed Tournament state titles on Feb. 29-March 2nd in Kissimmee. South Dade’s IBT state title streak ranks second all-time behind only Brandon High’s 16 in a row from 2001-2017.
“Coming in the tournament we knew we could be down so we had the mindset of grabbing a lot of bonus points in every match and do what we needed to win,” South Dade senior Sawyer Bartelt said.
Bartelt continued to be at the heart of South Dade’s dominance as he cruised to the 215-pound title with a tech fall 16-0 victory over Dr. Krop’s Nathan Adras. Bartelt, who will enroll early at Iowa State University and just played a major part on South Dade’s football team advancing to the playoffs last fall, improved to 34-0 and has not lost a match or had an opponent score a takedown on him over the past three seasons.
“This is amazing. I’m trying to enjoy every moment,” Bartelt said. “My parents and coaches, I would not be there without them. They’ve pushed me all these years and I give it all to them.”
In addition to Bartelt, EJ Solis is also unbeaten this season as he improved to 34-0 after winning the 138-pound championship. South Dade’s other individual champs were Bryan Morales (106 pounds), Tyree Graham (144), Joshua Aviles (150), Kevin Olavarria (175) and Christopher Sanchez (190).
South Dade coach Vic Balmeceda, however, gave credit to some of his non-champions, who stepped up and secured valuable points at the meet. One such performer was heavyweight runner-up Daguy Massillon, who began wrestling only two months ago, and lost a close final 3-2 to Miami Southridge’s Ryan Miret.
“We have our studs like Sawyer, but all those guys like Kevin Olivarria, who won at 175, Joshua Aviles at 150, (Massillon), all our kids stepped up.”
Southridge finished with two individual champions overall as Frederick Mitchum won the 120-pound title to remain unbeaten for the season. Drake Bonney won the 157-pound title to give Palmetto its lone individual champion.
RESULTS
▪ Team standings (top 10): 1. South Dade 333.5; 2. Southwest 294; 3. Southridge 191.5; 4. Columbus 189.5; 5. Miami Beach 154.5; 6. Palmetto 151.5; 7. Braddock 140; 8. Goleman 105; 9. Coral Reef 98; 10. North Miami 97.5.
▪ Championship - 106: Bryan Morales (SD) dec. Lazaro Soto (SW) 3-0; 113: Antonio Morales (SW) dec. Rashaan Robinson (NOR) 13-11; 120: Frederick Mitchum (SR) dec. Angel Delgado (SW) 5-3; 126: Gabriel Tellez (SW) dec. Nathaniel Williams (SD) 12-5; 132: Dillon Smith (SW) aj. dec. Armand Williams (SD) 10-2; 138: EJ Solis (SD) tech Noah Sanabria (Brad) 16-0; 144: Tyree Graham (SD) dec. Tyrell Robby (MB) 10-6; 150: Joshua Aviles (SD) dec. Zachary Ruiz (Col) 10-5; 157: Drake Bonney (Pal) dec. Gerson Alette (NM) 5-2; 165: Willie White (SW) pin Leonard Gilley (SR) 1:08; 175: Kevin Olavarria (SD) tech Connor Bonney (Pal) 17-2; 190: Christopher Sanchez (SD) dec. Myron Mendez (SW) 6-5; 215: Sawyer Bartelt (SD) tech Nathan Adras (Krop) 15-0; 285: Ryan Miret (SR) dec. Daguy Massillon (SD) 3-2.
▪ Consolation - 106: Damel Martinez (SR) pin Sebastian Gonzalez (SW) 2:44; 113: Lajuan Ingraham (MB) pin Joshua Viera (Ferg) 1:19; 120: Oscar Llaguno (SW) pin Danny Tabares (Brad) 0:36; 126: Lian Castro (MB) d. Matthew Padget (Pal) forfeit; 132: Alejandro Rodriguez (MB) dec. Lexani Salguedo (Gol) 11-6 (SV); 138: Alec Gonzalez (Col) dec. Didier Novoa (SW) 8-4; 144: Dylan Lopez (Brad) dec. Jaiden Oliver (SD) 4-1; 150: Iam Garcia (SW) dec. Ronald Castillo (Brad) 7-1; 157: Shannon Davie (SW) d. Jonathan Moreno (SD) forfeit; 165: Adonis Severe (NM) dec. Bluny Davilmal (Cen) 1-0; 175: Evangelo Mercado (SW) pin Pablo Ramos (CP) 4:58; 190: Kenneth Canalles (Col) dec. Eliel Santos (SR) 7-5; 215: Sandro Laguerre (NM) pin Anthony Romero (SR) 3:35; 285: Spencer Voss (SR) pin Alex Geffard (Pal) 5:52.
