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EspañolLake Highland Prep’s academy wrestling team is the most successful high school sports program in Orlando area history and is once again celebrating national No. 1 status.
The Highlanders repeated as champions of last weekend’s 88th Annual National Prep Wrestling Tournament at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania and did so in domination fashion.
LHP had the individual winner in six of the 14 weight classes and piled up 345.5 points to run away from Malvern Prep (285 points) of Pennsylvania and the co-favorite, perennial power Blair Academy (271) of New Jersey.
“When we started this thing 19 years ago, the ultimate goal was to be the best team in the country,” Highlanders coach Mike Palazzo said Tuesday. “We have the culture built. The kids do the work. And our school has been super-supportive.”
The LHP roster is stacked with wrestlers bound for top college programs. That includes National Prep champ seniors Tyler DeKraker (Minnesota), Charlie DeSena (Penn), Zeno Moore (Stanford), Naclav Nafshi (North Carolina), and junior champs Shamus Regan (Iowa) and Liam McGettigan (undecided).
Lake Highland built a state dynasty by winning 11 of 12 available FHSAA titles through the 2019-20 season before bowing out of the state series to boldly travel the country to grapple with other powerhouses. Since then, the program has attracted elite out-of-state wrestlers and climbed from the Top 10 to the top of the mountain.
“People from all over this nation want to come to wrestle at Lake Highland Prep. I’m proud of that,” Palazzo said.
Baseball
The First Academy (3-1), last season’s Class 2A state champion, saw a two-year, 19-game win streak end with a 4-2 loss at Spruce Creek on Monday. The Royals continue a loaded schedule as one of 41 teams in this weekend’s Perfect Game High School Showdown in Hoover, Alabama. TFA is scheduled to play Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Former TFA coach Scott Grove, now coaching Coffee High of Georgia, created a Georgia vs. Florida Invitational and made last weekend’s inaugural edition a family affair. Coffee scored a 12-4 Thursday win against Foundation Academy of Winter Garden, which is coached by Grove’s son, Dakoda. Timber Creek also made the trip and lost to Coffee 3-2.
Foundation (5-3) dealt Lake Highland Prep (6-1) its first loss, 9-0, on Tuesday, with senior Ethan Pate and senior Thomas Kaniamos combining for a no-hitter. Pate pitched the first five innings.
Bishop Moore (5-0) is averaging 11.6 runs per game with seniors Nate Davis and Tyler Lomas hammering the ball. Davis is hitting .467 (7-for-15) with 9 runs scored, 8 RBI and 5 extra-base hits. Lomas is batting .533 (8-for-15) with 7 runs, 7 RBI and 4 extra-base knocks.
William Thigpen went 2 for 3 with a triple and 3 RBI for Geneva (7-0) in a 9-1 win against Circle Christian. He also notched the pitching win with 9 strikeouts in 5 innings.
Santiago Montero went 4-for-4 with 2 doubles, 3 runs and 3 RBI for Tohopekaliga (3-2) in a 13-2 win against Boone (5-2).
Sophomore Jayden Luciano was 3-for-3 with 2 doubles, 2 runs and 2 RBI for St. Cloud (6-0) in an 11-1 win vs. Lake Nona (1-5).
Orangewood Christian (7-0) blanked Deltona Christian on Tuesday with Max Sakala and James Grimm striking out 12 and limiting the Eagles to 2 hits.
TFA Royals beat state No. 1 Trinity for 2A baseball state title
Girls basketball
If FHSAA power rankings are correct, five top-seeded Orlando area teams will prevail in region finals Friday to punch tickets to the state tournament in Jacksonville.
Here are those matchups.
Games are set for 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted:
7A Region 1
No. 2 Colonial (22-5) at No. 1 Ocoee (23-5)
5A Region 2
No. 2 New Smyrna Beach (19-8) at No. 1 Gateway (25-3)
4A Region 2
No. 2 Eustis (21-5) at No. 1 Bishop Moore (23-4)
3A Region 2
No. 2 Tampa Catholic (16-10) at No. 1 Lake Highland Prep (23-6)
1A Region 2
No. 2 North Tampa Christian (20-8) at No. 1 Orlando Christian Prep (19-7), 4:30 p.m.
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Boys basketball
Montverde Academy (20-5) has won 11 in a row and stands No. 4 in the Fab 50 national rankings. The Eagles close their regular season with a 5:30 p.m. home game Friday against Tennessee Collegiate Academy (11-10).
Southeastern Prep Academy (SEPA) of Orlando won two games in the weekend Grind Session event it hosted and is 38-8 and ranked No. 38.
FHSAA region finals are Saturday, with Lake Highland Prep, Oak Ridge, Evans, Lake Howell, Winter Park and Central Florida Christian Academy hosting games.
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Wrestling
Winter Springs outscored host New Smyrna Beach to win the 2A District 4 tournament title. That marked the Bears’ 16th individual bracket (IBT) district title since 2000. They also won their sixth straight dual meet district title in January.
Freedom outscored host Harmony 300.5 to 246 in 3A-9 to celebrate its first boys district title since 2020.
Ocoee won 3A District 4 at home.
Kissimmee Gateway was the 2A-8 champ.
Two-day region meets are Friday and Saturday. DeLand hosts 3A Region 1 and Kissimmee Osceola is the host for 3A-3.
In girls wrestling, Freedom, the state’s No. 1 team, cruised to the Region 2 tournament title. The Patriots’ individual champions were Hananeel Gregoire, Gabriela Kerber, Paola Ramirez and Mekialla Mauvais. Aniyah Whayne of Osceola and Sariah Forgione Franco of Cypress Creek also won their weight classes.
Softball
Abi Fitch ripped three home runs, and Mattingly Klein went 4 for 4 with two more HRs for Hagerty (2-0) in a 10-0 win vs. Deltona.
Kendall Kemp hit for the cycle (singles, double, triple and home run) with 4 RBI for Eustis (2-1) in a 16-2 rout of Lake Mary.
Oviedo ninth grader Emma Vruels pitched a no-hitter with 9 strikeouts in a 4-3 season-opening win for the Lions (3-1) against Winter Park.
Eighth-grade pitcher Izzy Choquette has struck out 33 in 17 innings for Cornerstone Charter (4-0).
Alaina Surber pitched complete-game shutouts for TFA (4-0) vs. Ocala Trinity Catholic 6-0 and Windermere 10-0, striking out 14 in both outings. Her teammate, Luna Tobias, had a home run, triple and 2 RBI, vs. Windermere.
Bishop Moore (4-0) is averaging 10 runs per game.
Ocoee is 4-0 going into a Friday home game vs. Apopka (4-1).
Boys lacrosse
Bishop Moore, ranked No. 2 in Florida by LaxNumbers.com, improved to 5-0 with a 15-6 Tuesday win against IMG Academy.
Lake Highland (2-0) hosts Georgia No. 4 Lovett (4-0) in a Thursday game.
Timber Creek started 5-0, including a 13-8 win against Lake Nona (4-1).
Boone (5-0) has scored 57 goals.
Girls lacrosse
Lake Highland Prep (3-1) pulled out a 10-9 win against Lake Mary (5-2) in a clash of highly-ranked teams. Kathy D’Avanzo had 5 goals and forced 3 turnovers for the Highlanders, who were the 1A state champs last year. Lake Mary was the 2A runner-up.
Winter Springs and Horizon both improved to 7-0 with Tuesday wins.
Julianna Campos had 5 goals and Olivia Austin added 4 as Timber Creek outscored Lake Nona 15-13.
St. Cloud’s girls lost two weekend games in South Florida but got to go all the way down to Key West.
Track & field
Lake Mary’s girls and Seminole’s boys were the Hagerty Invitational team champs. Seminole senior Imani Reid won the girls 100 hurdles (14.89 seconds), 200 dash(25.91) and ran on a winning 4×100 relay (48.96).
Lake Minneola swept the girls and boys titles in the Windermere Wolverines Relays.
East Ridge sophomore Helen Robertson and Lake Minneola junior Betsy Terrio have both cleared 5-feet, 3¾ inches in the high jump.
Lake Highland wrestlers roll through duals with Pennsylvania’s touted Malvern Prep
Varsity content editor Buddy Collings can be contacted by email at [email protected].