Prep wrestling: Area grapplers begin march to Lakeland with district tournaments

In just three weeks, 42 wrestlers will be crowned state champions at the FHSAA State Finals in Lakeland. But in order to accomplish such a dream, area grapplers must first survive this weekend’s district tournaments.

Most of Collier County takes to the mat on Friday, with the Class 1A-District 12 at Lely and the Class 2A-District 12 at Fort Myers High, with Barron Collier, Naples and Palmetto Ridge in the mix. Gulf Coast is in the Class 3A-District 8 tournament on Saturday at North Port.

While all three hope to claim at least one individual title, each concede the third-ranked and defending champion Riverdale Raiders are the team to beat. Riverdale boasts a trio of individuals ranked atop their respective weight class -- Dalton Langford at 112, Alex Paraschuk at 145 and Jose Lopez at 152.

Palmetto Ridge, ranked 18th in 2A, figures to place second, with an outside shot at upsetting the Raiders, that is, if the Bears get help from the rest of the district.

“I expect all my guys to qualify for regionals,” Palmetto Ridge coach Lazaro Rua said. “At regionals, if every guy wrestles to their potential, I should be able to get 12 in (the FHSAA State Finals). But is that going to happen? Could happen; could not. But that’s what we’re aiming for.

“One thing I tell my guys, we have to set high goals. Qualifying 12 guys to go to the state tournament is a very high standard because we are in a tough region. But we train for that. The way we set up our practices, and the way we train is to be able to do things like that.”

However, Rua understands that such lofty goals can’t be attained without first taking care of business in the district tournament. In order to qualify for next weekend’s region tournament, wrestlers in each of the 14 weight classes must place among their respective top four.

Barring any surprises at weight-ins, the Bears figure to have two top seeds in freshman Theo Curto at 125 and sophomore Cole Wright at 215. Sean McClimans (130), Alejandro Wajner (140), Anthony Curto (145) and Esteban Rua (152) each figure to be two seeds.

Naples should have a pair of top seeds with seniors Cesar Delarosa at 140 and heavyweight Misael Bahena. Ranked fourth in 2A and still undefeated, Bahena figures to be Collier’s best chance at a state title.

Barron freshman Tanis Taylor also figures to be a top seed at Fort Myers.

Gulf Coast also has the challenge of looking up at a significant favorite within its district. The Sharks likely will spend Saturday chasing 3A’s sixth-ranked Manatee Hurricanes and the host North Port Bobcats.

“I’ll have a couple thirds and fourths,” Sharks head coach Mike Guitard said, “but hopefully a couple firsts and seconds. It’s going to come down to seedings and draws.”

Junior Mitch Haan could earn the top seed at 215 depending on weigh-ins. But a championship finals appearance certainly is expected from the Sharks’ standout. Senior Juan Losada could also make a district title run at 145.

Collier teams competing in 1A need only travel to Lely High for the 1A-12 tournament Friday. Area teams include Estero, Golden Gate, Immokalee, South Fort Myers and the host Trojans.

“South Fort Myers probably comes in with the best team in our district; They’re probably the front-runner right now,” Lely coach Tige Thompson said. “Between some individual weight classes, we should have some good showings across the board from Collier.”

The Wolfpack figure to have three top seeds, with Mario Vega at 119, Daryl Gary at 152 and Anthony DeBonis at 215.

Other notable top seeds include Estero heavyweight Mo Farah, Lely 135 Guillermo Moreno and a pair of Golden Gate grapplers -- Saye Vasquez at 171 and William Noriela at 189.