May you all have a very Merry Christmas I hope Santa is as good to you as he has been to me.

Problem solved

A good source tells me the problem between Dade Schools and Google has been solved. You may get back to enjoying the Blog.

Spartans Repel the Patriots

Southridge 43 - American 24

It was only a two match swing, and there were two matches where American looked to have the match only to fall to the famous coaches line...

"We got caught"

Never fear, I will have my Patriots Ready when it counts, I mean Ososrio will.

Trouble Logging In

It has come to my attention that many of the Dade Schools followers are having some kind of issue logging in. I have a few insiders working on correcting the problem, and word is it should soon be fixed. I am leaving town for few days anyway so it appears a brief Hiatus would not be such a bad thing. I will be in and out but I will not be as ever present as usuall. You may continue to post under Anonymous or you can also sign a nickname to your post. I hope by the time I return the problem would have been resolved, but if not we will do something about it then.

New PollWhich Wrestler will taste defeat for the first time this year at the Homestead Duals?

This poll is brought to you by one of our faithful readers.

I decided to start this poll before the other one ends because it can give us an exciting preview of what may happen at the big event in Homestead on Friday and Saturday.

Some of the top individuals in the state are going to be competing there this weekend, and a premier event such as this one deserves some hype, and this poll might just do the trick.

It is a shorter poll than usuall, as the ending time of the poll is set for Friday at 11:00 AM.

So let us know what you think...

The Power Ring Rankings

1 South Dade, too much fire power for everyone in Dade County. Who else can loose 2 starters (returning State Qualifiers) and not notice a let down from the team.

2 American, I think their average kids are a notch above the other teams in consideration.

3 Columbus, looked real impressive in the win over Braddock. Every weight class is a name most of the coaches know. Seemed in better shape this weekend, then when I saw them against Miami High last week.

4 Southridge, for the first time in years Johnson hasn't been hit by the "moving" bug. If he can get the younger guys to believe he could jump up this poll.

5 Braddock, the past 10 days or so have been rough on the Bulldogs. After the great win over Southridge, this have not gone so well. This team has not had the same line up in back to back events all season. Injuries are pilling up. If they were to wrestle American and Columbus at the end of the season, I think the scores would be a lot different. Tejada needs to take get some of these kids to believe and learn how to finish.

At the end of the season and 4 of these teams could finish #2, they each have a couple of STUDS, it just depends on who gets more other kids to show up on that day.

Southwest: waiting for the injuries to clear up.

Coral Gables: things are looking up, but those kids need to wrestle with some confidence.

Palmetto: they impressed me in the South Dade dual meet, I just don't know if they have enough fire power to break the top 5.

HML: the wrestlers seem to be kind of erratic. Sometimes they look like world beaters and other times they look kind of average.

Sunset: had a good core group of JV kids today. Haven't had a chance to watch their Varsity too much. Chinchilla looked real impressive last weekend.

Weekend UpdateBy: KW

Results of the District 15 Duals. Friday December 14

Braddock 66 South Miami 17: Julio Fernandez 112 pin in :21, Riaz Ahmed 135 pin in :31, Javier Hernandez 160 pin in 1:30

Braddock 69 Ferguson 9: Alvaro Donado 171 pin in :27, Danny Villalobos 140 pin in :57, Richard Gonzalez 285, pin in 3:52Braddock is 3 – 2

Columbus 63 Coral Gables 14: Jorge Rabaza 215 pin in :24, Andrew Davis 171 pin in :28, Alfredo Armas 112 pin in 3:18Columbus 64

Southwest 12: Jake Rio 125 pin in :10, Nick Martin-Hildalgo 140 pin in :14, Daniel Koenig 171 pin in :51

Columbus 49 Braddock 16: Mark Gulesian 103 pin in :47, Alex Wethy 285 pin in 1:45, Kevin Gurevich 112 pin in 2:18 Columbus is 10 – 0.

Southwest 54 Ferguson 30: Eddy Torres 171 pin :36, Joe Vazquez 285 pin :43, Joel Blanco 112 pin :45

Southwest 54 South Miami 30: Uxsunn Ramirez 135 pin :24, Alex Porras 152 pin in :58, Eddy Rodriguez 160 pin in 1:10

Southwest is 2 - 3Coral Gables 43 South Miami 29: Kris Bikic 119 pin in :49, Carlos Montero 135 pin in :17, Chris Mederos 160 pin in :19

Coral Gables 54 Ferguson 27: Chris Amore 112 pin in 1:20, Carlos Montero 135 pin in 1:21, Chris Mederos 171 pin in 1:20. Coral Gables is 4 – 3.

Results of the District 15 Duals. Saturday December 15, 2007

Braddock 40 Southwest 32: Gabe Chandler 119 pin in :29, Steven Caballero 189 pin in 1:37, Mario Montoto 125 pin in 1:50

Braddock 63 Coral Gables 17: Julio Fernandez 112 pin in :46, Jhonathan Medina 145 pin in 3:35, Nate Jean 215 pin in 3:37. Braddock is 5 – 2.

Columbus 74 Ferguson 4: Jake Rio 125 pin in :17, George Gulesian 130 pin in :26, Kevin Gurevich 112 pin in :27, Andrew Davis 171 pin in :32

Columbus 79 South Miami 6: Alex Wethy 285 pin in :36, Joey Cruz 152 pin in :55, Louis Nodar 119 pin in 1:56, Mike Abadin 215 pin in 2:40.

Columbus is 12 – 0.Coral Gables 47 Southwest 24: Maikil Garth 189 pin in :17, Jorge Somariba 103 pin in 1:00, Favian Villamaza 215 pin in 1:10. Coral Gables is 5 – 4.

Ferguson 39 South Miami 30

125 Mario Montoto vs Jake Rio Mario scores off of a shuck by with a minute gone by in the first. Jake escapes with 10 seconds left. 2 – 1. Jake chooses down and escapes in less than 15 seconds. 2 – 2. Jakes gets his takedown off of a single leg. Mario gets an escape after about 30 seconds. 4 – 3. Off a scramble Mario gets a takedown, Jake escapes to end the period 5 – 5. Mario takes down. Jake scores a set of back points, Mario gets the escape with 1 minute left, score is 7 – 6. Lots of action several shots not finished, match ends Jake 7 Mario 6.

130 Fitz Rodriguez vs George Gulesian. George scores a quick takedown. George is working hard on top, Fitz scores his escape close to the end of the period 2 – 1. Fitz takes down and in a scramble gives up 2 back points. Fitz stands up for an escape, but George quickly takes him down with a solid double and takes Fitz to his back for 2 back points. George scores 3 more back points to end the second up 11 – 2. George takes down, Fitz locks hands, 12 – 2. With one minute left George scores an escape. George gets back points, Fitz ends with a reversal, final score George 16 – 4. Columbus 7 – 0.

135 Fernando Baltodano vs Jonathan Otero. Fernando get 2 quick takedowns, but Jonathan gets a takedown and ride out to end the first period tied 4 – 4. Jonathan chooses down gets an escape. After a couple of scrambles Fernando gets a takedown and release 6 – 6. With 10 seconds left Fernando secures another takedown for an 8 – 6 lead. Fernando takes bottom, after a cradle attempt, Fernando escapes. 9 – 6. Fernando gets another takedown for an 11 – 6 lead. Jonathan escapes followed by a takedown to bring the score to 11 – 9. Fernando escapes 12 – 9. Jonathan gets another takedown to cut the lead to 12 – 11. Fernando ends the match with an escape and a takedown to end the match. 7 – 3

140 Danny Villalobos vs Nick Matin Hildaga. Danny gets a quick takedown and at the with 10 seconds left Danny secures the win with a pin. Braddock 8 – 7 (-1 team point for misconduct Braddock)

145 Jhonathan Medina vs Allen Pena. Jhonathan scores a takedown with a nice single leg. Jhonathan rides him out 2 – 0. Allen chooses neutral. Jhonathan scores off of Allen’s shot. Allen gets a reversal and scores off of a cheap tilt to end the period 4 – 4. Jhonathan takes bottom, Allen throws in legs and turns him for 2. Allen gets 2 more at the end 8 – 4. Columbus 9 – 8 (-1 team point for misconduct Columbus)

152 Emil Arrieta vs Joey Cruz. Joey gets the takedown and 2 back off the trap arm tilt. 2 more back to end 6 – 0. Pretty one sided match. Match ends 13 – 3. Columbus 14 – 8.

160 Javier Hernandez vs Daniel Moreno-Koenig. Daniel gets a takedown and back to take an early 4 – 0 lead. Scores 3 more off of a bulldog. Restart and 3 more off another bulldog. 10 – 0. Daniel takes top. Pin in less than 30 seconds of the second period. 19 – 8.

171 Steve Castro vs Andrew Davis. Andrew scores off of Steve’s shot in a modified cowboy (from freestyle). Andrew gets the pin with 20 seconds left. 25 – 8 Columbus.

189 Steven Caballero vs Anthony Lozano. Steve scores quick off of a double. Anthony scores off of a stand up. Steven gets behind for 2 more, 4 – 1. Neutral to start the second. Anthony ties up, Steven drops to single, changes to a double and checks Anthony on his butt. Anthony gets another escape. Anthony attempts a head and arm, but Steven spins behind for the takedown. Steven cuts him 8 – 3. Steven ends the period with a 5 point move, 13 – 3. Neutral, Steven scores on the edge and choose neutral on the restart. Steven gets another takedown and chooses neutral, 17 - 5. On the restart Steven whips for 5 and gets the tech with 1 minute left in the 3rd period. Steven 22 – 5, but Columbus still leads 25 – 13.

215 Jorge Rabaza gets a forfeit. 31 – 13.

285 Richard Gonzalez vs Alex Wethy. Heavyweight pummeling. Richard tries for a head and arm, but Alex stops it for his own takedown. Alex gets the pin with 16 seconds left. 37 – 13

103 Julian Gonzalez vs Marc Gulesian. Marc scores a quick takedown and starts working the half right away. Pin in about 1 minute. 43 – 13

112 Julio Fernandez vs Kevin Gurevich. Julio score first from a front headlock, but Kevin reverses it to even the score 2 – 2, with less than 15 seconds gone by. Full Nelson by Kevin, Julio takes the lead. Another penalty makes it 4 – 2. Julio gets an escape, but Kevin snaps him down for 5 and takes the lead 7 – 5. Kevin takes down and Julio locks hands right away 8 – 5. Julios tries for a cradle, gets caught and pinned with 1:40 left. 49 – 13

119 Gabriel Chandler vs Louis Nodar. Louis shoots, Gabe defends. Gabe shoots, Louis defends. Louis in on a nice single, but Gabe defends. Gabe scores off of his dump and goes up by 4. Louis takes down. With 50 seconds left, Louis scores off of an illegal hold. 2 restarts and Louis gives the point right back on his 3 false start. Gabe rides him for the entire 2nd period. 5 – 1. Gabe takes top. Another false start point for Gabe. Louis gets an escape at the end. Gabe wins 6 – 2. Columbus 49 – 16.

Venom Spews

Future home of the one and only

VENOM

Near Fall Criteria

An official’s judgment is typically sounder than that of the observers. You can only sympathize with their situation if you are an official yourself. Officiating is like doing complex mathematics in your head with a time delay in which the answer must be established within a mere second or two, all while on your feet moving around trying to protect the wrestlers from each other, the floor, the scorers table, and the chairs.

These are some of the calculation the official has to make in the blink of an eye in a situation where a wrestler gets thrown directly to his back. Does the offensive wrestler have control, when is reaction time over, make sure the take down is secured, was there a slam, the possibility of an illegal head lock, is the defenders pinning area in bounds, is his back at a 45 degree angle with the mat even though he is fighting for his life and flopping around. There are many more factors, but you must get my meaning by now, and this all happens seconds.

I can easily foresee a situation where the official would believe that a wrestler is in near fall criteria, while the crowd (watching with selective vision by the way) disagrees.

You must understand that he back of a wrestler is very flexible between the shoulders; the back can bend and bow quite a bit, and while you are seeing one shoulder up completely off the mat, that does not mean the wrestler in not in near fall criteria.

The pinning area is defined (and I will paraphrase here) as the area running along the top of the shoulders from end to end, horizontally.

Vertically, you draw a line down each side of the back all the way down to the bottom of the scapula.

Then the back is divided into two sides with a line down the center of the spinal column.

I don’t think the Parents, families, fans, or even coaches are able to critically and impartially judge when a wrestler has gone into near fall criteria. It is completely possible, for the wrestlers shoulder to appear to be at a ninety degree angle in relation to the mat, when in fact in the referee’s judgment; the wrestler is in near fall criteria. I will explain to you how this happens.

A wrestlers gets thrown in a head and arm (for example) one shoulder is obviously in contact with the mat, the wrestler fight to turn into his opponent and is side ways making his shoulder appear to be above the 45 degree mark that would put him in criteria. However, what the referee sees is that the wrestlers back in relation to the mid line (the imaginary line that runs down the center of the spine) has crossed into near fall criteria, but because the back is bowed, the shoulder may in fact appear to be well higher than the required 45 degrees.

Which of these Wrestling Personalities would you most like to have a Beer with to get some Insight, some History and some Pointers

This poll is brought to you by one of our readers, I think it has great potential so let us know what you think.

Let the Voting begin

Matches this Week

Tuesday

American 60 - Braddock 16

Coral Park and Jackson at Carol City 4:00

Miami High 49 - Coral Gables 14

Ferguson at Coral Reef 6:00 (Not sure if there is a jv)

Wednesday

Miami High 57 - Southwest 21

Krop at Columbus 6:00/7:00

Central and Edison at Northwestern 4:00HML,

Miami Beach and Killian at Palmetto 4:00 (on 2 mats)

Thursday

Edison and Jackson at Homestead 4:00

North Miami at Hialeah 6:00

Friday

District 15 Duals at Braddock 3:30 first round.

Saturday

District 15 Duals at Braddock 10:00 first round.

Also this weekendSouthridge is in the Douglas Tournament.

Coral Reef, Coral Park, Miami Springs and I'm sure a few more are in the Santaluces Tournament.

Weekend UpdateBy: KW

Western Wildcat Tournament

Team Scores
1 South Dade 233
2 Columbus 157
3 American 135.5
4 Douglas 123
5 Sarasota 112.5
6 Jupiter Christian 87
7 Hialeah Miami Lakes 75.5
8 Braddock 73.5
9 Sunset 68
10 Miramar 66.5
11 Cypress Bay 64
12 Deltona 63
13 American Heritage 58
14 Miami Senior 54
15 Western 53
16 Taravella 45.5
16 Jensen Beach 45.5
18 Coconut Creek 42.5
19 South Broward 40
20 Coral Glades 38
21 Cooper City 35
22 Stranahan 30
23 Plantation 29
24 Goleman 25
25 Dwyer 22
25 Deerfield Beach 22
27 Ely 22
27 Krop 22
29 Dillard 12
30 Miami Springs 6
31 Everglades 5
Championship Finals
103 Ryan Monteforte Sar dec Mike Hess JC 4 – 2
112 Alex Chiracosta Doug dec Cory Montefore Sar 6 – 3
119 Louis Nodar Col dec Quintavian McPherson SD 3 – 2
125 Jake Rio Col maj dec Alex Abramat CB 20 – 8
130 James Williams SD dec George Guelsian Col 10 – 5
135 Wilson Metellus SD dec Rey Parrado Gol 7 – 2
140 Tico Baez SD dec Stephen Arcelay Mir 4 - 3
145 Danny Villalobos Brad dec Travis Schaffer CCreek 8 0 6
152 Kendrick Sanders SD dec Ivan Lopushansky SB 4 – 2 2OT
160 Matt Gilespe Del dec Antonio Starr HML 5 – 0
171 Tommy Perez Am dec Steven Julian AmHer 9 – 3
189 Carlos Cruz Stran dec Jay Taylor Doug 10 – 5
215 David Castillo Am dec Willie Wiggins SD 5 – 2
285 Michael Chinchilla Sun dec Joseph McNamara CB 11 – 4
Lightweight OW Alex Chiracosta Doug

Heavyweight OW Kendrick Sanders

Team results from Western this past weekend.

Disclaimer: This tournament did not allow a true wrestle back. If you lost in the round of 16 the best you could do was 7th. If you lost in the quarters you could get 5th and if you lost in the semis you were going for 3rd automatically. Several early upsets, hell the 7th place match at 103 was between the #1 and #2 seed. Some bad draws 1st round Rey Parrado Gol defeated Robert Ruiz HML, Ruiz would normally wrestle back to place in a normal tournament.

South Dade took 14 wrestlers placed 12. 4 Champs, 2 Runners Up, 1 3rd 2 4ths, 2 6ths and 1 7th.
103 Jacob Grant 2 – 2 took 5th, lost to Monteforte Sar (Champ) and Bentancourt Mia in the 5th place match.
112 Mauricio Villanueva 2 – 2 took 4th, lost to Monteforte Sar (Runner Up) and Guzman Mia in the 3rd place match. Pinned a Plantation wrestler and defeated Olarte of Krop.
119 Quintavian McPherson 3 – 1 took 2nd, 2 pins and a dec. Lost to Nodar Col in the Finals 3 – 2.
125 Joshua Williams 4 – 1 3rd, 1 pin and 2 decs before he lost to Abramat CBay in the semis.
130 James Williams 5 – 0 Champion, 3 pins, 1 tech and a 10 – 5 dec in the finals. Pinned Paramore HML and Rodriguez Brad, defeated Gulesian Col in the finals.
135 Wilson Metellus 4 – 0 Champion, 1 pin, 1 tech and 2 decs. Defeated Santibanez Am 10 – 5 in the semis and Parrado Gol 7 – 2 in the Finals
140 Tico Baez 4 – 0 Champion, 3 pins and a 4 – 3 win over Steven Arcelay Miramar in the finals. Pinned C Howard Col in quarters and Alec Diaz HML in the semis.
145 Elysse Fontaine 2 – 2 took 4th, pinned Taravella and majored Ely. Lost to Schaffer Creek in semis and Piasecki JC for 3rd.
152 Kendrick Sanders 4 – 0 Champion, pinned Gomez Mia and Rodriguez Krop, defeated Raich JC 14 – 7 and Lopushansky SB 4 – 2 3OT in the finals.
160 Luis Montalvo 2 – 2 took 6th, pinned Everglades , lost to Starr HML 11 – 10, pinned Koeing Col 3:42 and defaulted to Perez Brad for 5th.
171 Stephon Moore 1 – 2 DNP, not a strong weight class for Dade.
189 Travus Webster 3 – 1 took 7th, lost to Cooper City , pinned Jensen Beach and Sarasota , and majored American Heritage for 7th.
215 Willie Wiggins 4 – 1 took 2nd, 3 pins, won by default and lost in the finals.
285 Wain Elliton 1 – 2 DNP, pinned Lobos Mia, lost to Chinchilla and Creek.

The Bar Fight Polls Close

Seems we have a new resident bad ass in Dade County.

And the Winner is…

K Freakin W

Are you $hitting me?


Well anyway, the fans have spoken, apparently you all know somefin about K Dub cause no one wants any part of him in a bar fight. I know the Irish can take a punch and maybe that is part of the fear, but I think it has something to do with getting a Laptop squarely broken on your noggin, followed by a pencil protruding from your eye. Deduct all the team points you want, K dub takes no prisoners.


The next bad ass in line is Coach Not so Sorio, I guess the quick rise of the American machine intimidated many of our voters, take note Balmeceda, he’s gunnin for you. Though it seems you did well to get K W as your protector. I could almost see Osorio dropping his level and driving someone back first into the bar rail. He’d get up and pi$$ on them and say A$$hole!


The Next bad ass is really no surprise, he was a real wrestling bad ass, with attitude and those crazy eyes that say “Don’t F wit me” Borgen is one guy on this list that I personally would not want on the other side of me in a Bar fight. It seems to me he can go Tasmanian Devil crazy in a heart beat, and not just the guy that started is going to get some.


The next bad ass is a little long in the tooth, but I bet he knows every dirty trick in the book. Key jab to the eyes, Sucker punch, Hey your shoe’s are untied. Which one of you guys really wants to stare Dodd down the barrel of a broken bottle suckin his teeth and sneering at you in that raspy voice what you gonna do now tiny.


Finally the guy I thought would be at the top of the list; his demeanor alone would cause many to back down, but I bet if a fight really broke out this guy would do some serious damage. I get the impression that a fit of rage from Dewberry would be much like watching the first 40 minutes of Saving Private Ryan, senseless slaughter if your involved, and nerve damaging tension if your watching.

Anyway, I loved this poll, and obviously so did our readers since more readers (56) participated in this poll than in any previous poll. I hope I can bring you more exciting polls in the future; and remember, if you have a poll you would like me to run, send it along, and if I like it I will feature it on my site.

Recap of all the scores from the past week

American 60, Varela 22:119: Julio Ore (AM) pin in :38; 160: Marcos Abeledo (AM) pin in 1:37; 171: George Garcia (AM) pin in 1:43.
• American 51, Miami High 12: 189: Tom Perez (AM) pin in 1:00; 152: Nicholas Clarke (AM) pin in 3:10; 140: Leo Santibanez (AM) pin in 3:15.
• American 78, S. Miami 5: 135: Chris Perez (AM) pin in 1:19; 145: Jeramy Troncoso (AM) pin in 1:02; 171: Danilo Ventura (AM) pin in :48.
• American 69, Sunset 9:130: Justin Cortez (AM) pin in 1:50; 152: Nicholas Clarke (AM) pin in :42.
• American 50, Homestead 18:112: Armani Harris (AM) pin in 1:37; 152: Nicholas Clarke (AM) pin in 1:52; 215: David Castillo (AM) :53.
• American 82, Killian 0:103: Leo Miller (AM) pin in 1:50; 125: Jamel Lattimore (AM) pin in 1:20; 140: Camilo Hernandez (AM) pin in :44. AM 8-0.

• Dade Christian 72, Horeb Christian 6: 145: Gian Blanco (DC) pin 1:24; 171: Andy Ponte (DC) pin 1:32; 125: Joseph Scarras (DC) pin :37.
• Dade Christian 72, South Florida HEAT 6. DC 2-0.
• Northwestern 54, Jackson 12: 140: Morel Campbell (NW) pin 1:16; 189: Kadeem Howard (NW) pin :56.
• Northwestern 54, Central 18: 130: Jamal Emmers (NW) pin :49; 189: Kadeem Howard (NW) pin 1:20. NW 3-2.

• Wednesday

Columbus 54, Miami High 16: 285: Alex Wethy (Col) pinned in :41. 171: Andrew Davis (Col) pinned in :43. 152: Joey Cruz (Col) pinned in :46. Col 6-0.

Pace 51, Coral Park 27: 135: Montavius Frazier pinned in :40. 165: Diddley Weche pinned in 1:45. 215: Keefer Scott pinned in :44. Pace 3-0.

Pace 69, Ferguson 3: 130: Kedarius Harris pinned in 1:00. 120: Andy Quintana pinned in 1:32. Pace 4-0.

Pace 53, Miami Beach 22: 119: Bryan Rivera pinned in 1:19. 152: Chris Nunez pinned in 1:00. Pace 5-0.

Matches of the WeekBy: KW

Tuesday

Sunset 51 - Southwest 30

Pace 58 - Norland 22

Pace 59 - Killian 15

Wednesday

South Dade 51 - Palmetto 18 6:00/7:00

Pace, Coral Park and Ferguson @ Miami Beach 4:00

Booker T Washington @ North Miami 4:30

Columbus 54 - Miami High 16

Krop @ Varela 5:00

Thursday

Braddock 32 - South Ridge 29 (Go to the Comments section for a nice breakdown by KW)

Miami Beach @ North Miami Beach 4:00

Northwestern, Central and Jackson @ Killian 4:00

Hialeah @ Coral Gables 6:00

Friday and Saturday

Several of Dade's top teams will be at Western High School competing in the 3rd Annual Wildcat Tournament. Scheduled to attend South Dade, Braddock, Columbus, Sunset, Hialeah Miami Lakes, Miami High, American, Goleman, Miami Springs, and Krop.

Weekend UpdateReport From DurantBy: KW

With only 3 Dade County teams in attendance, it is hard to see where these wrestlers will stand come GMAC time, but we got a chance to see how they compare with some of the best teams in any classification.

103 - The only wrestler present was Jacob Grant SD. He had a good showing for his first high school tournament (2 - 2), but he will not be the starter come the end of the year.

112 - Quintavian McPhearson SD placed 4th, but was 1 bad call away from being in the Finals. Jonathan Olivera SW was there but got disqualified from the tournament Friday night as he was wrestling the eventual champion. Not sure what happened, so I won't speculate. Braddock's wrestler Julio Fernandez did not do very well.

119 - Omi Acosta SD took a big jump to the head of the list for Dade's best wrestler in what could become a very loaded weight class with his semi final win over Gabriel Chandler Brad by a score of 7 - 5. Acosta's luck ended with an injury in the Finals vs Pete Baldwin of Osceola. Chandler did not rebound in an extremely loaded weight class and fell to 6th place. Southwest's Shaddy did not win a match.

125 - Mario Montoto Brad was seeded 6th, but made it to the Finals before he was pinned by Scottie Sentes of Riverdale. This showing should move Mario up in the rankings. Southwest's Joel Blanco did not have a good draw, he lost to Mario in the first round and Matt Jones of Osceola in the wrestlebacks. South Dade's Josh Williams did not preform as expected.

130 - Rat is still the top of Dade County, even with his last second loss to Brett Jorge of Lake Gibson. Southwest's Oxsunn Ramirez had 2 pins and was in the quarterfinals before an injury forced him out of the tournament. Braddock's Fitz Rodriguez looked decent and might have won some more matches if he didn't have to wrestle SW's Ramirez in the first round.

135 - Wilson Metelus SD had 2 first period pins and a 7 point semi victory before he fell to Aron Sanchez Riverdale in the finals. Randy Pineyro Brad lost in the first round, but stormed back with 5 wins in the consolation bracket to place 5th. Southwest's Uxsunn Ramirez did not wrestle in this tournament.

140 - South Dade's Tico Baez is still the best wrestler in his weight class in the state. Tico started the tournament with 3 first period pins and finished with 2 minor decisions including a 3 - 2 victory over 2time State Placer Gabriel Bird. Braddock's Danny Villalobos only wrestled Dade County wrestlers on Friday (1st match vs SW, 2nd match vs Tico). Danny was 1 match from placing. Southwest's Joel Blanco had 2 pins for the tournament, but was pinned by Villalobos of Braddock.

145 - Elyse Fontaine SD, had an excellent showing in his first tournament. Elyse recorded 2 pins and 2 major decisions on his way to a 5th place finish. Braddock's Jhonathan Medina wreslter well, recording 3 pins and a minor decision before he was eliminated 1 match away from placing. Southwest's Daniel Campos went 1 - 2 with a pin. Danny had the unfortunate luck of facing Medina Brad in the first round (1 of 3 times Brad and SW meet in the 1st round).

152 - Daniel Perez Brad had a pretty good tournament and placed 4th. Danny lost his first match, but had 5 straight victories in the wrestlebacks to set up a rematch with Thad Klenovich of Springstead (who defeated Daniel in the first round). Danny went 5 - 2, but only lost to 1 wrestler. South Dade's Daren Anguiano did well in his first match as a Varsity wrestler. Daren had 3 pins and a major on his way to a 6th place finish. Southwest's Alex Porras went 2 - 2 on the weekend with 2 pins.

160 - Luis Montalvo pinned his way through the tournament. Should have been considered for heavyweight OW, but the weight class was not loaded as 171. Both Eddy Rodriguez SW and Javier Hernandez Brad did not win a match.
171 - Shawn King went 4 - 2 with 3 pins en route to a 4th place finish. Eddie Torres SW went 3 - 2 with 3 pins, but did not place, he was 1 match away. He lost to Champion Jacob Harmer and the 6th place finisher Chris Cox from Olympia. Chrisitian Lopez Brad did not win a match.

189 - Travus Webster SD was unseeded but on the strength of 4 pins he finished 4th. Steven Caballero Brad went 3 - 2 with 2 pins, he looked good coming off of football season.

215 - Both Southwest and South Dade had some new wrestlers who did ok, each attained a record of 1 - 2. Melvin Amaya SD and Giovanni Garzon SW.

285 - South Dade's Wain Elliton earned 1 pin to pick up some bonus points for South Dade. I expected more for Joe Vazquez of Southwest, but I'm not sure what happened as I didn't get to see him wrestle on Friday.

South Dade missing 3 wrestlers still had a great showing. They got some big points from some unexpected sources, but also got a goose egg where they can not afford to be held scoreless.

Braddock could have had more than 4 placers, but had some bad first round draws. Randy and Danny showed some great poise by placing high after losing their first match. Having Eric out of the line up might have hurt the morale of Braddock.

Southwest did not have a tournament that Mendez would have liked to have. I didn't get to see very many of their matches on Saturday. I fully expect that the Eagles will be healthier when the season winds down in Janurary.

Weekend update

American was impressive, their kids were very businesslike, and they showed both maturity and desire in regards to their performance. It’s evident that whatever Osorio did in his time sine he arrived there has worked. I did see many new faces, and a new team demographic which I think is in large part the reason why many of the recruiting allegations are being thrown around. I don’t have any evidence by which to accuse American further so for now I will just abide by my impressions that Osorio has in very little time built a legitimate contender again, at a school which much as his previous destination has never been known as a wrestling power, it will be interesting to see if they can sustain it. One wrestler that I know belongs at American is Perez, the younger brother of Tommy Perez is just a Freshman but was every bit as impressive as Nates was when he came on the scene if not more. This kid is going to make noise this year, and could be Osorio’s next multi champ.

Miami High was impressive in spots, their 103 is a little stud, forget that he was dominated by Hall, he did not follow the game plan, and next time they meet it could be different. He is muscular, but Hall showed him that proper counter technique will quell strength on many occasions. If properly instructed and if he follows the prescription, he could get the better of Hall in the future. Their middles weights are solid, but not yet at the elite level, though some showed greater promise than anticipated. Miami High continues to improve year in and year out, and could soon join the ranks of the elite.

Homestead did not live up to the billing, and the reasons why raise more intrigue than their lackluster performance. Watson got pinned by Miami High guy on a simple half, but was clearly at that point exhausted. He looked out of shape and it cost him badly. He didn't return to wrestle on Saturday, a wise choice on his part or his coach’s lest he show further kinks in his armor. The Homestead team forfeited 171 and 189 to everyone, likely a by product of their football team still being alive in the State Football playoffs. Earl Hall looked way impressive in that he seems to dominate though many times smaller than his opposition, still, I expected to see a more fluid and resolute Hall, I don’t know if it’s because he is physically overmatched, but at times he appeared one dimensional, and his best scoring came from countering his opposition rather than from being proactive on the attack. I have heard rumblings that Homesteads training regiment may in the long run be their undoing despite their abundance of talent; we shall have to keep and eye out to see, I hope it is just opening of the season rust and not a more ominous sign.

Sunset looked tough though young, they introduced a wrestler I was not expecting to see, one of Nestor Varona’s own which I would have bet was going to land at Columbus, or South Dade, or possibly even Varela, but not Sunset. Coach Rivera had his young men prepared and in shape though a little wide eyed and nervous. The future looks bright at Sunset. Chinchilla looked a little rusty, and went in overconfident against South Miami’s kid and paid the price by being taken to his back. He overcame that obstacle and decided the event with a pin over an inexperienced wrestler.

Varela had some strength in the lightweights and they appear to have some experience and toughness. They have the ability to launch anyone in a throw if they are not careful, and they are a tenacious bunch.

Killian was unimpressive, except for the drubbing of South Miami they did not win many matches. I fear there coach for all he tries has limited experience and seems to be one of the many coaches in Dade County which will take the position of head wrestling coach as a favor to the school and because and extra supplement means a little extra cash in your pocket. At least Killian had nice numbers, fielding an entire compliment of wrestlers which is more than can be said of other teams.

South Miami looked Pathetic, good thing I read Pardo’s reply before posting this because I was roasting them as clearly the worst team, not just at the Dodd duals, but in Miami. After reading his comments I decided to be less harsh because he said that 9 of his wrestlers wrestled their first match that weekend. There are a couple of tough young kids that I remember from last year that were not present, one with a mole on his face and another in the middle weights. I was impressed by his Heavyweight, he is quite an interesting prospect, especially since as Moonie mentioned, South Miami has been very successful with the heavies.