On April 12th-14th a large contingent of wrestlers from Florida headed over to Missouri to represent themselves, their clubs and our state at the Adidas Nationals wrestling tournament. For the second year in a row Coach Andy Siegal took a very large group of Florida kids of all ages to the Adidas Nationals. Some of them traveled with the team in a van with Coach Siegal, while others got there on their own with their parents. They all met at the Cable Dahmer Arena which is the venue the event was held. The arena is located in Independence, Missouri and is a very nice arena holding thousands of spectators.
This is the second year in a row that kids from Florida competed at this event. Thanks to Coach Andy Siegal and his team of assistant coaches, they were all able to compete as individuals, but also as a part of a team. They all represented Florida and competed against kids from all over the country. Coach Siegal created this team for any kids from Florida who would like to have the opportunity to wrestle at a national level tournament.
In many cases we see kids who do not make the FAWA Florida National Teams for no other reason than there just aren’t enough weight classes for all of them to be on the team. Only a certain number of kids can qualify to be on one of the National Teams, which means there is a large number of very good, solid wrestlers who will not make the team. These kids deserve to represent their state as well and Coach Siegal has provided that opportunity to each and every one of them. Also, in many cases some kids cannot make it to the national team qualifier so they don’t even have the opportunity to wrestle for a spot on the team.
It’s no easy task to get something like this together and I cringe at thinking about the logistics of it all. Coach Siegal and Coach Hickman take care of it all. They both make sure the trip runs as smoothly as possible. They have a few of the parents helping them as well and between all of the adults, it runs like a well oiled machine. They were lucky enough to have other coaches from across the state who made the trip and assisted them whenever needed. This year they had Coach Bobby Otwell, Coach Robert Starkie, Coach Chris McNichols, Coach Andy Rothenberg, Coach Marty Carpenter, Coach Antonio Morales, and Coach Ralph Cater. If I missed any coaches I apologize . They also had an official team photographer [Marcus Andrews] this year who was able to capture hundreds of great action shots and random shots of the kids just being kids. To have a team photographer capturing all of these great moments is priceless. I’m certain the pictures will be cherished for a lifetime. Marcus is the father of standout wrestler Mac “Bear” Andrews from Wellington HS.
The tournament is broken up into four different divisions such as K-8 Boys, K-8 Girls, High School Boys and High School Girls. This year our high school boys really stepped it up and showed the nation what Florida wrestling is all about. It ain’t all beaches and palm trees that’s for sure. No, this year it was tech’s and pins!!
Our K-8 Boys finished in 13th place. Our K-8 Girls did not make the top 20 but competed very hard and learned a lot. Our High School Girls finished in 5th place and missed 3rd place by only 6 points. Our High School Boys made a statement and placed 1st with 177 points over 2nd place Team Iowa with 125 points. We were 52 points ahead of the runner’s up. Way to go Team Florida HS Boys!!!
Coaches Siegal and Hickman wanted a special Thank You going out to Danielle Wiggins for being the best T-shirt coordinator around!!
The following wrestlers were on Team Florida and competed hard for their state:
Individual Results:
K-8 Boys:
Coaches: Bobby Ottwell, Antonio Morales, Robert Starkie, Ralph Cater, Rob Hickman ,
and Andy Siegal,
1st Place:
Nicholas Steiner (Kindergarten) 40 lbs from Niceville.
2nd Place:
Lucas Barrios (8th grade) 120 lbs from Miami. (Note: Lucas had to forfeit his finals match to catch a flight back to Florida).
3rd Place:
Garrett Raley (3rd grade) 72 lbs from Tampa.
4th Place:
Dominik Baxter (8th grade) 108 lbs from Pace.
6th Place:
J.P. Starkie (2nd grade) 49 lbs from Pace.
7th Place:
Jackson Steiner (2nd grade) 55 lbs from Niceville.
8th Place:
Sterling Knowles (4th grade) 60 lbs from Pace.
DNP:
Tucker Bailey-(3rd grade) 70 lbs from Gulf Breeze
Leon Diamond (2nd grade) 60 lbs from NBWA
Wesley Woodside (4th grade) 78 lbs from Pace.
Harley Charrion (6th grade) 72 lbs from Tallahassee
Dom Iacobellis (8th grade) 135 lbs from Pace.
Colt Sanders (8th grade) 150 lbs from Wakulla.
K-8 Girls:
Coaches: Robert Hickman, Bobby Otwell, Robert Starkie.
Individuals:
2nd Place:
Kendal “Stompknocker” Hanie : (8th grade) from Wakulla.
DNP
Alayla Atkinson (7th) from Pace.
High School Girls:
Coaches: Chris McNichols, Robert Hickman, Andy Rothenberg, Bobby Otwell.
Individuals:
3rd Place:
Bry Kaminsky (12th grade) University HS 140 lbs
4th Place:
Kiaanna Gavere (11th grade) Pace HS 140 lbs
5th Place:
Shelby Fillyaw (11th grade) Harmony HS 130 lbs
6th Place:
Maryellen Wingate (10th grade) University HS 130 lbs
8th Place:
Aubrey MCNichols (10th grade) Harmony HS 100 lbs
DNP:
Kendra Browning-Nino (10th grade) Tampa Gaither HS
Kiley Vinson (10th grade) Harmony HS
Sofia Ramos (9th grade) Harmony HS
Stephanie Browning-Nino (12th grade) Tampa Gaither HS
Zuhailey Caffrey (10th grade) Harmony HS
High School Boys:
Coaches: Andy Siegal, Robert Hickman, Bobby Otwell, Marty Carpenter, Chris
McNichols, Antonio Morales, Ralph Cater.
Individual:
1st Place:
122 lbs Derrick Williams (12th grade) Panama City Bozeman HS
138 lbs Jeff Cuttino (11th grade) Glynn Academy
163 lbs Gage Wiggins (12th grade) Braden River HS
2nd Place:
HWT Carmine Morton (12th grade) Tampa Gaither HS
163 lbs Mac Andrews (10th grade) Wellington HS
122 lbs Antonio Morales Jr (9th grade) SW Miami HS
3rd Place:
106 lbs Tristan Horne (10th grade) Harmony HS
122 lbs James Olliver (10th grade) Panama City North Bay Haven
143 lbs Maeson Otwell (11th grade) Pace HS
155 lbs Zander Stillgess (10th grade) Panama City North Bay Haven
174 lbs Bear Siegal (10th grade) Panama City North Bay Haven
192 lbs Gary Bradley (12th grade) Bayside HS
4th place:
128 lbs Corbin Fjalstad (11th grade) Martin County HS
143 lbs Justin Morrill (12th grade) Tampa Gaither HS
174 lbs Evan Mercado (11th grade) SW Miami HS
5th Place:
115 lbs Nathan Lytle (10th grade) Harmony HS
133 lbs Trystahn Duran (10th grade) Pace HS
163 lbs Gustavo Osorio (12th grade) Tampa Gaither HS
Hwt Andrew Colantino (11th grade) St Cloud HS
6th Place:
106 lbs Jason Perez (11th grade) Gateway HS
143 lbs Christian Rodriguez (11th grade) Harmony HS
7th Place:
115 lbs Matthew Pishotta (10th grade) Ocala West Port HS
DNP:
128 lbs Aaron Osorio (9th grade) Tampa Gaither HS
138 lbs Brody Williams (10th grade) Harmony HS
155 lbs Gavin Breto (10th grade) Tampa Gaither HS
143 lbs Jacob Bowen (11th grade) Tampa Riverview HS
155 lbs Joel Deleon (11th grade) Tampa Gaither HS
122 lbs Joshua Warring (10th grade) Pace HS
138 lbs Mattias Villa (10th grade) Tampa Gaither HS
128 lbs Max Butler (10th grade) Harmony HS
122 lbs Nevan Irving (9th grade) Harmony HS
Please let it be noted that although The Florida Wrestling Room provided some financial assistance with the shirts, Coach Siegal still had a large expense come out of his own pocket for the kids who made the trip a little short on cash for food and hotel accomodations. For next years Adidas Nationals trip we are seeking corporate sponsors to make sure everyone has what they need without any money coming from any of the volunteer coaches pockets. If you are in a position to sponsor Team Florida PLEASE reach out to me at 954-588-9337. I will make sure you are put in contact with Coach Andy.
Florida National Team Photographer: Marcus Andrews.
[Photo Credit: Marcus Andrews]