Cardinal Gibbons, South Dade wrestling brothers. Homestead soccer. Plus hoops, state golf, more
After a tremendous campaign last season, the Mocco brothers are now wrestling together at respected Fort Lauderdale Cardinal Gibbons, and the Solis brothers are doing the same for powerhouse Homestead South Dade.
Peter Mocco, Elvis Solis Jr. and Jovani Solis each went undefeated a season ago. Michael Mocco only lost two matches, both at the prestigious Walsh Ironman Tournament in Ohio against the nation’s second-ranked and sixth-ranked high school wrestlers.
Michael, a junior, celebrated his sophomore season with a state title for the Chiefs. Younger brother Peter put himself on the high school wrestling map as an 8th grader at Coral Springs Charter by winning a state title, too.
Michael went 41-2 en route to winning state at 215 pounds. It marked his second consecutive state title, after winning it at 195 pounds his freshman season at Gibbons. He also placed third at state as an 8th grader at Coral Springs Charter. Peter was undefeated at 17-0 last season while capturing his first state title at 190 pounds for the Panthers.
Peter is now a high school freshamn, so he enrolled at Cardinal Gibbons, which offers high school but not middle school. The Moccos live in Parkland, and their dad, Steve, is a well-known wrestling coach at the award-winning MMA training center American Top Team, based in Coconut Creek.
Elvis Solis Jr, now a senior, won state last season at 138 pounds for 3A state champion South Dade. He posted a 40-0 record.
Younger brother Jovani, now a freshman at South Dade, won state at 132 pounds as an 8th grader for 1A state champion Pembroke Pines Somerset Academy. He went 63-0. Like Gibbons, South Dade does not offer middle school.
▪ South Dade has amassed 25 team state titles. Cardinal Gibbons has five and Somerset four.
▪ During the summer, Michael Mocco made the U.S. under-17 national team. In his first ever international competition, he won gold in freestyle at 240 pounds during the U17 World Championships in August in Amman, Jordan.
▪ Cardinal Gibbons will open the season at home Dec. 7 with its Chief Duals at the Louise Crocco Gymnasium.
State golf
Miami Doral Academy’s girls finished a South Florida-best ninth place at the FHSAA Class 3A Golf State Championships at the Mission Resort and Club at Howey-in-the-Hills.
The Firebirds shot 646 after two days, but finished well behind state champion Orlando Lake Nona’s score of 600.
Miami Coral Glades junior Bianca Gibbs was South Florida’s highest finisher individually, placing 15th after shooting a two-day combined 148.
On the boys’ side, Deerfield Beach was the area’s highest team finisher, placing 12th with a score of 647. Viera shot 591 to secure the boys’ championship.
Miami Palmetto junior Trevor Tingle was the top individual finisher from South Florida, placing 13th with a score of 148.
Soccer
The Homestead boys’ soccer team started the season 4-0, defeating Miami Northwestern 7-0, Miami Coral Park 5-3, Miami Hialeah Gardens 8-0 and Homestead Keys Gate 3-2.
Senior Maick Simon scored in each match, recording hat tricks the last three games. He has 11 goals and two assists in four games. Senior Schleiden Francois has added five goals and six assists.
BOYS: Cardinal Gibbons 3, Cooper City 1: Felix Azpurua 1 goal; Finn Ailiff 1 goal, 1 assist; Luigi Olivieri 1 goal; Brennan Flagg 1 assist; Deven Garcia 1 assist. CG 2-2.
BOYS: Krop 1, Hialeah Gardens 0: Nicolas Wieciorovski 1 goal; Tomas Silva 1 assist; Gkp Matias Moran 1 save, shutout. Krop 2-1-1.
GIRLS: Florida Christian 2, Don Soffer Aventura 0: Sibel Garcia 2 goals; Isabella Escobar 1 assist; Valentina Cardoso 17 tackles on defense, winning every 1v1. FC 1-3.
GIRLS: Lourdes 4, Ransom Everglades 1: Veronica Aguilar 2 goal; Gianna Gray 1 goal, 2 assists; Lorena Alvarez 1 goal, 1 assist. Lour 5-0.
GIRLS: Plantation American Heritage 3, Boynton Beach Somerset 1: Juliana Soto 1 goal; Ari Doles 1 goal, 1 assist; Emma Torres 1 goal; Courtney Caruso 2 assists. AH 7-0.
Basketball
BOYS: Belen Jesuit 47, Coral Reef 45: Orlando Roche 14 pts, 7 rebs; Alec Arnholt 8 pts, 8 asts, 4 rebs; Javi Vasseur 8 pts, 5 rebs, 2 charges. Bel 1-0.
BOYS: Coral Gables 72, Krop 31: Cristian Paredes 18 pts, 3 rebs, 4 asts; Gael Cheung 16 pts, 6 rebs, 4 asts; Bruno Sanchez 10 pts, 5 asts, 2 stls. CG 1-0.
BOYS: Gulliver Prep 42, Miami Christian 37: Jacob Marquez 15 pts, 5 rebs, 5 stls; Caden Roberts 13 pts, 3 stls. GP 1-0.
BOYS: St. Brendan 80, ABF Academy Academy 79: StB: Fragela 27 pts, Duque 20, Jimenez 7, Lentz 7, Saroza 5, Gutierrez 3, Martinez 3, Villalba 2. ABF: Vargas 21 pts, Palacios 17, Ortiz 15, Rojo 11, Ruiz 7, Villalda 3, Jazbani 2, Torres 2. 3-ptrs: Fragela 3, Duque 2, Lentz 2, Saroza 1, Martinez 1, Jimenez 1, Gutierrez 1. StB 1-0.
GIRLS: LaSalle 40, TERRA 34: LaS: Aguilar-Hou 16 pts, Gonzalez Casar 11, Cruz 6, Haliwa 5, Arce 2. T: Teboe 12 pts, Barrios 7, Cherington 6, Vega 4, Castell 3, Zorrilla 2. Rebs: Gonzalez Casar 13. Asts: Aguilar-Hou 3. Stls: Gonzalez-Casar 4. 3-ptrs: Aguilar-Hou 3, Haliwa 1, Teboe 2, Castel 1. Half: LaS 22-11. LaS 2-0.
GIRLS: North Miami 79, Alonzo Tracy Mourning 15: Jadore Hayes 30 points, 20 rebs, 5 blks; Ryana Benoit 15 points, 10 asts, 3-of-5 3-pointers; Donnesha Morency 15 points, 12 rebs, 10 stls, 8 asts; Alijah Rene 6 points, 6 stls, 3 rebs; Lailah Willis 6 points, 2 rebs; Tiana Fleurima 4 points, 3 stls. NM 1-0.
GIRLS: Palmer Trinity 45, Northwestern 39: Laria 14 pts, Wright 6, Nieves 5, Sullivan 2, Esparza 12, Bloom 6. 3-ptrs: Nieves 1, Esparza 3, Bloom 2, Laria 2. Rebs: Wright 7 Stls: Esparza 8. Asts: Esparza 4. Blks: Esparza 2. PT 2-0.
Send high school sports results
For high schools in Broward and Miami-Dade counties, if you have varsity results and top performers (with stats), 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.
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Roundup compiled by Jim Varsallone
jvarsallone@miamiherald.com