Cardinal Gibbons, Somerset Academy top Broward County performers at state wrestling

Dave Brousseau
·2 min read

As typical in recent years at the Class 1A state wrestling tournament, Cardinal Gibbons and Somerset Academy have stood out as the best teams from Broward County.

On Saturday, they too have the best opportunity to claim an individual champion at the Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee.

Five-time state champion Cardinal Gibbons advanced six wrestlers in the semifinals, and Somerset has four.

Brothers Nicolas Yancey and each advanced for Gibbons.

Nicolas advanced at 106 pounds after defeating Gavin Nolan of Tampa Prep with a 17-6 major decision. He will face Ethan Rivera of Lake Highland Prep, who has just one loss on the season.

John James Yancey advanced at 138 pounds with a pair of decisions. He will face Mason Marchbank of Sarasota Military Academy for a chance to reach the finals.

Johnathan Ley, Gibbons’ lone undefeated wrestler at 26-0, remained undefeated with a pair of victories to reach his semifinal match against Justin Rivera of Lake Highland Prep.

Also reaching the semifinals for the Chiefs were Tyler Cabral (113 pounds), Alexandro Mas (132 pounds) and Jertavis Black (285 pounds).

Somerset Academy’s Bas Diaz (40-6) reached the 132-pound semifinals following a pair of pins in his first two rounds of competition.

Darian Estevez (152), Sean Concepcion (182) and Nicholas Benton (220) also advanced into the semifinals for Somerset.

Somerset stands in second place, well behind defending champion Lake Highland Prep, and Cardinal Gibbons, a five-time state champ, is fourth.

Alek Chitty (54-4) of Coral Springs Charter reached the semifinals and will face Noah Castillo of Lake Highland Prep. Terrell Taylor of Coral Springs Charter also advance to a semifinal match against Josh Pritz of Hernando.

No wrestlers from Broward advanced into the Class 3A semifinal round on Saturday. Cypress Bay is the top team from Broward in Class 3A and is in 13th place.



Class 1A

(Semifinal pairings)

106: Yancey (CG) vs. Rivera (LHP); 113: Cabral (CG) Boykin (LHP) t.p. 17-1; 120: Caban (SOMA) vs. Mojena (TP); 132: Mas (CG) vs. Ferrer (MALA); Diaz (SOMA) vs. Mojena (TP); 145: Ley (CG) vs. Rivera (LHP); 152: A. Chitty (CSC) vs. Castillo (LHP); Estevez (SOMA) vs. Roberts (WAKU); 160: Taylor (CSC) vs. Pritz (HERN); 182: Concepcion (SOMA) vs. Brinkman (LH); 220: Benton (SOMA) vs. Tyre (CLAY); 285: Black (CG) vs. Barnett (KW).