Wrestlers Mocco and Wisdom star in tournaments. Plus area Special Olympians in Germany and more
Michael Mocco, a Miami Herald All Broward Wrestler of the Year, went 16-0 at the 16U National Dual Meet Championships, presented by USA Wrestling at Mercyhealth Sportscore Two in Loves Park, Illinois.
By going undefeated he was named to the All Tournament team.
Mocco completed his freshman year at Cardinal Gibbons High School by winning a state title at 195 pounds with just one loss throughout the season at 44-1.
He won his first two matches at state by technical fall, the semifinal by fall and the final by a 13-6 decision. He helped the Chiefs place sixth at state in Class 1A and win the BCAA title during the season.
As an eighth grader at Coral Springs Charter, he placed third in the state at 182 pounds, dropping a close match to the eventual state champ in the semifinal.
Mocco represented Team Florida at the 16U national duals. The event was instituted as an opportunity for athletes to compete on a state team to determine bragging rights for the top Freestyle and Greco-Roman 16U teams in the United States. More than 1,200 athletes from 26 different states participated in the tournament.
More wrestling
Alexander Wisdom, an American Heritage-Plantation graduate, finished first in the 18U 140-pound division during the Mortal Combat Wrestling Tournament in Dallas.
Representing Team Florida, Wisdom defeated an adidas national finalist and a Pennsylvania state placer en route to placing first. A Miami Herald All Broward second team selection, he will wrestle collegiately at Penn State Behrend, its Division 3 program in Erie, Pennsylvania.
Special Olympics
Gina Grant of Broward County and Samantha Meador of Miami-Dade County are representing the United States in the 2023 Special Olympics World Games in Berlin.
Grant competes in open water swimming, and Meador is one of the coaches. They joined other members of Special Olympics USA as they combat the world’s best.
The Games are now through June 25 and feature about 7,000 athletes and Unified partners from approximately 170 countries. They are supported by more than 3,000 coaches and 20,000 volunteers.
The Special Olympics World Games are the world’s largest inclusive sporting event, bringing together thousands of athletes with mental and multiple disabilities. Athletes will participate in 26 sports.
About the locals
Bios from Special Olympics USA
Gina Grant, 25, of Pembroke Pines has been involved in Special Olympics since 2006, competing in basketball, bowling, stand up paddleboard, surfing, swimming, tennis and volleyball. She will represent Special Olympics USA in 2023 in open water swimming. Her focus has always been swimming, specifically distance swimming in lakes and in the ocean.
Growing up watching her older brother compete in swimming, Gina yearned to try, eventually graduating from 100-meter distances to 1,500 meters. She won a silver medal in the Special Olympics World Games Abu Dhabi 2019 and two gold medals in the 2022 Special Olympics USA Games. Competing throughout the world, she enjoys traveling and being part of a team. As part of her training regimen, she trains with a U.S. Masters Swimming team.
Special Olympics has introduced Gina to her competitive side and to friends who are supportive of her endeavors. She has developed her confidence and is learning to advocate for herself in and out of the water, surrounded by coaches, athletes and family members cheering her.
Gina is a graduate of West Broward High School where she competed on the swim team.
Coach Samantha Meador, 22, of Miami is a lifelong Special Olympics supporter, as her older sister is a Special Olympics athlete. A student at the University of Florida, Samantha has served as the Special Olympics College Club president and coached the school’s Unified flag football team, which attended the 2022 Special Olympics USA Games.
She will represent Special Olympics USA as an assistant coach for basketball.
At the University of Florida, Samantha serves as the director of Hearoes for Hearing, a student-led nonprofit that raises awareness and funds to support patients at the UF Health Cochlear Implant Program. She is an executive board member for the school’s National Student Speech Language and Hearing Association, connecting Hearoes for Hearing with pre-speech therapy and audiology students. As a volunteer, she teaches basic obedience and socialization skills to future guide dogs in training through Southeastern Guide Dogs.
Samantha is grateful for the supportive community of people that Special Olympics has introduced her to and is honored to achieve the milestone of attending a Special Olympics World Games.
Prior to college, she attended Miami Arts Studio. In 2019, she was a Miami Herald Silver Knight winner.
Tennis
Local tennis players fared well during the 2023 Bobby Curtis Sectional Championships at the USTA National Campus in Orlando.
BOYS: 12U: 3. Davidson Jackson (Coral Gables); 5. Robert Bouzi (Miramar). 14U: 6. Adrian Baerga-Torres (Hollywood).
GIRLS: 12U: 2. Melanie Constandache (Coconut Creek); 4. Alexksandra Jerkunica (Fort Lauderdale); Consolation Winner: Angelique LLano (Sunny Isles Beach). 14U: 2. Adriella Samabaly (Miramar); 3. Emma Prose (Cooper City); 4. Natasha Jerkunica (Fort Lauderdale).
Submit summer sports info
For coaches and teams in Broward and Miami-Dade, if you have high school level athletes competing in summer leagues, events and programs, email hssports@miamiherald.com.
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@miamiherald.com
