South Dade head coach Vic Balmeceda warned his guys that winning a second state duals title in as many years would not be as simple this time around.
He also wanted them to know that while the road would be tougher, they were good enough to win.
He was right about both.
On Saturday night at the FHSAA State Wrestling Duals tournament at Kissimmee Osceola High School, Balmeceda’s Buccaneers erased a 14-point deficit in the final four matches to edge Fleming Island 32-28 for the Class 3A title.
“I told them that it was not going to be easy like it has been in the past so we can’t panic,” Balmeceda said. “They’re adjusting to that thinking but I also told them that even if it’s harder, we’re still good enough to win a state title.”
With the match starting at 152 pounds and Fleming Island winning the coin toss, the first part of the meet played out in the Golden Eagles favor.
“They got the matches they wanted and they got the results they wanted early,” Balmeceda said. “It put us in a position where along with trying to win, we needed to make sure to not lose badly also.”
Fleming Island won six of the first eight matches of the dual.
Luke Chop (152) won his second 1-0 match of the weekend, riding out Jason Duarte in the third period to get the match started.
Tanner Hill (160) followed with a major decision win before South Dade’s nationally-ranked Brevin Balmeceda pulled the match tighter with a technical fall at 170 pounds.
After an Anthony Breeden pin put Fleming Island up 13-5, Todd Perry got the South Dade faithful out of their seats with a pin at 195 pounds.
The Golden Eagles quickly stunted that momentum, winning the next three matches with Jeffrey Lascano getting revenge for an earlier loss this season against Kenneth Crouse with a 5-3 win at 285 and Hunter Herrington pulling out a 2-1 over Adrian Morales, both following Chad Nix earning six points for a forfeit at 220.
The teams then traded decisions with Jacob Delgado (113) doubling up Riley Holton 10-5 and Briar Jackson (120) getting a 9-2 win over Neco Adrian.
That gave Fleming Island a 28-14 lead with four matches to go.
That’s when South Dade went on a roll.
“It’s good to put your team in situations like that,” Balmeceda said. “You always want to win obviously, but it’s good to be tested and teams like Fleming Island keep us on our toes.”
Tyler Orta started the run with a technical fall at 126 and Bretli Reyna (132) followed that with a first period pin.
After Joshua Swan majored Tyler Williams, it set the stage for a winner-take-all match in the final bout.
With the other two state finals already completed, every eye in the gym focused on the match.
Eric Temes was steady and when his match ended with Gannon Janssen, he had a 6-4 win and South Dade had itself another state title.
“That was fun,” Balmeceda said. “That’s what gets your heart going, that’s what this is all about.”
While wrestlers took selfies and opposing coaches and wrestlers offered congratulations, Balmeceda took time to reflect on this team’s accomplishment.
“To not blow teams is out is something new for this team,” Balmeceda said. “Right now instead of an outstanding team, we’re a great team and we saw that we were vulnerable and we still came out on top.”
South Dade 32, Fleming Island 28
152: Luke Chop (FI) dec. Jason Duarte (SD) 1-0
160: Tanner Hill (FI) maj. dec. Ralph Clemente (SD) 16-7
170: Brevin Balmeceda (SD) tech. fall Gavin Smith (FI) 17-0
182: Anthony Breeden (FI) p. Daniel Espino-Delgado (SD) 1:26
195: Todd Perry (SD) p. Nickolas Janssen (FI) 2:53
220: Chad Nix (FI) by FF
285: Jeffrey Lascano (FI) dec. Kenneth Crouse (SD) 5-3
106: Hunter Herrington (FI) dec. Adrian Morales (SD) 2-1
113: Jacob Delgado (SD) dec. Riley Holton (FI) 10-5
120: Briar Jackson (FI) dec. Neco Adrian (SD) 9-2
126: Tyler Orta (SD) tech. fall Ryan Hobson (FI) 23-8
132: Bretli Reyna (SD) p. Garrett Cole (FI) 0:54
138: Joshua Swan (SD) maj. dec. Tyler Williams (FI) 18-4
145: Eric Temes (SD) dec. Gannon Janssen (FI) 6-4
Semifinals
Fleming Island 53, Ft. Pierce Central 5
145: Gannon Janssen (FI) p. Kevin Finn (FPC) 2:34; 152: Luke Chop (FI) dec. Zaine Parlor (FPC) 8-3; 160: Jared Fleitas (FPC) dec. Tanner Hill (FI) 3-1; 170: Gavin Smith (FI) p. Anthony Gibson (FPC) 3:20; 182: Nickolas Janssen (FI) dec. William Steven Krantz (FPC) 4-2; 195: Anthony Breeden (FI) p. Berlens Jean-Louis (FPC) 5:19; 220: Nix Michael Chad (FI) maj. dec. Cameron Golden (FPC) 10-2; 285: Raul Gonzalez (FI) dec. Henry Jones (FPC) 6-3; 106: Hunter Herrington (FI) p. Cole Childs (FPC) 0:44; 113: Riley Holton (FI) tech. Isaiah Herrington (FPC) 17-0; 120: Briar Jackson (FI) maj. dec. Jacob Fleitas (FPC) 12-4; 126: Ryan Hobson (FI) dec. Lance Harris (FPC) 6-2; 132: Travon Ross (FPC) dec. Dalton Baysinger (FI) 9-6; 138: Tyler Williams (FI) maj. dec. Russell Raabe (FPC) 10-0; FPC – unsportsmanlike conduct -1.0.
South Dade 65, Riverview 6
145: Eric Temes (SD) p. Shemar Williams (R) 0:55; 152: Jason Duarte (SD) p. Oskar Hernandez (R) 3:42; 160: Brevin Balmeceda (SD) p. Josiah Fergoso (R) 0:25; 170: Ralph Clemente (SD) dec. Nick Franklin (R) SV-1 4-2; 182: Todd Perry (SD) by FF; 195: Gunnar Malouff (R) dec. Daniel Espino-Delgado (SD) 10-4; 220: Kenneth Crouse (SD) p. Centrell Sommers (R) 2:51; 285: Tanavieus Sharpshire (SD) p. Dante Hernandez (R) 2:56; 106: Lane Keck (R) dec. Adrian Morales (SD) 5-4; 113: Jacob Delgado (SD) p. Joshua Guerra (R) 3:12; 120: Neco Adrian (SD) dec. Tyler Forrest (R) 5-0; 126: Tyler Orta (SD) p. Nikolas Hernandez (R) 2:47; 132: Bretli Reyna (SD) p. Chris Felix (R) 3:07; 138: Joshua Swan (SD) tech. Carmelo Edwards (R) 24-9.
