Prep wrestling: Palmetto Ridge finishes third in 2A regional, sends 6 to state meet

PUNTA GORDA -- Behind Cullen Guerrero’s regional championship victory at 106 pounds, the Palmetto Ridge High School wrestling team finished third in a deep field at the Region 2A-3 meet at Charlotte High School on Saturday.

The Bears will send a total of six competitors to Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee, with the 2A state tournament taking place March 2-3.

Guerrero squared off against a familiar foe in Barron Collier’s Roy Chiong, his finals opponent at last week’s district championship. The sophomore picked up a victory via pin in the second round then. On Saturday, Guerrero again got the better of Chiong with an 11-1 majority decision win.

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Francisco St. Sutin and Colby Singletary picked up wins in the consolation bracket finals, with St. Sutin outlasting Ted Gjerde of Charlotte with a 4-1 decision at 126 pounds and Singletary  able to shut out Devin Price of Golden Gate, 6-0, at 182 pounds.

Ben McAllister (113 pounds), Mitch Hamilton (152 pounds) and Lance Lecuyer (170 pounds) took fourth-place finishes to advance to the state meet for the Bears.

One of the breakout performers on the mats this season has been Estero’s Orande Smith. After qualifying for the state tournament at 113 pounds as a freshman, Smith has bumped up one weight class and the results have been superb as the sophomore had been taken down only four times heading into the regional meet.

Smith met Golden Gate’s Michael Gonzalez in the 120-pound championship and rolled from the start, finishing with a 11-4 decision victory.

For the Wildcats standout, a year of experience has done wonders for the mindset he has been able to take into matches this season.

“"I've put in a lot of work on my mental game, being better on top on opponents physically," Smith said. "I need to minimize my mistakes next week and capitalize on mistakes from others. I think I'm prepared to win a state championship. It would mean a whole lot."

Golden Gate took home fifth place as everyone was looking up to Riverdale for the second consecutive season. The Raiders finished with 189.5 points to take the team title.

Gerald Roger took a 46-1 record into the championship match at 132 pounds for the Titans, but had to contend with defending 2A champion Justin Rivera of Fort Myers. Roger went go toe-to-toe with the Green Wave sophomore, with each competitor picking up just a single point through three rounds. In the final seconds of the first overtime, Rivera earned the victory with a takedown for the 3-1 decision.

Another Titan who took a strong record into a title matchup was David Ortiz, who came into the final against Charlotte’s Cody Rice at 138 pounds with a 45-2 mark.

Wrestling with the home crowd supporting him, Rice was able to outpoint Ortiz 5-3 to bring home the championship.

Andy Martinez also fell in the championship at 145 pounds for the Titans, as Cypress Lake’s Jalen Soto comfortably won via a 9-3 decision.

In one of the strongest weight classes, Naples’ Juan Cruz went up against unbeaten Nelson Ortiz from Riverdale in the 152-pound final and the tilt lived up to the billing. With the two combatants matching points throughout the three rounds, an escape with 40 seconds remaining was the difference for Ortiz to pick up the 9-8 victory.

Price will also make the trip to Kissimmee after finishing fourth at 182 pounds for Golden Gate.

Estero’s Brian Opalensky took home third at 152 pounds and will have a chance to make a run in the state tournament, with his defeat of Hamilton from Palmetto Ridge on a decision, 5-1.

Class 2A-Region 3 wrestling

at Charlotte High School

Top 5 Team scores

Riverdale 189.5, Charlotte 167, Palmetto Ridge 129, Fort Myers 97.5, Golden Gate 97

Championship results (School, individual record)

106: Cullen Guerrero (Palmetto Ridge, 56-8) def. Roy Chiong (Barron Collier, 43-8) via majority decision, 11-1

113: Donovan Cataldi (Charlotte, 40-0) def. Nathaniel Parker (Venice, 41-6) via fall, 3:36

120: Orande Smith (Estero, 36-4) def. Michael Gonzalez (Golden Gate, 53-7) via decision, 11-4

126: Chris Rivera (Fort Myers, 36-3) def. Hugh Herring (Dixie Hollins, 35-1) via majority decision 12-0

132: Justin Rivera (Fort Myers, 35-4) def. Gerald Roger (Golden Gate, 46-2) via decision 3-1 (OT)

138: Cody Rice (Charlotte, 36-4) def. David Ortiz (Golden Gate, 45-3) via decision, 5-3

145: Jalen Soto (Cypress Lake, 37-4) def. Andy Martinez (Golden Gate, 52-11) via decision, 9-3

152: Nelson Ortiz (Riverdale, 26-0) def. Juan Cruz (Naples, 38-8) via decision, 9-8

160: Christian Minto (Mariner, 42-0) def. Jesse Martinez (Riverdale, 35-3) via pin, 3:50

170: Phillip Sapp (Sebring, 38-0) def. Dorogan Benbow-Boyd (Island Coast, 25-4) via pin, 4:19

182: Jose Valdez (Charlotte, 44-1) def. Jermaine Teague (Cypress Lake, 37-6) via decision, 11-10

195: Darius Parker (Riverdale, 41-5) def. Brian Gimenez (Cypress Lake, 33-13) via pin, 4:57

220: Jacob Stanbro (Riverdale, 44-2) def. Jack Marble (Venice, 25-6) via decision, 7-0

285: Adolphus Taylor (North Fort Myers, 20-2) def. Brendan Bengsston (Braden River, 44-4) via decision, 1-0

Consolation finals (School, individual record)

106: Caleb Massari (North Fort Myers, 32-7) def. Lauren Stone (Venice, 42-10) via decision 4-2

113: Lleyton Taylor (Riverdale, 30-6) def. Ben McAllister (Palmetto Ridge, 52-11) via decision 2-0

120: Vincent Grimaldi (Charlotte, 36-10) def. Jason Leggett (East Lake, 30-7) via fall, 2:43

126: Francisco St. Surin (Palmetto Ridge, 48-11) def. Ted Gjerde (Charlotte, 32-7) via decision, 4-1

132: Lucas Willis (Charlotte, 40-3) def. Pablo Lopez (Dunedin, 38-12) via fall, 1:59

138: Jared Dinh (Riverdale, 39-7) def. Dan Stone (Venice, 46-8) via decision, 21-14

145: Terrance Clayton (Riverdale, 38-9) def. Riley Hackworth (Fort Myers, 27-15) via decision, 12-3

152: Brian Opalensky (Estero, 37-5) def. Mitch Hamilton (Palmetto Ridge, 46-12) via decision 5-1

160: Coleman Bryant (Dixie Hollins, 48-1) def. Mike Eduoard (Fort Myers, 27-6) via decision 1-0

170: Caleb Van Helden (Riverdale, 41-11) def. Lance Lecuyer (Palmetto Ridge, 36-10) via decision 3-1

182: Colby Singletary (Palmetto Ridge, 44-7) def. Devin Price (Golden Gate, 36-4) via decision 6-0   

195: Anthony Andou (Charlotte, 39-8) def. Greg Dennard (Fort Myers, 28-12) via fall, 3:46

220: Justyn Cordones (Mariner, 28-5) def. Takhari Bowens (Northeast, 39-6) via majority decision 13-3

285: Cole Lewis (Cypress Lake, 38-8) def. Madison Davila (East Lake, 30-9) via fall, 0:50