Latest news with #SouthDade
Miami Herald
27-03-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
South Dade's Solis and North Miami's Bethel are the Miami-Dade Wrestlers of the Year
At a school with a history replete with dominant wrestlers, Elvis Solis left his own mark this past season. And at North Miami High, Mya Bethel completed a remarkable championship run during a time when she helped put girls' wrestling on the radar in the state of Florida. Solis and Bethel - both seniors - are the Miami Herald's Miami-Dade County Wrestlers of the Year. Bethel just finished up a stellar career in which she never lost and went 104-0 over four seasons. Bethel capped it this season by winning her fourth state championship, securing the title this season at 155 pounds. Bethel, who entered the state meet ranked No. 2 nationally in her weight class, is a four-time GMAC, district and regional champion as well. Her dominant run comes at a time when girls' wrestling, sanctioned in recent years by the Florida High School Athletic Association, is seeing its participation numbers grow and more female wrestlers achieve success. In the classroom, Bethel is also dedicated as she has maintained a 3.5 weighted GPA. 'I had to go all out,' Bethel said after the state meet. 'It was a good fight from the girls but at the end of the day there is only one, and that is me.' Solis finished his career with a state championship in Class 3A at 144 pounds after going 53-0 for the season. Solis was one of six individual state champions for South Dade, which won its 12th consecutive state title in the individually-bracketed tournament format and 20th overall. This was Solis' third consecutive state title since transferring to the Bucs. Solis will try to carry over that success to the next level as he has signed to wrestle in college at Kent State. 'I achieved a lot in my high school career, traveling around the country and working hard and carrying on a legacy,' Solis said. 'Ever since I started wrestling, I knew I was going to go to South Dade and it helped improve my wrestling, conditioning, mental preparation, everything.'
Miami Herald
27-03-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Mater Lakes' Neifeld and South Dade's Balmeceda are the Dade Wrestling Coaches of the Year
Mater Lakes' boys made school history. And South Dade's boys added to their already historic state championship run while their girls got close to their first title. Both wrestling programs won state championships this past season in both the duals and individually-bracketed tournaments in their respective classes. As a result, their coaches - Brandon Neifeld at Mater Lakes and Victor Balmeceda and Gamaliel Duran at South Dade are the Miami Herald's Wrestling Coaches of the Year for Miami-Dade County. Neifeld and Balmeceda share Boys' Wrestling Coach of the Year honors while Duran wins on the girls' wrestling side. After coming close in recent years, Neifeld led Mater Lakes' boys to its first ever state duals title in Class 1A and the Bears followed that up with a dominant performance to capture the 1A title in the individually-bracketed tournament earlier this month in Kissimmee. Mater Lakes totaled 212 points to finish clear ahead of second-place Zephyrhills Christian's 149. The Bears placed six wrestlers in the championship matches and five came away with state titles, including Kellen Mesina (113), Keagan Mesina (120), Ethan Tran (126), Kalias Nazario (165) and Damian Soto (190). Christopher Greene finished as state runner-up at 132. 'This team has been around for four and five years. It's been the same group of guys,' Neifeld, who has been the school's coach for 13 years, said at the state meet. 'We should have won last year but we lost a tough one at the end. This year we just knew it was going to be our year and it's been incredible.' Balmeceda, meanwhile, directed the South Dade boys to another stellar season that included state titles in both formats once again. South Dade now has 27 wrestling state championship trophies having also won its seventh Duals state title earlier this year. The 20 IBT titles is the most for any Miami-Dade program and trails only Brandon High's 28 on the state's all-time list. The Bucs won their 12th in a row, which is the second-longest title streak in state history behind Brandon's 16 in a row from 2001-2017. South Dade placed nine wrestlers in the finals and came away with six individual champions, including Guillermo Jaramillo (126), Jovani Solis (138), Elvis Solis (144), Armand Williams (150), Tyree Graham (157) and Willie White (165). 'Realistically, anyone would have been happy to get four or five guys in the finals, but we went 18-0 on Day 2 with the quarterfinals and semifinals,' Balmeceda said after the state IBT meet. 'They answered the bell.' On the girls' side, South Dade had its own successful season under Duran's tutelage as they tied for the second-most points in the state (106) behind Flagler Palm Coast's 150. Willow White led the Bucs at 120 pounds by completing an unbeaten state championship season.
Miami Herald
30-01-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
South Dade sets record at wrestling state duals. Mater Lakes makes history, too. Plus hoops info
Miami Mater Lakes Academy and Homestead South Dade won state championships at the FHSAA State Wrestling Duals at Osceola High School in Kissimmee. South Dade, coached by Victor Balmeceda, breezed to a state record seven state duals titles in eight state duals tournaments. For Mater Lakes Academy, coached by Brandon Neifeld, it marked the Bears first state team championship in wrestling. It was team vs. team, vying for district, sub-regional, region and state titles at various tournaments throughout the state. Win to advance in each tournament; lose and go home. Eight teams at state in each classification advanced there by winning districts and sub-regionals. At the two-day state tournament, they competed for region titles and then a state championship. In 3A, South Dade defeated Parkland Stoneman Douglas 66-3 to win a region title. The following day the Buccaneers beat Lakeland George Jenkins 65-6 and Wellington 64-3 for the state title. In 1A, Mater Lakes Academy won the region by defeating Key West 61-6. The next day the Bears beat Merritt Island 43-23 and Naples St. John Neumann 58-15 for that first state championship. In 2A, defending state champ Pembroke Pines Somerset Academy won the region title by beating Jensen Beach 58-16. The Panthers were eliminated by Tampa Jesuit 34-28 in a close state semifinal battle the next day. Jesuit won the state title, beating Punta Gorda Charlotte 59-13. NOTE: Stoneman Douglas qualified for the region finals at state duals for the first time in program history. ▪ 3A: State Finals: South Dade 64, Wellington 3: 106 lbs - Jose Callava (South Dade) over Kai Kihei (Wellington Community Hs) Fall 0:28. 113 - Bryan Morales (South Dade) over Jaden Williams (Wellington Community Hs) Fall 1:42. 120 - Mark Bonfante (Wellington Community Hs) over Kaleb Williams (South Dade) Dec 7-6. 126 - Guillermo Jaramilo (South Dade) over Connor Walshe (Wellington Community Hs) TF 16-1. 132 - Nathaniel Williams (South Dade) over Kai Benedetti (Wellington Community Hs) Maj 10-2. 138 - Jovani Solis (South Dade) over Tyler Gray (Wellington Community Hs) TF 16-1. 144 - Elvis Solis (South Dade) over Nikolas Gray (Wellington Community Hs) Fall 0:13. 150 - Armand Williams (South Dade) over Cael Mitton (Wellington Community Hs) TF 17-2. 157 - Tyree Graham (South Dade) over James Kosza (Wellington Community Hs) Maj 15-3. 165 - Willie White (South Dade) over Mac Andrews (Wellington Community Hs) TF 20-4. 175 - Jonathan Moreno (South Dade) over Leland Snelgrove (Wellington Community Hs) Fall 1:30. 190 - Brandon Valdes (South Dade) over Julian Perez (Wellington Community Hs) Dec 3-2. 215 - Jamie Freeney (South Dade) over Roderick Jones (Wellington Community Hs) Fall 1:37. 285 - Daguy Massillon (South Dade) over Liam Higgins (Wellington Community Hs) Dec 4-3. 3A: State Semifinals: South Dade 65, George Jenkins 6: 106 lbs - Jose Callava (South Dade) over Joseph Handley (George Jenkins) Dec 12-6. 113 - Bryan Morales (South Dade) over Andrew Taylor (George Jenkins) Fall 1:17. 120 - Kaleb Williams (South Dade) over Everett Smith (George Jenkins) Fall 0:45. 126 - Cameron Haines (South Dade) over Kyle Gay (George Jenkins) Fall 2:00. 132 - Nathaniel Williams (South Dade) over Michael Woodruff (George Jenkins) Fall 3:02. 138 - Jordan Fearon (South Dade) over Zavious Brown (George Jenkins) Fall 5:05. 144 - Elvis Solis (South Dade) over Adriel Jaramillo (George Jenkins) Fall 0:15. 150 - Armand Williams (South Dade) over Kaleeb Tribbett (George Jenkins) TF 19-4. 157 - Tyree Graham (South Dade) over Braxton Gerber (George Jenkins) Fall 1:23. 165 - Matthew Abreu (South Dade) over Rakeem Green (George Jenkins) Dec 12-7. 175 - Jonathan Moreno (South Dade) over Jackson Lietz (George Jenkins) Dec 2-0. 190 - Raymond Shaw (George Jenkins) over Brandon Valdes (South Dade) Fall 1:12. 215 - Jamie Freeney (South Dade) over Jaxson Peugh (George Jenkins) Fall 0:42. 285 - Daguy Massillon (South Dade) over Elliot Ortiz (George Jenkins) Dec 2-0. 3A: Region Finals: South Dade 66, Douglas 3: 106 lbs - Jose Callava (South Dade) over Bryce Siddens (Douglas) TF 18-1. 113 lbs - Bryan Morales (South Dade) over Timothy Carroll (Douglas) TF 15-0. 120 - Kaleb Williams (South Dade) over Rocco Duygulu (Douglas) Dec 3-1. 126 - David Leiva (Douglas) over Guillermo Jaramilo (South Dade) Dec 10-4. 132 - Nathaniel Williams (South Dade) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf. 138 - Jovani Solis (South Dade) over Santiago Caro (Douglas) TF 15-0. 144 - Elvis Solis (South Dade) over Reid Kalvaitis (Douglas) Fall 0:41. 150 - Armand Williams (South Dade) over Jacob Balk (Douglas) TF 17-2. 157 - Tyree Graham (South Dade) over Joshua Lopez (Douglas) TF 18-3. 165 - Willie White (South Dade) over Keegan Lake (Douglas) TF 21-5. 175 - Jonathan Moreno (South Dade) over Lucas Siqueira (Douglas) TF 18-1. 190 - Brandon Valdes (South Dade) over Aaron Porudominsky (Douglas) Fall 2:59. 215 - Jamie Freeney (South Dade) over Dante Reynolds (Douglas) Fall 1:40. 285 - Daguy Massillon (South Dade) over Jackson Zajkowski (Douglas) Maj 16-6. ▪ 1A: State Finals: Mater Lakes 58, St. John Neumann 15: 106 lbs - Benito Barnhart (St. John Neumann) over Ronn Stephen Flores (Mater Lakes Academy) Fall 3:37. 113 - Kellen Mesina (Mater Lakes Academy) over Erik Perez (St. John Neumann) Maj 8-0. 120 - Keagan Mesina (Mater Lakes Academy) over William McGowan (St. John Neumann) Fall 1:27. 126 - Ethan Tran (Mater Lakes Academy) over Nash Holdridge (St. John Neumann) TF 20-3. 132 - Lincoln Sledzianoweki (St. John Neumann) over Christopher Greene (Mater Lakes Academy) Fall 1:12. 138 - Anthony O`Dell (Mater Lakes Academy) over Jordan Blomberg (St. John Neumann) TF 21-5. 144 - Bruce Li (Mater Lakes Academy) over Froilan Olano (St. John Neumann) TF 23-3. 150 - Mason O`Dell (Mater Lakes Academy) over Landon Lewis (St. John Neumann) Maj 19-9. 157 - Christopher Benzan (Mater Lakes Academy) over Braeden Mills (St. John Neumann) Dec 9-5. 165 - Kenny Alvarado (Mater Lakes Academy) over Richmerlens Cliferme (St. John Neumann) Fall 3:16. 175 - Kalias Nazario (Mater Lakes Academy) over Terrence Calixte (St. John Neumann) Fall 0:58. 190 - Xavier Barnhart (St. John Neumann) over Darian Vargas (Mater Lakes Academy) Dec 8-4. 215 - Damian Soto (Mater Lakes Academy) over Jordan Peralez (St. John Neumann) Fall 1:13. 285 - Emiliano Solache (Mater Lakes Academy) over William Lucas (St. John Neumann) Fall 2:45. 1A: State Semifinals: Mater Lakes 43, Merritt Island 23: 106 lbs - David Serrano (Merritt Island) over Ronn Stephen Flores (Mater Lakes Academy) Dec 6-0. 113 - Kellen Mesina (Mater Lakes Academy) over Justus Giglietti (Merritt Island) Fall 0:33. 120 - Keagan Mesina (Mater Lakes Academy) over Kaden Barrial (Merritt Island) Fall 0:21. 126 - Landon Quiroga (Merritt Island) over Ethan Tran (Mater Lakes Academy) Fall 2:34. 132 - Christopher Greene (Mater Lakes Academy) over Alex Giglietti (Merritt Island) TF 18-1. 138 - Timmy Boda (Merritt Island) over Anthony O`Dell (Mater Lakes Academy) Maj 14-4. 144 - Bruce Li (Mater Lakes Academy) over Nolan West (Merritt Island) Dec 12-5. 150 - Titus Deyoung (Merritt Island) over Mason O`Dell (Mater Lakes Academy) Dec 9-6. 157 - Kenny Alvarado (Mater Lakes Academy) over Judge Deyoung (Merritt Island) Fall 4:00. 165 - Christopher Benzan (Mater Lakes Academy) over Nathan Schafer (Merritt Island) Dec 7-3. 175 - Kalias Nazario (Mater Lakes Academy) over Tre Driggett (Merritt Island) TF 19-4. 190 - Courtland Campbell (Merritt Island) over Darian Vargas (Mater Lakes Academy) Fall 5:56. 215 - Damian Soto (Mater Lakes Academy) over Dominick Smith (Merritt Island) Fall 1:14. 285 - Emiliano Solache (Mater Lakes Academy) over Nathan Greenfield (Merritt Island) Dec 3-0. 1A: Region Finals: Mater Lakes Academy 61, Key West 6: 106 lbs - Ronn Stephen Flores (Mater Lakes Academy) over Donald Kirkpatrick (Key West) TF 17-1. 113 - Kellen Mesina (Mater Lakes Academy) over Zander Font (Key West) Fall 1:39. 120 - Keagan Mesina (Mater Lakes Academy) over Jacob Ferguson (Key West) TF 15-0. 126 - Ethan Tran (Mater Lakes Academy) over Lazaro Diaz (Key West) TF 19-3. 132 - Christopher Greene (Mater Lakes Academy) over Abram Canet (Key West) TF 18-3. 138 - Anthony O`Dell (Mater Lakes Academy) over Elvis Garcia (Key West) TF 19-3. 144 - Bruce Li (Mater Lakes Academy) over James Searcy (Key West) TF 23-5. 150 - Mason O`Dell (Mater Lakes Academy) over Peyton Zubieta (Key West) Fall 0:46. 157 - Kenny Alvarado (Mater Lakes Academy) over Ronell Brown (Key West) TF 18-1. 165 - Kalias Nazario (Mater Lakes Academy) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf. 175 - Richard Lugo (Mater Lakes Academy) over Michael Guzman (Key West) SV-1 5-2. 190 - Alfredo Corrales (Key West) over Darian Vargas (Mater Lakes Academy) Dec 5-2. 215 - Damian Soto (Mater Lakes Academy) over Sanford Horn (Key West) TF 20-4. 285 - Alexandre Allens (Key West) over Emiliano Solache (Mater Lakes Academy) Dec 6-3. ▪ 2A: State Semifinals: Jesuit 34, Somerset 28: 106 lbs - Zach Leto (Jesuit) over Cano Austin (Somerset) Dec 4-1. 113 - Brock Glover (Jesuit) over Alejandro Toro (Somerset) Maj 17-8. 120 - Malachi Ortiz (Jesuit) over Andre Rossi (Somerset) Fall 4:40. 126 - Reid Yakes (Jesuit) over Carlos Sainz (Somerset) Maj 13-5. 132 - Dylan Fernandez (Somerset) over John Alvarado (Jesuit) Fall 5:28. 138 - Jayden Bowles (Jesuit) over Matteo Gonzalez (Somerset) Maj 9-0. 144 - Xavier Albo (Jesuit) over Darion Shannon (Somerset) Maj 13-0. 150 - Tristan Sainz (Somerset) over Mason Basile (Jesuit) SV-1 4-1. 157 - Kawayran Vazquez (Jesuit) over Eric Hodge (Somerset) Dec 4-1. 165 - Draven McCall (Jesuit) over Luis Bellon (Somerset) Fall 1:59. 175 - Michael Sainz (Somerset) over Aidan Garrity (Jesuit) Maj 14-4. 190 - Bluny Davilma (Somerset) over Robert Bossowski (Jesuit) Fall 1:46. 215 - Mateo Martinez (Somerset) over Marvin Mendez (Jesuit) Dec 11-4. 285 - Abdur Bey (Somerset) over Anthony Rametta (Jesuit) Fall 0:39. 2A: Region Finals: Somerset 58, Jensen Beach 16: 106 lbs - Cano Austin (Somerset) over Trey Viens (Jensen Beach) Maj 8-0. 113 - Alejandro Toro (Somerset) over Manoa Jones (Jensen Beach) Fall 5:30. 120 - Andre Rossi (Somerset) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf. 126 - Sebastian Degennaro (Jensen Beach) over Carlos Sainz (Somerset) TF 17-2. 132 - Ben Norris (Jensen Beach) over Dylan Fernandez (Somerset) TF 16-0. 138 - Matteo Gonzalez (Somerset) over Blake Walker (Jensen Beach) Dec 9-2. 144 - Darion Shannon (Somerset) over Sage Drake (Jensen Beach) Dec 11-6. 150 - Tristan Sainz (Somerset) over Bradyn Peters (Jensen Beach) Fall 0:58. 157 - Eric Hodge (Somerset) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf. 165 - Luis Bellon (Somerset) over Andy Ellenwood (Jensen Beach) Fall 1:05. 175 - Bluny Davilma (Somerset) over Brayden Hogg (Jensen Beach) Fall 1:49. 190 - Michael Sainz (Somerset) over Tyson Reyes (Jensen Beach) Fall 3:04. 215 - Mateo Martinez (Somerset) over Teagan Nelson (Jensen Beach) Fall 2:50. 285 - Blake Elder (Jensen Beach) over Abdur Bey (Somerset) Fall 4:28. Basketball The Orange Bowl Florida High School Basketball Showcase, presented by Memorial Healthcare System, is 8 a.m. Saturday, March 15 at the Davis Posnack JCC in Davie. The event is free to high school juniors and seniors to showcase their hoop skills in front of coaches, representing 30-plus colleges and universities. Scholarships and/or financial aid can be awarded to more than 400 student athletes. For info, go to: More basketball ▪ BOYS: SENIOR NIGHT: Belen Jesuit 69, Downtown Doral 49: Orlando Roche 20 pts, 2 rebs; Max Klemick 12 pts, 5 rebs; Nicholas Misiunas 10 pts, 8 rebs; Alec Arnholt 9 pts, 4 asts, 5 rebs; Javi Vasseur 6 pts, 2 asts, 4 rebs; Mikey Valdes 5 asts, 6 rebs; Julio Blandon 3 asts, 6 rebs. Bel 16-8. ▪ BOYS: Coral Park 66, Mater Brickell Academy 45: Angel Lara 26 pts; Jeremias Jimenez 15 pts; Alejandro Camacho 10 pts. CP 11-10. ▪ BOYS: St. Brendan 69, Southwest 53: StB: Fragela 26 pts, Martinez T 15, Duque 12, Jimenez 10, Villalba 3, Martinez S 2, Clavijo 1. SW: Arteaga 17 pts, Navarro 10, Bourroul 9, Cartell 7, Castillo 6, Fonseca 4. 3-ptrs: Fragela 5, Martinez T 3, Duque 2, Jimenez 1, Villalba 1. StB 15-7. ▪ BOYS: Westwood Christian 76, Coral Reef 45: Devin McIntyre 11 pts, 11 asts, 3 stls; Jason Martinez 19 pts, 6 rebs; John Weir 17 pts, 10 rebs, 2 stls; Jermaine Agyeman 12 pts, 10 rebs, 5 blks; Tristan Barnes 17 pts, 5 asts, 7 rebs. WC 12-7. ▪ BOYS: Westwood Christian 57, Southwest 45: Devin McIntyre 16 pts, 5 rebs, 3 stls, 7 asts; Tristan Barnes 15 pts, 7 rebs, 1 stl, 2 asts; Jason Martinez 14 pts, 4 stls, 8 rebs. WC 13-7. Send high school sports results For high schools in Broward and Miami-Dade counties, if you have varsity results and top performers (with stats), email hssports@ They will run in the newspaper and online. Photos accepted, too. No deadline. Send after the game, the next day or weekly. You will be alerted when it will appear in the newspaper and online. --- Roundup compiled by Jim Varsallone jvarsallone@
