This past weekend numerous teams from each region in 1A, 2A and 3A all gathered at Osceola HS in Kissimmee, Florida to do battle at the 2023 FHSAA Dual State Championships. When the dust had settled three teams proved to be supreme and were named the 2023 FHSAA Dual state champions. In 1A, Jensen Beach HS led by longtime head coach Tom McMatch showed the state why they are now back to back dual state champions. Jensen Beach is pretty much loaded from top to bottom with experienced wrestlers, many of whom are no strangers to the big stage and performed as such. Jensen Beach won the dual state title in 2022 as well and then went on to capture the IBT state title as a team at the IBT state championships in March at the Silver Spurs arena in Kissimme, Florida. Jensen Beach won the 2023 dual title by defeating Zephyrhills Christian in the finals.
In 2A, Lake Gibson HS returned to their state champion form by taking the title after beating powerhouse Fleming Island in the finals. Lake Gibson stepped on the mat with one goal in mind and that was for each kid to do their job for the sake of the team. They did just that and were able to bring home another state title. Lake Gibson will now be looking to head in to the Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee and bring home the IBT state title as well. Last year Jensen Beach was the only school in the three classes to win both the dual team title and the IBT title.
In the 3A classification South Dade reigned supreme after defeating long time rival Osceola HS. South Dade won the dual 44-9 and walked away with another state title. Osceola won three matches in the dual as they were expected to do. Their three wins came from their work horses, all returning state champions in Cooper Hasse, Anderson Heap and Gunner Holland. Anderson Heap beat Misha Arbos in a very close match which needed overtime to determine the winner. Heap won in TB-1 by a score of 10-7. Cooper Haase ranked #1 by TFWR was able to secure a victory by defeating Gavin Balmeceda ranked #2 by TFWR by a score of 6-3. Gunner Holland won a 2 point match over Lawrence Rosario 3-1.
No matter where any of these top teams finished in the FHSAA Dual State Championships, they will all be gunning for that IBT state title in March. The FHSAA IBT State Tournament is held at the Silver Spurs Arena in Kisimmee, Florida Thursday-Saturday, March 2-4, 2023. We will see if these three teams can win the IBT titles as well.