SWFL HS Roundup for Jan. 30-Feb. 4: LCAC boys, girls wrestling champs crowned
Here is a roundup of high school athletic events played in Southwest Florida for the week of Jan. 30-Feb. 4
High School Soccer: Who's in, who's out, our predictions for regional champions
More:Girls Soccer District Finals: North Fort Myers, Riverdale capture championships
Boys Soccer Finals: Golden Gate, Verot, CSN, Canterbury join Fort Myers, Mariner as champs
SATURDAY
Riverdale won its 19th straight LCAC wrestling championship on their home mat on Saturday, which was expected.
But the gap between the Raiders and the rest of the county's public school programs is narrowing.
Instead of worrying about it, Riverdale head coach Keith Evans is embracing it.
"It's growing," Evans said. "Teams are going good. Heck, North Fort Myers brought a squad today to compete, and it's not been that way in the last few years."
The Red Knights finished second with 197 points, behind Riverdale's 237.5. Mariner was third at 172, followed by Cape Coral with 156, Bonita Springs with 149, and Fort Myers with 126. Eleven out of the 15 schools had at least one wrestler make it to the championship match and all 15 had at least one wrestler place.
Of course, the Raiders got theirs, with three gold medals, two silvers, and two bronzes with a total of 13 placing.
Sophomore Ayden Balma's 120-pound victory was the closest championship match of the day. He faced Cape Coral's Richard Albert, who had beaten him twice this season. After quiet first and second periods, Balma opened the third with a reversal and a near fall. But Albert got a reversal and near fall himself, taking a 6-5 lead with 2 seconds left.
"I kept wrestling," Balma said. "That's what wins tight matches is you keep wrestling and you don't give up."Balma escaped right as time expired, tying the match and forcing overtime. He took advantage of the opportunity, scoring a takedown and a near fall to complete a 10-6 victory.
"We got a couple of lumps from (Albert) earlier in the year, so tonight, to get that match back was really nice," Evans said.
North's return to prominence six years after the retirement of Hall of Fame coach Frank Drake was a welcome sight. Frank Cornelison continued his undefeated season by winning gold in the 220-pound class with his cerebral approach to strategy. After scoring takedown points, he allowed South Fort Myers' Javien White to escape, giving up a point each time. This gave Cornelison more opportunities for takedown points and also prevented White from scoring any reversals. The result was a 13-4 major decision.
In addition, the Red Knights earned three silvers and two bronzes, with a total of 11 wrestlers placing.
"Some of us wish there were better outcomes, but as a whole, this is really good," Cornelison said. "We haven't done this well in a while."
Mariner's 2022 state champions, 126-pound Maximus Brady and 160-pound Christopher Minto, won by fall in their respective championship matches. Brady had already worked up a 15-2 lead in the second period, but he pinned Cypress Lake's Mason fox 11 seconds into the second period, turning what was almost a technical fall into a higher scoring pinfall victory.
Like Cornelison, Minto used the takedown-escape strategy, but with much more frequency. He took down and released Riverdale's Cade Best nine times, and made it a 20-8 score when he took him down a tenth time midway through the second period. He did not let Best escape this time, finishing the match with a pin.
The Tritons also benefitted from depth, with four bronze medals and a total of nine wrestlers placing.
Cape Coral got a gold medal from Robert Albert at 113 pounds. He dispatched Ida Baker's Ricardo Villaquiran with a one-minute pinfall. With three silvers and a bronze, the Seahawks had a total of nine wrestlers place.
Bonita Springs' up-and-coming program made a good showing. Undefeated 170-pounder Konner Stuttgen won his 40th match of the season to win gold with a 33-second pin of Cape Coral's Tyler Charette. In 182, Floyd McKenna also won by fall, beating Riverdale's Cole Hayes in the second round. The Bull Sharks also had a silver and a bronze with a total of seven placing.
Fort Myers was led by Kael Seneca, who pinned Ida Baker's Damian Lavigna in the first period of the gold medal match. The Green Wave also had a silver and a bronze and a total of seven wrestlers placing.
Cypress Lake took home two gold medals. Solomon Lucas won in 138 pounds by pinning Riley Hyde of Bonita Springs in the first period.
Tristan White earned a hard-fought pin in the Heavyweight match over Dunbar's Parry Samuels. The two were deadlocked, with White scoring an escape for the only point of the match until the opportunity presented itself.
"When you get on the bottom, sometimes they open up and you see the moment and you try to go for it, you know?" White said. "And I went for it. And he went on his back. Simple as that, end of the match."
The Panthers' four placements also included a silver medal. South Fort Myers placed two wrestlers, getting gold in 132 with Jonathan Martinez-Mercado pinning Fort Myers' Ethan DiNottia. Lehigh Senior earned a gold and a bronze, led by Braden Quigley taking the 195-pound title with a pin of North Fort Myers' Kirk Rendon.
Team scores
Riverdale 237.5, North Fort Myers 197, Mariner 172, Cape Coral 156, Bonita Springs 149, Fort Myers 126, Cypress Lake 94.5, South Fort Myers 73.5, Dunbar 70, Lehigh Senior 65.5, East Lee County 65, Gateway 56, Island Coast 49.5, Ida Baker 40.5, Estero 9
Finals
106: Kael Seneca (FM) d. Isaac Towenko (CC) 6-4113: Robert Albert (CC) p. Steven Bruno (NFM) 2:55120: Ayden Balma (RHS) d. Richard Albert (CC) 10-6 (OT)126: Maximus Brady (MHS) p. Mason Fox (CL) 2:11132: Jonathan Martinez-Mercado (SFM) p. Ethan DiNottia (FM) 2:00138: Solomon Lucas (CL) p. Riley Hyde (BS) 1:27145: Cristian Varela (RHS) p. Justin Tobia (NFM) 5:23152: Alexander Soto (RHS) def. Julian Gonzales (IC) by forfeit (injury)160: Christopher Minto (MHS) p. Cade Best (RHS) 3:29170: Konner Stuttgen (BS) p. Tyler Charette (CC) 0:33182: Floyd McKenna (BS) p. Cole Hayes (RHS) 3:03195: Braden Quigley (LS) p. Kirk Rendon (NFM) 2:14220: Frank Cornelison (NFM) md. Javien White (SFM) 13-4Heavyweight: Tristan White (CL) p. Parry Samuels (DHS) 4:46
Boys Basketball
Barron Collier 79, Providence School 72 (OT): The Cougars downed the No. 4 team in the state in overtime. Bryce Clayton scored 22 points, Mikey Reyes 17, Brayden Touchette 18 and Noah French added 14 points and 10 rebounds. Providence is now 23-2 while Barron Collier is 19-5.
FRIDAY
Girls Wrestling
Fort Myers was crowned LCAC girls wrestling team champions on Friday with a team score of 153. The Green Wave Myers won five-of-seven first-place matches in which they competed.
“It’s awesome,” said Green Wave head coach Ashley Stallwell. “We’re being huge advocates for the girls wrestling program and trying to build people coming out and the growth of the sport. The girls make it worth it.”
Vallanda Antoine defeated South Fort Myers’ Frances Moorefirst in the 145 weight class by pin in 30 seconds. Although she typically wrestles at 140, Antoine said she still felt confident entering the tournament.
“I put all my trust in my captains and coaches,” Antoine said. “And if they believe I can do better in one weight class, and if I have more opportunities to win and experience new things, then I’ll go for it.”
Jayla Teague also brought in a win for Fort Myers in the 190 class. After winning by pin at the 1:58 minute mark, she said the team's experience sets the Green Wave up for postseason success.
“It’s not the end of the road for us,” Teague said. “I feel like we’re going to do great now. I feel like we’re going to dominate now.”
North Fort Myers’ came in second in the final team results with 140 points, while host Riverdale rounded out the podium with 121 points.
Team Scores
1. Fort Myers 153, 2. North Fort Myers 140, 3. Riverdale 121, 4. South Fort Myers 89, 5. Cape Coral 52, 6. Cypress Lake 51, T-7. Island Coast 27, T-7. Mariner 27, 9. Gateway 16, 10. Estero 15, 11. Lehigh 5, T-12 Bonita Springs 0, T-12. Dunbar 0, T-12. East Lee 0, T-12. Ida Baker.
Individual Results
100: Carter Nelson (Fort Myers) def. Sydney Trewartha (North Fort Myers), pin 0:53; 105: Kayah Bonilla-Moss (South Fort Myers) def. Isabella Hull (North Fort Myers), pin 4:23; 110: Jazlyn Diaz (Riverdale) def. Falaune Paulin (South Fort Myers), pin 0:42; 115: Tatiana Soto (Riverdale) def. Jolynn Ruiz (South Fort Myers), pin 1:49; 120: Taylor Miranda (Cape Coral) def. Skyler Randolph (Riverdale), pin 2:50; 125: Blanca Cespedes (Riverdale) def. Gabriella Sergi (North Fort Myers), pin 0:18; 130: Ryann Thomas (Fort Myers) def. Madison Galluzzo (North Fort Myers), pin 0:50; 135: Mallorie Alcorn (North Fort Myers) def. Aikaterini Koreladou (Mariner), pin 1:43; 140: Noelia Varela (Riverdale) def. Aniya Coffil (North Fort Myers), pin 3:40; 145: Vallanda Antoine (Fort Myers) def. Frances Moore (South Fort Myers), pin 0:30; 155: Lillian Seneca (North Fort Myers) def. Ella Edsell (Fort Myers), 12-5; 170: Daphney Pierre (Fort Myers) def. Kendy Sierra (Cypress Lake), pin 3:02; 190: Jayla Teague (Fort Myers) def. Taliyah Duprea (North Fort Myers), pin 1:58; 235: Destine’e Thomas (Cypress Lake) def. Evalyn Thomas (Fort Myers), pin 3:50.
More:Boys basketball: Breaking down the district tournaments, including projected winners
More:Girls Basketball Finals: Barron Collier, Bishop Verot, ECS, South, Neumann hoist trophies
Boys Basketball
Palmetto Ridge 57, Gulf Coast 54: Iago Stanback joined the 1,000 career point club with his 29 point outing. Charles Calven added 18 points, while Sean Gomez tacked on 10 points to the winning effort.
Estero 54, Evangelical Christian 45: Ashton Peterson led the Sentinels with 14 points, while Jared Julmeus added 13 points and 5 rebounds.
Gateway Charter 81, Ida Baker 33: Jahmari Johnson led a balanced Griffin win with 13 points, while EJ Monteagudo added 9 points and 8 rebounds. Elijah Dantley tallied 5 points in his first game back from an ACL tear.
THURSDAY
Boys Basketball
Community School of Naples 58, Venice 53: Jackson McAdams tallied a team-high 13 points in the Seahawks win. Brennan Ringhofer had 11 points, while Aidan Doyle and Dom Hoge added 10 points each.
WEDNESDAY
Girls Basketball
Class 5A- District 12
Barron Collier 51, Golden Gate 41: The Cougars got 20 points from Juanita Rendon and 14 from Sheila Forbes. Nehemie Leonard led the Titans with 9 points in the loss.
Class 5A-District 11
Mariner 52, Island Coast 13
Port Charlotte 59, Dunbar 6
More:Breaking down the Southwest Florida girls basketball districts, including projected winners
Class 4A-District 12
Lemon Bay 74, Estero 48
Gateway 48, LaBelle 44
Class 6A-District 11
Fort Myers 67, Cape Coral 31
Charlotte 62, Ida Baker 17
Class 7A-District 12
Venice 65, Gulf Coast 50
FINALS SCHEDULE
Thursday
2A-11 girls basketball: (1) Evangelical Christian vs. (2) Saint Stephen’s, 5:30 p.m.
2A-12 girls basketball: (1) St. John Neumann vs. (2) Seacrest, 6 p.m.
6A-12 girls basketball: (1) South FM vs. (2) Riverdale, 7 p.m.
Friday
6A-11 girls basketball: (1) Charlotte vs. (2) Fort Myers
5A-11 girls basketball: (1) Port Charlotte vs. (2) Mariner
5A-12 girls basketball: (1) Barron Collier vs. (2) Naples
4A-12 girls basketball: (1) Lemon Bay vs. (3) Gateway
3A-12 girls basketball: (1) Bishop Verot vs. (2) First Baptist
Boys Basketball
Seacrest 83, Ida Baker 70: Nick Cassano led the Stingrays to a senior night win with his 24-point outing. Malachi Plummer had 14 points, and Brady Barnaby added 12 points to the winning effort.
TUESDAY
Girls Soccer
Class 2A-District 11
Evangelical Christian 5, Canterbury 1: Alexa Bereczki and Rachel Wiltgen led the Sentinels with two goals each, while Claire Valentine added one goal. Taylor Foss had four assists in the win. Emma Blackwell rounded out the scoring column with one assist.
Imagine School 4, Out-of-Door 3
Class 2A-District 12
Seacrest 3, Community School of Naples 1: The Stingrays are headed to their first district title in program history behind a balanced team effort. Ella Malone, Mel Bello, and Brooke Shefsky all scored one goal each. Kennedy Barnaby and Lily Gaglio added one assist each.
St. John Neumann 5, Donahue 1
WEDNESDAY FINALS
Class 5A-District 12: (1) Naples vs. (2) Barron Collier, 7 p.m.
Class 4A-District 12: (1) Estero vs. (3) Lemon Bay, 7 p.m.
THURSDAY FINALS
Class 2A-District 11: (2) Evangelical Christian vs. (5) Imagine School, 6 p.m.
Class 2A-District 12: (1) St. John Neumann vs. (2) Seacrest Country Day, 5 p.m.
More:Southwest Florida High School Sports Awards set for June 8 at Suncoast Credit Union Arena
Boys Soccer
Class 3A-District 8
Oasis 3, St. Petersburg Catholic 1: After falling to a 1-0 deficit, Mario Acosta scored two goals to lift the Sharks past the Barons. Tyler Kerr rounded out the scoring column with one goal and two assists. The defense and midfield, led by Fabio Ghilardi and Ryan Rosado, shut St. Petersburg Catholic out for the final 3 quarters to advance to the championship game on Thursday.
Bishop Verot 4, Cardinal Mooney 0
Class 2A-District 11
Canterbury 8, Southwest Florida Christian 0: Riley Johnson scored two goals for the Cougars, while Jayson Gordon, Landon Wiese, Uriah Harness, Jullian Viacava, Ben Cojanu, and Dusty Dwyer all added one goal each. Zachary Bevington added two assists to the winning effort.
Classical Academy of Sarasota 3, Out-of-Door 2
Class 7A-District 8
Gulf Coast 1, North Port 0: Anthony Donofrio made 3 saves for the win.
Class 5A-District 12
Naples 3, Barron Collier 2: Aaron Cardenas, Harvey Sarajian, and Ty Collins scored for the Eagles in the district semifinal win.
Class 4A-District 12
DeSoto County 4, Lemon Bay 0
LaBelle 2, Gateway 2 (LaBelle 5-4 PKs)
CLASS 2A-District 12
First Baptist 2, Donahue Catholic 0
Wednesday Finals
Class 6A-District 12: (1) Fort Myers vs. (3) Immokalee, 7 p.m.
Class 5A-District 11: (1) Mariner vs. (2) Cape Coral, 7 p.m.
Class 3A-District 8: (1) Bishop Verot vs. (2) Oasis, 7 p.m.
Thursday Finals
Class 5A-District 12: (1) DeSoto County vs. (2) LaBelle, 7 p.m.
Class 2A-District 11: (1) Canterbury vs. (3) Classical Academy of Sarasota, 6 p.m.
Girls Basketball
Class 7A-District 12
Gulf Coast 58, Lehigh 39: Maddie Leslie and Tyrah Townsend combined for 49 points in the win.
Class 6A-District 12
South Fort Myers 76, Immokalee 15: Haley Lang helped lead the Wolfpack to a shot at a district title with her 24-point performance. Jayda Green added 14 points, while Aileen Warchol and Kimber Swift had 12 and 10 points, respectively.
Class 6A-District 11
Ida Baker 62, North Fort Myers 14: Maia Berdebes led the Bulldogs with 15 points, 7 rebounds, 4 steals, and 3 assists in the win.
Class 5A-District 12
Naples 41, Lely 38: Annika Anderson led the Golden Eagles with 17 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block. Abby Byrd added 8 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal to the winning effort.
Class 5A-District 11
Dunbar 32, Cypress Lake 30: Tamira Watkins led Dunbar with 12 points. Fay Hayes scored 11 for the Panthers while Bri Madore added 9 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists.
Class 3A-District 12
Bishop Verot 53, Canterbury 35: Cameron O'Halloran and Josee Fry each scored 18 points.
MONDAY
Boys Soccer
Class 6A-District 12
Fort Myers 6, Ida Baker 0: Erwin Navarro scored two goals in the Green Wave win. Michael Krzeminski had one goal and two assists, while Gabriel Da Rocha, Daniel Jonuskis, and Alec Bennett all added one goal each.
Immokalee 7, Riverdale 0: Job Choute notched a hat trick in the Indians win over the Raiders. Ricardo Vazquez, Carlos Reyez, Bertino Ardiou, and Erick Escobedo all added one goal each.
Class 5A-District 11
Mariner 5, North Fort Myers 0: David Stetcher led the Tritons to a dominant semifinal win with his two goal outing. Frank Garcia, Marcel Tovar, and Justin Medero all tacked on one goal each.
Cape Coral 3, South Fort Myers 0
TUESDAY NIGHT PLAYOFF SCHEDULE
Class 7A-District 8
(1) Gulf Coast vs. (5) North Port
(2) Lakewood Ranch vs. (3) Riverview
Class 5A-District 12
(1) Golden Gate vs. (5) Lely
(2) Barron Collier vs. (3) Naples
Class 4A-District 12
(1) DeSoto County vs. (4) Lemon Bay
(2) LaBelle vs. (3) Gateway
Class 3A-District 8
(1) Bishop Verot vs. (4) Cardinal Mooney
(2) Oasis vs. (3) St. Petersburg Catholic
Class 2A-District 11
(1) Canterbury vs. (5) SFCA
(2) Out-of-Door vs. (3) Classical Academy of Sarasota
Class 2A-District 12
(1) Donahue Catholic vs. (5) First Baptist
(2) Community School vs. (6) Village School
Girls Soccer
Class 3A-District 8
St. Petersburg Catholic 2, Oasis 2 (3-2 in PKs): The Barons needed all 100 minutes and penalty kicks to the district title game after being tied at 2 at the end of the second overtime period. St. Petersburg Catholic won 3-2 in penalties.
Cardinal Mooney 1, Bishop Verot 0: The Cougars needed all 80 minutes to get past the Vikings. Verot's season ends with a 5-7-1 record.
Class 4A-District 12
Estero 8, Gateway 0: Ansley Mancini, Kaitlyn Mancini, and Kellyn Rivas all scored two goals each in the Wildcat win. Naysie Tianga and Tessa Loucks tacked on one goal each. Kaitlyn Mancini had three assists, Ansley Mancini added two assists, while Hannah Weaver, Katie Kuieck, and Tianga added one assist each.
Lemon Bay 5, LaBelle 0
Class 5A-District 12
Naples 6, Golden Gate 0: Lucy Froitzheim led the Golden Eagles, netting three goals in the win. Also scoring for Naples was Safiya Fakhoury, Emma Disarro, and Ella Casagrande. Isabella Cuellar-Gutierrez assisted on three goals, while Ava Majury, Natalya Reis, and Barbara Ribera assisted once.
Barron Collier 4, Lely 0
TUESDAY NIGHT PLAYOFF SCHEDULE
Class 6A-District 12 Championship
(1) Fort Myers vs. (3) Riverdale, 7 p.m.
Class 5A-District 11 Championship
(1) Mariner vs. (2) North Fort Myers, 7 p.m.
District 2A-11 semifinal
(1) Out-of-Door vs. (4) Imagine School
(2) Evangelical Christian vs. (3) Canterbury
District 2A-12 semifinal
(1) Neumann vs. (5) Donahue Catholic
(2) Seacrest vs. (6) Community School
Girls Basketball
Canterbury 39, Community School 36: Ellie Miller had a team-high 16 points for the Cougars.
Gateway Charter 57, Oasis 30: The Sharks were led by Brynn Stambaugh who scored 12 points. Emma Osinski scored 10 and Maci Stambaugh added 8 points.
TUESDAY NIGHT PLAYOFF SCHEDULE
District 7A-12
5. Lehigh at 4. Gulf Coast
6. North Port at 5. Sarasota
District 6A-11
5. North Fort Myers at 4. Ida Baker
District 6A-12
5. Immokalee at 4. East Lee
District 5A-11
5. Dunbar at 4. Cypress Lake
District 5A-12
5. Bonita Springs at 4. Golden Gate
District 3A-12
5. Canterbury at 1. Bishop Verot
3. Gateway Charter at 2. First Baptist
District 2A-11
5. SFCA at 4. Gulf Coast HEAT
District 2A-12
3. Donahue at 2. Seacrest
Boys Basketball
Lehigh 63, Naples 52: Fritz Odige led the Lightning with 15 points, and Angel Pagan added 12 points. Jaden Wolner led the Golden Eagles with 20 points.
Cape Coral 76, South Fort Myers 44
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: High School Sports,: Soccer, wrestling and Basketball scores for Jan. 29-Feb 4
