Undefeated Season: Harmony’s Nathan Lyttle Wins State Wrestling Championship at 48-0

By: J. Daniel Pearson

For the second time in school history, Harmony has an undefeated state wrestling champion.

On Saturday afternoon in a packed Silver Spurs Arena, junior Nathan Lyttle completed a perfect season (48-0) with a thrilling 2-1 win over Lake Mary’s Damonyal White.

The first period ended with both wrestlers on their feet in a 0-0 standoff. Starting on the bottom, Lyttle reversed White midway through the second period for his only points of the match. Starting on top, Lyttle did a masterful job of riding White out for more than 80 seconds of the period before White narrowed the gap to 2-1 with an escape at the :36 mark of the match. Neither wrestlers would score the rest of the way , with Lyttle hanging on for the one-point win.

“He (White) was one of the few wrestlers I hadn’t competed against or seen this season,” Lyttle said. “Our styles are pretty much the same. I got the reversal in the second and being able to ride him out for most the third was a huge factor.”

“The conclusion of a great season for Nathan,” Harmony coach Vic Lorenzano said. “I thought White wrestled a smart match. When wrestlers attack Nathan, he usually counters those attacks and scores off of them. I think White knew that by staying cautious, he could keep the match close and have a shot.”

Lyttle’s undefeated season matches the perfect record of former Harmony star Nelson Toro (47-0), who went undefeated in winning the 2023 state championship at 285-lbs.

In winning the title, Lyttle easily got through the first two rounds with a pin over Josh Sabbia (Oviedo) and a 8-1 decision over Rocco Duyguylu (Douglas) before taking a narrow 6-5 win over Kevin Mclean (Flagler Palm Coast) to set up the showdown with White.

Only a junior, Lyttle will have a chance to match Sawyer Root (2014-15) as the only two-time state champion in school history.

But Lyttle’s performance was not the only one that Longhorn fans had to cheer about.

Junior Tristin Horn (46-2) took the silver medal at 106. Horn breezed through the first two rounds of the tournament with pins over Dylan Vu (Venice) and Donovan Jenkins (South Plantation). He reached the final with a 3-1 decision in Friday night’s semifinal over George Steinbrenner’s Alzider Ortiz. But Horn’s magical season came to end against Southwest Miami’s Lazaro Soto, who dominated the finals with a 10-0 majority decision.

Finishing with 47.5 team points, Harmony posted a seventh place finish in Class 3A. “We didn’t have the depth that we had in previous seasons. But we took seven wrestlers to states, had a state champion, top 10 finish and were regional champions,” Lorenzano added. “Really proud of the effort all these guys put in this season and their accomplishments.”

Osceola had three wrestlers earn all-state honors as Izzy Sharipov (5th-138) and Nathan Cabrera (3rd-157) joined teammate David Yi-Sanchez (6th-165) all worked their way through the consolation round to earn all-state honors with top eight placements.

Still it was the end of a disappointing season for the Kowboys, who were plagued with injuries and illness to key performers for much of the season. When Sharipov, a defending state champion, and Cabrera lost in the semifinals – it marked an end of a remarkable streak of 18 consecutive years where the Kowboys had at least one individual state champion.

Tohopekaliga pushed the Osceola County ‘s total of all-state boy wrestlers to seven, as Nathan Barrett (6th place) and Bryan Battles (8th place) reached the podium at 150 and 165 pounds respectively. Barrett won his first two matches before losing in the semifinals to South Dade’s – Armand Williams by decision, 12-5.

Final team scores in the 3A team championship race saw Osceola (43.) finished in 11th place overall; Tohopekaliga (16.0) was 33rd. Perennial power South Dade (227.5) sent nine wrestlers to the finals, won six individual championships took their 12^th consecutive 3A championship. Mater Lakes Academy (212) won six weight classes to run away 1A championship over second place Zephryhills Christian (149.0); while Somerset (170.0) edged Jesuit (166) for the 2A title.

The 2025 FHSAA Girls State Championship was also held at Silver Spurs. With girls wrestling being one of the fastest growing sports in the United States, 125 schools from around the state sent athletes to the single classification tournament.

Osceola qualified seven for the state tournament with five wrestlers reaching the podium to earn all-state honors. Those wrestlers included Aniyah Wayne (6th-100), Paola Ramirez (3rd-125), Denalie Dauphin (5th-140) and Ericka Hernandez (4th-145). Osceola (62 points) came up with a top ten finish in seventh place; while Flagler Palm Coach won the team championship.

Osceola County All-State Wrestlers

Boys

Tristin Horn, Harmony, 2nd (106)*

Nathan Lyttle, Harmony, 1^st (113)*