Broward and Miami high school wrestlers excel at summer events. Plus softball and tennis
Standout Miami wrestlers Kevin Olavarria and Ethan Vergara did very well representing the Puerto Rico national team at the 2024 U20 Pan American Championships at Villa Deportiva Nacional in Lima, Peru.
Olavarria, a 2024 South Dade graduate and member of the Gladiator Wrestling Club, captured the silver medal at 175 pounds.
In the finals, Zack Ryder (United States) won by technical fall 10-0 over Olavarria. Prior, Olavarria beat Enrique Emiliano Olvera Rodriguez (Mexico) 10-0 and Adrian Exavier J. Maynard (Barbados) 10-0.
In the 2023-24 high school wrestling season, Olavarria won a state title at 175 pounds to help the Bucs win their 25th state team title (11 consecutive). He went 45-6.
Vergara, a 2022 Mater Lakes Academy grad, placed third for bronze at 275 pounds at those Pan American Championships.
In the bronze medal match, Vergara pinned Nicolas Santacruz Rabago (Mexico) at 4:00. Prior, he beat Wesley Barros Das Dores (Brazil) 11-0 and Santacruz Rabago 10-0. His lone loss was to Omogbai Ebode Asekomhe (Canada) 4-0.
Vergara, a two-time state champion and two-time Miami Herald All-Dade first team selection, is wrestling for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
Puerto Rico finished fourth. Team USA won the competition.
More wrestling
Cardinal Gibbons wrestling standout Michael Mocco represented Team Florida in freestyle at 215 pounds during the 2024 Air Force Special Warfare Junior National Duals at the Cox Business Convention Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Mocco, a two-time FHSAA state champion, went 9-1 as he earned All-American honors. He helped Team Florida go 7-3 to finish in the Top 15.
His victories were a technical fall 11-1 over Samuel Fletes (Louisiana Red); a technical fall 10-0 over Raymond Gary-Hernandez (Kansas Red); a technical fall 11-1 over Isaac Sheeren (Texas Blue); by injury default in 0:36 over Cole Rogers (Kansas Blue); by technical fall 10-0 over Hank Meyer (Minnesota Red); a technical fall 10-0 over Mustafa Hadi (Virginia Blue); a technical fall 10-0 over Caleb Kurtti (Minnesota Red); a technical fall 10-0 over Hank Meyer (Minnesota Red). His lone loss was to standout Cole Mirasola (Wisconsin) by pinfall in 2:02. Mirasola will be a freshman at wrestling power Penn State in the fall.
Mocco, a Parkland resident, not only won state twice in Florida but was third as an eighth grader for Coral Springs Charter. He is a three-time Miami Herald All-Broward first team selection and 2023 Miami Herald All-Broward co-Wrestler of the Year. He went 41-2 last season and will be a junior in the fall.
As a member of the ATT/Mocco Wrestling Academy, he made the U.S. U17 national team and will compete in his first international event -- the U17 World Championships -- in Amman, Jordan from August 19-25.
As for the AFSW Junior National Duals, it is one of USA Wrestling’s most exciting age group competitions. State pride is at stake as teams representing USA Wrestling’s State Associations compete in the freestyle and Greco-Roman dual meet competition. All participating teams must be selected and attend through their respective state associations. Athletes are born Sept. 1st, 2004 & after, plus enrolled in grades 9-12.
The Junior National Duals was instituted as an opportunity for athletes to compete on a team to determine bragging rights for the top Freestyle and Greco-Roman teams in the United States.
Softball
Outfielder Arlette Caravaca of Western was named the Florida Dairy Farmers Class 7A Softball Player of the Year in a voting by a statewide panel of high school softball coaches and media representatives.
That made her a finalist for the state’s Miss Softball honor. She finished fifth in that voting. Senior pitcher Jayden Heavener of Pace High School (Pace, Florida) won the award. An LSU signee, Heavener led her squad to the Class 6A state title with a 25-2 record.
Caravaca, a 2024 Western grad, batted .413 with 7 home runs, 11 doubles and 36 RBI in helping Western softball win the Class 7A state title, the second softball state title in school history. She is a three-time Miami Herald All-Broward first team selection (once for Cooper City) and a 2023 Miami Herald All-Broward Softball co-Player of the Year.
Caravaca will continue her softball journey in college at NCAA Division I Iowa.
Western coach John Bradshaw, the Class 7A Coach of the Year, was fourth in the voting for the state’s overall Coach of the Year honors. Lexi Alexander of Class 6A Pace won that award.
More softball
A 5-foot-9 right-handed pitcher from Cooper City, Daniella Nino joins the NCAA Division II Barry University women’s softball team, after prepping at Cooper City High School.
She guided the Cowboys to a pair of district championships in 2022 and 2023, adding the BCAA title in 2022. She was twice recognized by the Miami Herald, garnering All-Dade honorable mention distinction as a sophomore and second team accolades as a senior.
“Growing up in Broward County, I always wanted to stay close to home for college after attending a prospect camp where I fell in love with the coaching staff as well as the amazing players,” Nino said via Barry University PR. “I knew Barry University would be my home for the next four years.”
The Bucs, based in Miami Shores, are coming off a transcendent 2024 campaign, recording their most wins since 2013 with a 34-18 record in a schedule that featured 18 contests against nine teams that advanced to the NCAA Division II National Tournament.
Tennis
Tennis standout Brennon Chow of Miami reached the semifinals in boys’ 18s, before withdrawing due to injury at the 2024 USTA National Clay Court Championships in Delray Beach.
Chow, a 2024 True North Classical Academy grad, is a two-time Miami Herald All- Dade Boys’ Tennis Player of the Year. He helped the Titans advance to the 2024 FHSAA state team finals.
Chow, a two-time state doubles champion, was a singles runner-up in 2023 and advanced to the state semifinals in 1A in singles in 2024. He was also a state runner-up in doubles with his brother, Caleb, in 2024.
Submit summer sports info
If you have summer sports results with local top performers (with stats) for high school or middle school-aged athletes in Broward and Miami-Dade counties, email hssports@miamiherald.com.
They will run in the newspaper and online. Photos accepted, too. No deadline. Send after the game, the next day or weekly. You will be alerted when it will appear in the newspaper and online.
New athletic directors, coaches
For high schools in Broward and Miami-Dade, if you have new sports administration and/or coaching hires to announce, email hssports@miamiherald.com.
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Roundup compiled by Jim Varsallone
jvarsallone@miamiherald.com
This story was originally published July 23, 2024 at 10:57 PM.
