Harmony Longhorns Dominate OBC Wrestling Championships, Claiming Boys and Girls Titles

By: J. Daniel Pearson

Harmony captured 50% of the individual titles overall, as the Longhorns dominated both the boys and girls Orange Belt Conference wrestling championships on Wednesday afternoon.

The boys, behind defending state champion Nathan Lyttle (120), won seven of the 14 individual weight classes to register 220 team points and easily win the boys title over Gateway (127) and Tohopekaliga (122). Osceola, which won the previous three team titles, was fourth with 115.5.

Lyttle, ranked #1 in his weight class in 3A and in the Top 50 Nationally, was dominant in defending his OBC crown. He needed just over three minutes of total mat time in recording three first period pins. Teammates Nevan Irving (132) and Nathan Barrett (157), who each reached the podium at last year’s state championships, were equally impressive.

Irving received a first-round bye, pinned Gateway’s Matias Cuevas in the second round and recorded a 13-4 major decision over Osceola’s Jose Herrara in the final; while Barrett dominated his class with two first period pins and followed it up with a 17-4 technical fall in the final against Osceola’s Jonathan Olmo.

Four other Longhorns also took the gold as Sebastian Rodriguez (106), Brody Williams (138), Carlos Lopez (144), and Elijah Akers (150) all were victorious. Williams, a senior, came back from a 9-5 deficit in the final period to pin Gateway’s Jose Davalillo.

Celebration posted three champions in Jared Alvarez (126), Israel Serrano (175) and Ahmad Mraidl (285). In one of the more exciting finals of the night, Gateway’s Jason Perez picked up the Panthers lone championship – recording a third period escape to edge Harmony Leo Ortiz, 1-0.

Tohopekaliga’s two champions included Bryan Battles (165) and Valentino Benavides (215), who posted a wild 25-22 final against St. Cloud’s while St. Cloud’s Rey Siera. The Bulldogs had the other champion, as Joenel Roman recorded a 16-5 major decision over Osceola’s top-seeded Wilkendir Rivera.

Osceola, who had won 11 of last 14 OBC crowns, sent six wrestlers to the finals but failed to post a conference champion for the first time ever.

The impressive performance by the Longhorns boys team was matched by the Harmony Girls’ team. They placed 10 in the finals and also won seven individual crowns; which included three pinfalls in the finals by Kiani Gonzalez (110), Kiley Vinson (135), and Ruby Driskell (140). Sofia Ramos had a 24-8 technical fall in the105 championship match.

Harmony finished the tournament with 201 points, nearly doubling-up second place Osceola (117), which won the first three OBC Girls Team Titles since the sport was recognized four years ago.

“It was a great day for Harmony wrestling,” Coach Vic Lorenzano said. “No real surprises but I was pleased with how some of our younger guys stepped up to pick up valuable consolation points. I don’t like looking too far ahead, but with a couple of weeks to go in the regular season I think we’re getting close to where we want to be.”

Lorenzano was quick to praise the work of girls coach Chris McNichols. “He has been the driving force behind the girls’ team. A few years ago, we had less than a handful of participants. This year we had a full squad, 10 finalists and seven champions.”

OBC Boys Championships

Team Scores: Harmony 220.5, Gateway 127, Tohopekaliga 122, Osceola 115.5, Celebration 90, St. Cloud 88, Poinciana 56, Liberty 10

Championship Matches

105: Sebastian Rodriguez (H) pin Daniel Abreau (G), 1:56

112: Jason Perez (G) dec. Leo Ortiz (H), 1-0

120: Nathan Lyttle (H) pin George Kotelawala (C), :55

126: Jared Alvarez (C ) maj. dec. Fabian Saurez (T), 11-2

132: Nevan Irving (H) maj. dec. Jose Herrera (O), 13-4

138: Brody Williams (H) pin Jose Davilillo (G), 4:21

144: Carlos Lopez (H) pin Enzo Fernandez (G), 2:20

150: Elijah Akers (H) pin Joe Pagan (T), 1:02

157: Nathan Barrett (H) tech fall Jonathan Olmo (O), 17-0