Brevard FHSAA 2023 state wrestling results: 5 runners-up, 23 medals
Five high school wrestlers from Brevard County reached championship finals, but second place was the result for all of them at the FHSAA state wrestling tournament in Kissimmee on Saturday.
The area still brought home 23 medals, including the five runners-up and four third-place finishers.
Satellite sent three to finals. Senior Michael McCarthy came the closest to a title, losing 5-3 to Jessey Colas of Braden River for the Class 2A 182-pound championship. McCarthy, who entered the final period down 5-1, finished the year with a 47-4 record.
Senior Alexander McMiller was pinned 1:43 into his 2A match for the 120-pound title, by Christian Fretwell of Lake Gibson. Miller's season record ended 46-6. Lucy Maris was pinned at 3:30 in the girls' 135-pound championship. She fell to Gaby Perez of Ft. Pierce Central to finish 27-6.
Another 2A runner-up was 106-pound Landon Quiroga of Merritt Island. The ninth-grader fell to Roberto Rodrigues of powerhouse Brandon, 7-2. Quiroga's final record was 47-3. Heritage's Keith Cole was pinned at 3:39 by another Lake Gibson wrester, Hayden Whidden, at 145. A junior, Cole finished 47-13.
Rockledge heavyweight Howard Craft placed third in Class 2A. He won his medal match by a 5-2 margin and finished his senior season with a 47-8 record.
Palm Bay's Nathan Furman finished third in 1A at 152 pounds to end the year at 47-1. He pinned Roberto Cuartero of Bishop Kenney in 3:40 in the medal match. Teammate Ronald Theilacker also brought home a third. He pinned Landen Holley of Zephyrhills Christian in 2:23, finishing his senior season 58-4. Brycen Turner was another third-place Pirates senior. Medaling at 170 pounds, he finished 58-7.
FHSAA state wrestling medalists
Class 2A: 106 — Landon Quiroga, MI, 2nd; Solomon Peterson, H, 7th; 120 — Alexander McMiller, S, 2nd; 138 — Gabriel Ferreira, H, 5th; 145 — Keith Cole, H, 2nd; 152 — Dylan Quiroga, MI, 7th; 160 — Kaleb Gabrielsen, H 7th; 182 — Michael McCarthy, S, 2nd; 195 — Seven Tornga, MI, 8th; 220 — Kaleb Ivie, MI, 5th; Hvy — Howard Craft, R, 3rd.
Class 1A: 113 — Mario Del Vecchio, CB, 6th; 120 — Preston Pineiro, A, 7th; 132 — Roman Maldonado, PB, 4th; 138 — Ronald Theilacker, PB, 3rd; 152 — Nathan Furman, PB, 3rd; 170 — Brycen Turner, PB, 3rd; 195 — Octavion Osby, PB, 4th; Hvy — Leonard Christian, PB, 5th.
Girls: 110 — Catalina Kenney, V, 8th; 135 — Lucy Maris, S, 2nd; 140 — Emma Hoppe, V, 5th; 170 — Lainey Driggett, MI, 4th.
Brevard unbeatens:Area 2023 FHSAA state wrestling qualifiers show rare feature
NOTES:
∎ Brevard County has five state finalists, including three from Satellite, one each from Merritt Island and Heritage.
∎ Palm Bay 152-pounder Nathan Furman lost his semifinal match to Dylan Fox of Jensen Beach, 4-0, Furman's first loss of the year. Now 45-1, he can still place as high as third in Class 1A. He advanced to Friday morning's quarterfinal with a pin 3:45 into his match against Bryan Picallo (37-11) of Cardinal Gibbons. Furman led, 4-3, at the time. He improved to 44-0. In his quarterfinal, he won a 9-5 decision over Roberto Cuartero (46-2) of Bishop Kenney.
∎ Brevard's finalists include Merritt Island ninth-grader Landon Quiroga.
∎ Satellite's Michael McCarthy (47-4), a third-place medalist last year, won his 182-pound Class 2A opener with a 19-second pin. He will wrestle for a state championship on Saturday.
∎ Another finalist, Satellite's Alex McMiller, placed fifth at 113 last year in 1A. He is 46-5 entering Saturday's 120-pound final.
∎ Brevard's only girl to medal in 2022, Lucy Maris of Satellite, has three wins and will compete in the 135-pound final on Saturday.
∎ Pirates 132-pounder Roman Maldonado dropped into consolation with a quarterfinal loss, his first loss of the season. He lost to Talon Maple of Zephyrhills Christian, who has a 60-8 record. In Maldonado's consolation match following, he scored a takedown with eight seconds left in overtime to advance. Now 56-1, he can finish as high as third.
∎ Twenty-four Brevard boys won first-round matches.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Brevard County 2023 FHSAA state wrestling tournament updates
