South Dade, Mater Lakes repeat as state wrestling duals champions
New coach, same results.
South Dade won its eighth FHSAA State Duals wrestling championship on Saturday after rolling over Orlando Freedom 49-21 in the Class 3A final at Osceola High School.
It was the 28th wrestling state championship for the program, which has also won 20 IBT state titles. But for the first time, it was under the direction of new head coach Humberto Reyna.
“It’s a great feeling,” Reyna said. “It’s a great feeling to see my kids come through adversity. In the beginning of the season we started a little bit shaky.”
Reyna, who was the South Dade assistant for the past 20 seasons, took over for Victor Balmeceda, who had guided South Dade to 25 state championships as a head coach and was part of two more as an assistant.
“There was a time as a new coach I had to seek some advice from the old head coach. Thank God for him because he gave me the faith that we could do it,” Reyna said.
South Dade reached the final after beating Hagerty 42-27 in a semifinal duel earlier in the day. The Buccaneers also beat South Plantation 53-24 in the regional final on Friday.
“These kids are very close,” Reyna said. “I am blessed to have some superstars on this team. Our stars helped so much because they hold other wrestlers accountable.”
South Dade senior Tyree Graham, who won an individual state title last year, was dominating in the 175-pound slot, winning all three of his duel matches by pin. He has now been part of seven state title teams.
“It’s been hard, and it’s been a grind, but it all came together in the end,” Graham said. “Every year is different.”
Another South Dade senior, Guillermo Jaramillo, won three matches at the tournament, including a pin, a tech fall and a major decision.
“We feel everyone is out to get us but that is what lights a fire under us,” said Jaramillo, who also has been part of seven team state titles.
The Buccaneers trampled Wellington 64-3 in the state title match last year for its third consecutive Duals title. South Dade had won four consecutive Duals state championships until being upset by Palmetto Ridge in 2022, but the Bucs came storming back and won the next three.
MATER LAKES REPEATS
Mater Lakes is also on a roll, having won three consecutive state championships after taking down Cocoa Beach 44-18 in the Class 1A Duals state final. The Bears won both the 1A Duals and IBT state championships last year.
“It’s been a heck of a couple of years,” Mater Lakes coach Brandon Neifel said. “The group of kids that we have now we’ve had together for about five years now. Transfer-wise, we’ve only gotten maybe one or two transfers in four years.
“It’s kind of unheard of these days for a team to go back-to-back and win state titles without any transfers. That is something that I take a lot of pride in. We are all super close and we know how to talk to them.”
Mater Lakes toppled Wakulla 62-4 in the semifinals duel after smothering True North 73-3 in the regional final on Friday.
Cocoa Beach had a shot to make the final close, but Mater Lakes senior Darian Vargas snatched victory out of the jaws of defeat in the 190-pound match against Micah Wittenberg.
After being thrown on his back and almost pinned, Vargas rolled out of it and pinned Wittenberg, resulting in a 12-point swing. The victory also gave Mater Lakes the state championship.
“When I was thrown on my back I had to make something happen and I did,” Vargas said. “When I was on my back I just started thinking about the team and I can’t let them down. The secret to this team is we all hang out together. It’s family.”
SOMERSET RUNNER-UP
Somerset’s bid to win another Class 2A state championship came up a duel match short after losing to Lake Gibson 39-16 in the final. Somerset reached the finals after punishing Pace 50-19.
Somerset moved up into the 2A ranks this past season and won the 2A IBT tournament in March after dropping a Duals state semifinals match to eventual state champion Tampa Jesuit.
Somerset head coach Joe Blasucci, now in his 15th season with the program, said everything just didn’t work out against Lake Gibson, from losing the coin toss to getting out-wrestled.
“The coin toss forced me to do some things with our lineup that I didn’t want to do,” Blasucci said. “Last year we lost here at the Duals but we came back and beat them all at the state tournament, and that’s our goal now.”
Despite the loss, Somerset received stellar outings from Carlos Sainz (132), Darion Shannon (157), Tristan Sainz (150) and Eli Diaz (175 and 190). Each finished the tournament with 3-0 records.
“We just have to win the tough ones, but a dual meet is a whole other animal. You have guys cutting weight, bumping off and the coin flip,” Blasucci said.