Mater Lakes Wrestling Program Makes History at the FHSAA State Tournament
Congratulations, to our wrestling team that finished as the fourth place team and a state title.
The Mater Lakes wrestling team made history this weekend at
the FHSAA State Tournament in Kissimmee, FL with a fourth place team
finish. The Bears sent two wrestlers to
the state finals for the first time in school history when Senior Nick Luna
defeated Bas Diaz of Citrus Park Christian and Senior Omar Armengol defeated
Alan Morano of Tampa Prep to win their semifinals match. Nick Luna became the school’s first state
champion when he defeated Vincenzo Napolitano of American Heritage Delray to
capture the 1A 120lb weight class title in dominating fashion. Luna built an
early lead and never looked back as he won with a score of 9-4. Armengol started the tournament on a tear
pinning his first two opponents in the early rounds and was on the verge of an
emphatic comeback in the final, but lost a very tight match in the 132lb bout
as he was in the process of scoring a possible match winning takedown as time
expired. He joins Luna as the only other
wrestler to make it to the state finals match.
Three
other Bears achieved milestones as they reached the placing rounds with
exciting wins to qualify as state place winners. Senior Nestor Nunez took home fourth place in
the 160lb weight class. After a tough loss in the quarter finals, Nunez battled
back with three straight victories. Two
of those were come from behind wins symbolizing his resilience. Senior David Alvarez captured fifth place in
the 195lb weight class with two dominating pins along the way. Eight grader Danny Martinez placed fifth in the
106lb weight class losing a tight bout in the quarter finals, but following it
up with a pin and a technical fall in the consolation rounds. Prior to this season, the Bears have only had
two other state place winners in program history.
Four
other wrestlers competed at the State tournament but came up just short of
reaching the placing rounds. Seniors
Rafael Alvarez (138lb) and Danny Rodriguez (220lb) each won exciting matches
but came within a match of making it to day two. Sophomore Gonzalo Perez (126lb) also had an
exciting win and sophomore Justin Zerbinati (113lb) got some much needed
experience for next season as they competed at the state tournament for the
first time.
Coaches
Brandon Neifeld and Jonathan Ramsey will be working during the off season with
their new USA Wrestling Club (Golden Bears).
The club will be open to all wrestlers in the community as long as they
have a current USA Wrestling Card and is available for athletes ages 5-18.