High School Roundup: Barron Collier soccer teams sweep Naples for CCAC titles
A roundup of basketball, soccer, and wrestling matches for the week of Jan. 1-6.
SATURDAY
Class 2A-District 12 Dual Wrestling
The Naples High School wrestling team made history on Saturday, becoming the school's first team to earn the dual team title at Barron Collier High School.
In defeating Bonita Springs in the final, the Golden Eagles won the school's first district wresting title in more than 20 years. The dual tournaments were introduced in 2018.
"It shows that the program’s moving in the right place," head coach Jeff Wesson said.
Junior Hamlet Perez and senior Trey Hill played pivotal roles in the team's success, according to Wesson.
"(Hill)'s pretty much been cleaning house on everybody this year," he said.
Freshman Cooper Garcia is also showing promise.
"Every time he goes out there, he shows poise and it’s good to see, especially for such a young guy," Wesson said.
Naples will advance to the Class 2A regional dual meet, which will be held on Jan. 11. The Golden Eagles will face Port Charlotte at Charlotte High School, while South Fort Myers, the runners up, will go up against Charlotte.
"They came a long since last year and still a young team and we still got quite a ways to go, so proud of them," Wesson said.
FRIDAY
Boys Soccer
Barron Collier 5, Naples 2
Entering their date with Naples on Friday, the Cougars were looking to remain unbeaten against the same team it beat 3-1 last month.
Barron Collier did that once again. This time though, it was far more resounding than the first meeting, when the two sides were tied 1-all at halftime.
The Cougars (9-0-2) scored four goals in the first half, leading to a 5-2 win over the Golden Eagles in a chippy matchup between the two sides.
“We’re one behind them,” Barron Collier coach John Damasco said. “They beat us three times last year. It feels really good to turn it around. It’s good to see the rivalry back… To do it for the conference, it feels great. We weathered a storm. They’re a good, aggressive team. They had us on our heels for a bit. We took the first 15 minutes hard. Talking to the guys, our thing is to outlast (the other side). When we get in those situations, we try to stay calm and find our way out, find our legs.“
It didn’t take long for Barron to find the back of the net, as Emerson LaOrden opened the scoring with a shot that curved inside the left post in the 16th minute.
That was just the start of the offensive barrage in the first half by the home side, as Diego Mora doubled the lead in the 22nd minute, followed by Javier Gomez tripling it in the 25th. Mark Schmidt got another goal for Barron right before half, denying Naples any momentum at the break.
“Emerson hitting that first shot was huge,” Damasco said. “It was huge because it brought what we know we are back to us. A team like that can take the wind out of you very quickly.”
Naples wouldn’t go away, playing a strong second half while outscoring the Cougars 2-1 over the final 40 minutes. The Golden Eagles saw Aldayr Benitez and Cason Shepard score in the 49th and 51st minutes, respectively, but were unable to get any closer despite having a handful of chances down the stretch.
Damasco was worried the winter break might have prevented his team from doing what it did on Friday, but three training sessions earlier in the week to prepare were critical in Barron’s success against Naples.
“One thing that can haunt us is winter break, Damasco said. “It can kill a season. We hadn’t played in 20 something days. We had no games over winter break. We trained the best we could, about six times with a mixed squad. Coming back on something like that, and having your first game being this, it was special. I’ve been doing this 12 years. Our training this week was the best three training sessions after winter break. The work ethic was intense. They came out and worked their tails off. I’m very proud about that.”
The Cougars and Golden Eagles are all but surely to meet again, making the rivalry all the more exciting a few weeks from now when districts and regionals commence.
Naples ended Barron’s season in the regional semifinals last season, while the Cougars are looking to take it multiple steps further this season with a strong roster.
— Alex Martin
Girls Soccer
Barron Collier 2, Naples 0
Over much of the last five seasons, the Barron Collier girls soccer team was one of the hunters in the Collier County Athletic Conference.
After Friday night, it’s safe to say the Cougars are officially the hunted in Collier County.
Barron (9-4-1) captured the CCAC Championship with a 2-0 decision, dethroning Naples for the conference title. The Cougars have now extended its winning streak to three games over their crosstown rival, with the two sides likely to face once again in district play less than a month from now.
“I was extremely proud of our ladies,” Barron Collier coach Aaron Thayer said. “First off, congratulations to the Naples ladies. Those girls are good; they fought hard, and gave us everything we could handle. Adam (Weikel) always has them well prepared. We told our ladies that it was going to be a fight. I was extremely happy with the way they passed, the way they never gave up, and them believing in each other. We found a way to win. It wasn’t easy, but we pulled it off.”
After multiple failed clearances by the Naples back line, Edin Abougzir took matters into her own hands, burying a shot past Micayla Mansberger to give Barron a 1-0 lead in the ninth minute.
That goal put pressure on Barron to add an insurance goal and play defense for the final 62 minutes, as the Cougars weathered a Naples attack that had turned the tide of the game on the possession front, stringing together more passes along with generating more offensive chances. That primarily came through midfielder Ava Majury (6 goals, 15 assists), who is also the points leader for the Golden Eagles.
“It was really exciting,” Abougzir said of the early goal. “I feel like after that, we had a lot of momentum. It gave us the energy we needed.”
A big sequence in the 66th minute kept the game within one goal, as the Cougars were unable to get two quick shots past Mansberger in a scrum just feet away from the net.
Needing a goal, Naples nearly capitalized on a corner in the 73rd minute, as Majury put a pass in the box that was almost capitalized on by the Golden Eagles.
Just moments later though, Ava Babcock-Watford put the game on ice in the 76th minute, beating a Naples back line that had sent numbers forward to try and level the game at 1-all in the closing stages.
“Hats off to them, they played well,” Weikel said. “They’ve had our number the last three times. It’s tough to come here. I thought we controlled certain parts of the game. When they get an early goal like that, you start chasing in the game, and in the end, we pushed people forward to chase the game again, and they got a goal. We were really chasing. It felt like the state championship (against Mariner in 2022). I thought we played good in all aspects, but we couldn’t capitalize on any opportunities.”
The Cougars will look to sustain the momentum down the stretch, facing Bishop Verot and Mariner to close out the season, along with Estero.
“I think this is huge for us,” Thayer said. “We kind of had a little bit of a mental breakdown at the end of 2023. At the end of the day, it’s stuff we can learn from. We watched some film, and then learned what we needed to do, what we needed to fix. They went out, worked really hard on it in practice, and came out on the other side as champions. They’re playing great soccer now. I can’t wait for what’s in store.”
— Alex Martin
Aubrey Rogers 0, Canterbury 0
Class 1A-District 12 Dual Wrestling
A couple of young teams wrestled like seasoned veterans Friday afternoon in the District 1A-12 Dual Tournament at First Baptist Academy of Naples.
Aubrey Rogers, a school that opened four months ago, and Bishop Verot, a program in its third year were two of the top three teams in the meet, as Aubrey Rogers took home the title with a last-minute win on the mats over the Vikings.
After the 2nd place wrestleback, First Baptist snuck into second place ahead of Verot.
Aubrey Rogers coach Cory Kness, the former coach at Naples High, started laying the foundation for a winning team with the Patriots, and did it with only six wrestlers out of 14 with any palpable wrestling experience when the season began.
“We have trained the players very hard,” Kness said. “And we have a great system for the training. And the kids believe in it. But we have plenty of room for improvement in our technique. But if we have a lot of matches that go into double overtime, we can win them. These guys can wrestle that hard.”
Kness was most pleased with Aldo Agollari at heavyweight (285), who actually only weighs 275.
“When you’re wrestling guys 10-15 pounds heavier than you, it’s all about position,” Kness said. “You’ve got to stay in position and look for that open door.
Aubrey Rogers also boasted Damien Zherka, who was 3-0 at 126.
The Vikings are also a fairly-new program and showed some depth while excelling in the meet.
“We relied on a lot of young kids to step up here.” Said Bishop Verot coach Gerry Braun. “A lot of backups filled in today, so I couldn’t be more proud right now.”
Some of the lighter weight classes set the tone for Bishop Verot.
“We had a great performance from Lorenzo Vasquez at 132 and Dashiell Fu at 138,” Braun said. “After that, we fell off a little bit. But then Sean Cameron at 165 and at Peter Ciano and Bennett Sweitzer at 175 picked us up. They put us on track again.”
There were six undefeated wrestlers on the day that were 5-0, including Everett Stephens of First Baptist at 106, Timmy Boda of First Baptist at 113, Jonathan Moder of First Baptist (Naples) at 132, Asher Bacon of First Baptist and Jonathan Moder of First Baptist (Naples) at 138, Michael Kersey of First Baptist at 150 and Andres DiGrigoli of First Baptist at 157.
Four other were 4-0 on the day individually: Kendall Mann of La Belle at 126, Lorenzo Vasquez of Bishop Verot at 126, Bennett Sweitzer of Bishop Verot at 190, Clinton Williams of LaBelle at 175 and Aaron Zapata of Estero at 215.
Round 1
Estero defeated SFCA 48-30
Canterbury defeated Gateway Charter 40-36
Round 2
First Baptist defeated Estero, 53-30
Aubrey Rogers defeated LaBelle 45-33
Bishop Verot defeated ECS 60-18
Oasis defeated Canterbury 72-8
Round 3
Canterbury defeated ECS 42-36
Estero beat Gateway Charter 42-42 (Estero won tiebreaker)
Bishop Verot defeated Oasis 42-40
Round 4
Aubrey Rogers defeated First Baptist 39-37
Bishop Verot defeated Oasis 42-40
Canterbury defeated ECS 30-30 (Canterbury won tiebreaker)
LaBelle defeated Estero 57-24
Round 5
First Baptist defeated Canterbury 60-12
Aubrey Rogers defeated Bishop Verot 43-35
First Baptist defeated LaBelle 44-35
Round 5 Winners
106 - Everett Stephens (FBA) and Gabriella Vasquez (BV)
113 - Lukah Zherka (AR) and Timmy Boda (FB)
120 - Anthony Kats (LB) and Bekim Zherka (AR)
126 - Damien Zherka (AR) and Kendall Mann (LB)
132 - Lorenzo Vasquez (BV) and GabrieleeArevalo (LB)
138 - Jonathan Moder (FB) and Bryan Osorio-Jimenez (AR)
144 - Devon Jackson (LB) and Dashiell Fu (BV)
150 - Alvaro Echevarria (LB) and Nicholas Jensen (AR)
157 - Evin Kendrick (LB) and Alejandro Maqueda-Gomez (AR)
165 - Sean Cameron (BV) and Corbin Henthorne (FBA)
175 - Clinton Williams (LB) and Peter Ciano (BV)
190 - Bennett Sweitzer (BV) and Antonio Amato (FBA)
215 - Darian Alvarez-Garcia (AR) and Brian Ordonez (La Belle)
285 - Aldo Agollari (AR) and Josenrique Lorences (LB)
- Tom Corwin
Boys Basketball
Community School 88, Aubrey Rogers 71: Brendan Ringhofer led the Seahawks with 28 points and five assists. George Childs finished with 23 points, including seven triples. Jack London added 12 points and 12 rebounds in the win, while Emrhe Pray also had a double-double (10 points, 10 rebounds).
THURSDAY
Class 3A-District 8 Wrestling Dual Tournament
The Palmetto Ridge wrestling team ushered in the new year with a new championship trophy on Thursday night.
The Bears went undefeated as a team at 5-0, and won the 3A-District 8 Dual title at Palmetto Ridge. Riverdale finished second at 4-1.
The Bears thrived in every round. They beat Sarasota Riverview 69-12 in round 1, Sarasota High 51-27 in round 2 and Riverdale 45-19 in round 3.
In the semifinal round, Palmetto Ridge downed North Port 60-18. The Bears capped it off with a 50-24 toasting of Venice High.
The Bears and Riverdale, the top two finishers on the mats, will compete in the regional meet next Thursday.
The Bears came into the season with plenty of youth and those youngsters matured somewhat in Thursday’s meet.
“Overall, I am happy with how we did today,” said Palmetto Ridge coach Blaine Ison. “Coming in, we had a lot of question marks with so many new faces on the team this season. The young guys have really stepped up. We went against some quality competition here with a lot of first-year players. And we battled and did a great job.”
There were five rounds, and naturally the Bears had several individuals that went undefeated through the afternoon.
Julius Avila (106), Erik Perez (113), Mark Whalen (144), Xavier Barnhart (150), Demetri Zertopoulis (157), Jordan Peralez (215) and Kaden Darwin (285) all went unbeated individually (5-0) for Palmetto Ridge.
Riverdale finished second in the meet as a team, and although coach Keith Evans was pleased with some aspects of the meet, the Raiders can do more through the postseason in the next month or so.
“We are young, and we have a lot of room for improvement,” Evans said. “We did a good job in a lot of the weight classes, but we had some things that didn’t go our way. We had some late pins that hurt us. We’ve got to do the simple things if we want to improve.”
Evans was most pleased with several Raiders. Two wrestlers went 5-0 individually: Cole Hayes at 175 and Ayden Balma at 126.
Five Riverdale wrestlers were 4-1 - C.J. McCutcheon at 285, Houston Brand at 215, Samuel Hall at 150, Preston Thompkins 132 and Saad Uddin at 113
Round 1
Palmetto Ridge H.S. defeated Riverview (Sarasota) 69-12.
North Port H.S. defeated Venice 40-34.
Riverdale defeated Sarasota 42-31.
Round 2
Palmetto Ridge defeated Sarasota 51-27.
Riverdale defeated Venice 40-28.
North Port H.S. defeated Riverview (Sarasota) 42-37.
Round 3
Palmetto Ridge defeated Riverdale 45-19
Sarasota defeated North Port 42-36
Round 4
Palmetto Ridge defeated North Port 60-18
Venice defeated Sarasota 38-36
Riverdale defeated Sarasota Riverview 54-25
Round 5
Palmetto Ridge H.S. defeated Venice 50-24.
Riverdale defeated North Port H.S. 49-24.
Riverview (Sarasota) defeated Sarasota 43-36.
Round 5 winners
106: Julius Avila (PR), Kai Bartholomew (Sarasota); 113: Erik Perez (PR) Saad Uddin (Riverdale) , Luca Heidemann (Riverview (Sarasota); 120: Nash Holdridge (PR), Jakobi Medeiros (Riverdale), Christopher Lara (Riverview (Sarasota); 126: Kase Hopper (V), Ayden Balma (Riverdale), Rodolfo Murillo (Riverview (Sarasota);132: Massimiliano Pellicano (V), Preston Thompkins (Riverdale), Wyatt Loynd (Sarasota); 138: Aiden Debrun (V), Javier Puchi (Riverview (Sarasota),Austin Nappi (North Port H.S.); 144: Mark Whalen (PR), Landon Murphy (Riv.), Jaymin Saunoris (Riverview (Sarasota); 150: Xavier Barnhart (PR), Samuel Hall (Riverdale) , Dasiel Rodriguez (Riverview (Sarasota); 157: Demetri Zertopoulis (PR), Owen Nappi (North Port H.S.), Brandon King (Riverview (Sarasota);165: Owen Pratt (PR), Vincent Donatelle (North Port H.S.), Samuel Goodrick (Sarasota);175: Brady Williams (V), Cole Hayes (Riverdale),Nick Torres (Sarasota); 190: Matthew Kniola (PR), Markell Porter (North Port H.S.), Michael Jakub (Sarasota); 215: Jordan Peralez (PR), Houston Brand (Riverdale), Lauden Simon (Sarasota) ; 285: Kaden Darwin (PR), Kristopher Ralston (Riverdale), CJ McCutcheon (Riverview (Sarasota)
-Tom Corwin
Girls Basketball
Lehigh 51, St. Brendan 43: Saint Brendan navigated through Lehigh’s diamond press to score easy buckets early in the game. But Lehigh's pressure in the second half of play proved to be too much for the visiting Sabres, as the Lightning won 51-43 and improved to 9-4 on the season.
The Lightning seniors Rianne Smith and Faith Plummer were the dynamic duo in the backcourt as usual, as the pair combined for 38 of Lehigh’s 51 points. After trailing 12-23 at the end of the first half, the Lightning used a 39-point second half, spurred by a swarming defense, to secure the win against a talented Sabres squad.
Smith led all scorers with 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting. Of her 21 points, Smith scored 17 points in the second half largely by converting forced Sabre turnovers into easy transition buckets. Plummer finished with 17 points and finished 7-of-9 from the free throw line.
The Sabres fall to .500, and were led by Jaden Castro's 19 points.
Naples 56, Gateway Charter 43: Both Gateway Charter and Naples were determined to establish themselves as zone-oriented, full-court pressure teams.
The result: an intense back and forth game that saw the Golden Eagles pull out a tough 56-43 victory over the Griffins.
Early in the contest, the Griffins used a combination of a 1-2-2 full court press with great bench energy to jump out to a 17-9 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Addison Jones hit two big triples that cut into the Griffins lead late into the second quarter, and helped get Naples back to within striking distance. At the half, Gateway Charter held a 26-21 lead.
Naples started the third quarter on a 15-2 run, spurred by a timely defensive adjustment to a half-court trap that caused six straight Griffin turnovers. The strong effort saw the Golden Eagles run to a 44-35 lead at the end of the frame.
Jones led all scorers with 18 points, including 4-of-6 shooting from behind the arc. Naples improved to 7-9 with the win, while Gateway Charter slipped to 8-3.
-Melvin Whitlock
St. John Neumann 58, Countryside 30: Sophia McCartney tallied 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Celtics, while Sydney Martin added 13 points. Mylee Van de Wouw had 12 points in the win.
Bishop Verot 52, Golden Gate 36: Cameron O'Halloran had 19 points in the Vikings' win. Brynn Stambaugh added nine points.
Girls Soccer
Aubrey Rogers 2, Gulf Coast 0: Aubrey Rogers shut out the Gulf Coast 2-0 in the Collier County Athletic Conference tournament at Gulf Coast.
The Patriots struck first in the 26th minute when Paisley Hicks put away a through ball. Leya Burberry made it 2-0 in the 59th minute from 30 yards out on a free kick won by Grace Koch.
The Sharks forced Aubrey Rogers goalkeeper Riley Mikes to make seven of her eight saves in the second half. The clean sheet was her ninth in 11 matches.
Boys Basketball
Evangelical Christian 90, Classical Christian 45: A balanced effort from the Sentinels spurred an efficient win for ECS, who shot 60 percent from the floor as a teeam. Owen Skistad led with 17 points, while Logan McClaran added 15 points with three triples. TJ Ehindero finished with 16 points, seven rebounds, two assists, and four steals.
WEDNESDAY
Girls Basketball
Gulf Coast 26, Aubrey Rogers 24: Sophia Pasquarello went 4-for-4 from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter, while Alex McDonogh added a clutch layup to lift the Sharks past the Patriots.
Seacrest 44, Lehigh 42: Rianne Smith had 16 points for the Lightning, and Deya Taylor added 10 points in the loss.
Barron Collier 65, Palmetto Ridge 33: Rebecca Vant Hoff led the Cougars with 14 points, and Lena Forbes finished with 13 points.
TUESDAY
Boys Basketball
Lely 41, Evangelical Christian 39: Logan McClaran led the Sentinels with 15 points.
SFCA 70, Marco Island 39: Jake Trottier dropped 22 points in SFCA's win. Asa Rogosich added 21 points, and Brady Moore finished with 11 points. Greyson Jones had 15 points for the Manta Rays, and Veleon Nazzaro had 12 points.
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: SWFL High School Roundup: Barron Collier soccer teams sweep Naples
