Lake Gibson wrestling wins 4th state duals title
Lake Gibson High School wrestling clinched history on Saturday at Osceola High School in Kissimmee.
The Braves won a fourth FHSAA Class 2A state duals title thanks to a 36-30 win over No. 1 Tampa Jesuit in the finals. In order to help solidify another team accomplishment — the Braves won titles in 2017, 2019 and 2021 — Lake Gibson beat River Ridge 64-15 in the quarterfinal on Friday and defeated No. 11 Merritt Island 72-6 in the semifinal on Saturday morning.
"It's a good, exciting day. Didn't know we were going to win it going into it, but (I'm) very excited, and the boys wrestled amazing today," Lake Gibson head wrestling coach Danny Walker said. "The emotion is exciting. It's probably more exciting and satisfying at the same time because this year it really wasn't expected. ... I think this is the first time we went into the state dual finals as the underdog. And we were clearly the underdogs coming into today. The boys wrestled amazing. They stepped up. "
With Lake Gibson leading 33-30, Frank Solórzano (182) took on Jesuit's Josiah Jenkins in a pivotal final match of the evening. The No. 1 wrestler scored a takedown in the first period, executed another takedown in the last 5 seconds of the second period and staved off Jenkins' onslaught in the third period, holding on to a 7-2 decision that clinched the title for the Braves.
Following victory, as well as wrestling's etiquette of shaking hands with Jenkins and the Jesuit coaching staff, emotions were at an all-time high, hugging and high-fiving various teammates and Lake Gibson supporters.
"Honestly it feels amazing," Solórzano said. "I've been with this program since I was 6 years old, and my brother went through the program, and it feels amazing to finally have a moment like this with the program and with Danny Walker. I knew I was the last match so, I knew it was going to come down to me. I knew at the beginning of the duals it was going to be a tight dual."
Both teams made it interesting early on in the finals. Lake Gibson and No. 2 wrestler Colt Brown (106) pinned Xavier Albo; Jesuit's Roman Lermer (113) won a 2-0 decision over No. 6 Elijah Lowe; Jesuit's Danny Vargas (120) won by forfeit; Jesuit's Jayden Bowles (126) was victorious in a 7-0 decision over Gaetano Tedesco; Jesuit's Braden Basile (132) won a sudden victory over No. 2 Hayden Whidden; Jesuit's Tom Crook (138) tallied a major decision over No. 6 Alex Walker; Jesuit's Jack Crook (145) won by technical fall over Nytravious Walker; Lake Gibson's Blake Walker (152) won a 9-3 decision over Gavin Young; Lake Gibson's Jace Brownlow (160) pinned Daniel Ray; Lake Gibson's Brendon Abdon (170) pinned Jabarri Summerline; Jesuit's Sergio Desiante (195) pinned Connor Hackett; Lake Gibson's Tristan Vann (220) pinned Julian Alonso; and Lake Gibson's Gernorris Wilson (285) won by forfeit.
"It was good to see the team come together like they did this weekend," Walker said. "Probably the thing I was most impressed with this weekend is the way the team came together and the camaraderie. I think that made the difference in pulling it out.
"Just based off of the way they performed tonight, it's the heart because we weren't even supposed to win. ... I think right now, just everybody bonding together and the heart to wrestle not just for yourself, but for your teammates while you are out there. It was good to beat the No. 1 team. We don't go into the season expecting to lose. We want to win a state title every season, so doing that was huge for us and super exciting."
Lake Gibson (23-0) will next compete Friday in a duals competition at McKeel. Auburndale, the No. 19 ranked team in 2A, will also compete.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Wrestling, sports, Lake Gibson, FHSAA, win, Braves, Kissimmee
