Miami High’s wrestling team kicked off their season in the first week of December with their first ever tournament in 4 years at Hialeah Gardens High called H-Town Throwdown. 33 Schools attended and Miami High placed top 20. Karen Snider, Miami High’s first ever female wrestler, placed 2nd in the whole tournament.
Miami High’s wrestlers also attended multiple other tournaments. 3 Duals one at Coral Reef, another at Palmetto, and the most recent at Miami Southridge. They also attended 2 individual tournaments: JV GMAC and GMAC.
Freshman first year wrestler Leonardo Mendoza placed 3rd at JV GMAC with a 3-1 record in the tournament. He won his semi-finals match by pin over Olympia Heights.
Some individual records for Miami High wrestlers are Leonardo Mendoza 9-7, Christian Silva 8-8, Dalziel Lanzo 7-8, Miguel Arredondo 5-9, Maikel Gonzalez 2-7, Maynor Nunez 2-7, Adriahn Garcia 1-10, Nelson Perdomo 1-5, and Eduardo Benedict 1-4.
Captain Christian Silva said, “I don’t really think there’s a bad part about being in wrestling. For some, it’s the workouts because their body isn’t prepared for that kind of training. But if I had to say losing a match is the worst part, it’s because you put your all into every match you compete in and losing can be discouraging but also motivating.”
Dalziel Lanzo, the 120, brings high energy to every practice and every match and is always wanting to wrestle people way heavier than him. Nelson Perdomo, the heavyweight, is always pushing the wrestlers every practice and making sure no one is slacking.
Algebra 2 teacher Mr. Brborich, aka Coach B, is the main coach of the team. At one point he was ranked #1 in the country for his weight bracket in judo. Assistant Coach Aguado is an ex-kickboxing world champion, who teaches at Jose De Diego middle school. Coach Johnny is an ex-Miami High wrestler, who also competes in jiu-jitsu and judo. He is a 3x Regional Qualifier, 1x District Champ in 2008, and 3x District Placer with 87 career wins.
Cristian Silva, the 165 pounder, is team captain, vocal leader, and now assistant coach. When asked the best parts about wrestling, Cristian said, “The dedication you develop, the love you gain for the people surrounding you, the strength you build and not just the outer strength the inner strength in your mind and your heart.”
Ivan Ruano, an ex-Miami High wrestler, said, “Wrestling is like family. It keeps you motivated and dedicated, opens your eyes to the real world which can be used later on in life.”
Now when they were asked the worst part about being a wrestler, Ivan Ruano said, “Injuries, and when you’re so into the wrestling family, like me for example, leaving it.”
