All they do is win.
With the dual season behind them and individual championships ahead, the varsity boys wrestling team has captured seven team titles, including a fourth-place finish at the state duals.
On Jan. 15, Hagerty hosted the regional duals, beating South Lake High School 70-6 and Ocoee 60-12 to advance to the state quarterfinals against Flagler Palm Coast, becoming regional champions on Jan. 23 with a 40-27 victory.
The highlight of the season was reaching the state semifinal, but they lost 42-27 to South Dade on Jan. 24. South Dade went on to become the dual team state champions.
“My favorite moment of the season so far was being top 4 at states this year as a team because we made a historical contribution to Hagerty’s wrestling history, and I enjoyed sharing such a special memory with my friends,” junior Aurelio Gutierrez said.
Work behind the scenes has led to their aforementioned success. The boys practice five days a week for two hours a day, except on days that they have a tournament. Before every tournament or meet, they have weight cuts, which typically consist of getting the boys moving more through conditioning in case they need to lose weight. Making weight is important because in wrestling, there are different weight classes to ensure athletes of similar sizes compete against one another.
“Each practice we have a good 15-20 minute warm-up, then some light drilling, followed by more intense drilling and then some live situations wrestling,” coach Scotty Diaz said.
When heading into a meet, the team warms up by playing handball or fast feet to get their blood pumping. After warmups, junior Hunter Jessee leads the team in a prayer before the team breaks down and heads into their individual matches.
At the beginning of their season, the team traveled to University High School in Orange City to compete in the Clash of Titans Tournament. There, they won a team title with several weight class victories, including Chase Wolgamuth (106), Brandon Khamis (120), Jeson Medina (126), Brenton Crawley (132), Hunter Jessee (150), Nikolas Blake (165) and Renzo Cooligan (285).
Next, the team hosted the Johnny Rouse Invitational, defeating New Smyrna Beach Senior High School, Southwest Miami, Winter Springs, South Dade and Lake Gibson to win another team title. Senior Nikolas Blake won an award for most outstanding wrestler and went undefeated in the 157-pound weight class. He won four of his seven matches with a technical fall, which meant he had 15 more points than his opponent, resulting in an automatic victory. Senior Benjamin Wolgamuth also went undefeated, winning the 175-pound weight class.
“My favorite memory of the season so far was winning the Johnny Rouse Invitational at Hagerty,” junior Ian Thornsbury said.
Thornsbury won four out of his seven matches, two of which ended early with him completing a takedown. In wrestling, a takedown is a technique that involves bringing the opponent to the mat with the attacker landing on top.
Continuing their success, the team won the team title at the Lake Mary Tournament of Champions, with first-place weight-class victories going to Nikolas Blake (159), Thomas Thorne (192) and Benjamin Wolgamuth (167). Essential second-place wins from Brenton Crawley (134), Aurelio Gutierrez (152), Hunter Jessee (146) and Renzo Cooligan (287) helped secure the overall team title.
Two weeks later, the team asserted dominance, becoming the District 3 champions with shutouts over Lake Howell (79-0), Oviedo (78-0) and Timber Creek (79-0).
The team also competed in the War Eagle Classic, where they finished in second place with a team score of 202.5. Chase Wolgamuth (106), Nikolas Blake (157), Benjamin Wolgamuth (165), Jude DiCicco (215) and Renzo Cooligan (285) all claimed weight class victories.
If that was not enough, the team won yet another team title at the Flagler Rotary Tournament, with a score of 246.5 points. Chase Wolgamuth (106), Hunter Jessee (144), Nikolas Blake (157), Benjamin Wolgamuth (165) and Renzo Cooligan (285) all won their weight classes, bringing the team title home for the team.
The entire season, the wrestling team competed only in tournaments, until their senior night against Oviedo on Jan. 29. The team dominated the matches like they had been dominating tournaments, earning pins, technical victories and forfeit victories to secure the team title and beat Oviedo 53-24.
“We have a really experienced team, and they work really hard, and they just wrestled better than Oviedo did,” Diaz said.
Blake ended the night with a dominant 19-4 technical fall, and some seniors delivered statement performances despite moments of controversy. Junior Jude DiCicco was winning his match 8-3 when he did an illegal slam, causing him to lose his match.
“I pulled his arm across his body, and when I went to trip him, he came up in the air, and on instinct, I put him down on his shoulder, which is called ‘returning on a trapped arm,’” DiCicco said. “The second I did it, I knew I was in the wrong. I was very disappointed that I lost in that fashion because I know better.”
DiCico was the district champion for the 215-pound weight class last year, and he plans on holding that title this year.
“Going into districts, I feel very confident,” DiCicco said.
The team plans to continue their dominance in the postseason as they will host the FHSAA District Championships on Feb. 18.
