Monroe County sends six wrestlers to FHSAA 1A State Championships in Kissimmee
Six Florida Keys wrestlers, led by Key West High’s sophomore Maria Holushko, are slated to compete at the FHSAA 1A State Championships March 5–7; local reports disagree on the arena city.
Six wrestlers from Monroe County — Key West High’s sophomore Maria Holushko, junior Allens Alexandre and senior Mike Guzman, plus Coral Shores High’s Sebastian McCoy, Gavin Matheis and Sterling Keefe — are set to compete at the FHSAA 1A State Championships March 5–7, local coverage reports. Keys Weekly calls the contingent “the final winter sport athletes from Monroe County in contention for state glory,” and Joey Cooke of Podium Chase wrote that the six “will step onto the mat Thursday with little state-tournament experience but plenty of belief.”
Regional results sent the Key West trio to state. Keys Weekly reported that Alexandre “finished second in the 285‑pound class with a 3‑1 record at regionals,” and that Guzman “was 4-2, losing both matches to the same wrestler, but improving the score in the second go‑round. Guzman placed fourth in the 165‑pound competition.” Keys Weekly said the boys’ regional competition was held Feb. 27 and 28 at Cardinal Gibbons High School.
Maria Holushko secured her state berth with a regional runner-up finish, Keys Weekly reported: “Lady Conch Maria Holushko’s regional runner-up finish guaranteed her a place in the brackets.” Podium Chase noted Holushko faces a difficult draw because the girls’ division uses a single statewide classification and wrote she “opens with a tough first-round matchup and could see returning state runner-up Juliana Case of St. John Neumann in the quarterfinals.” Conchs coach Chaz Jimenez told Podium Chase, “I saw something change at districts and regionals,” and added, “The confidence is coming. If she gets her feet moving and stays aggressive, she’s tough to beat.”
Up the Overseas Highway, Podium Chase listed Coral Shores High’s Sebastian McCoy, Gavin Matheis and Sterling Keefe and paraphrased coach Dante Jiovanetta as saying the trio “give the Hurricanes a legitimate chance to put multiple wrestlers on the podium.” Podium Chase framed Coral Shores’ entries as among the school’s strongest trios in recent memory.
Podium Chase also included broader comments from Key West coach Chaz Jimenez about tournament mentality and experience, writing, “None of the three boys has previously wrestled at the state tournament, adding another layer to the challenge, but Conchs coach Chaz Jimenez expressed that inexperience can cut both ways.” Jimenez added, “The best wrestler doesn’t always win the state tournament — the wrestler who has the best tournament wins it,” and said, “If they wrestle to their ability and focus on their performance, all three can be state placers.”
A Flowrestling excerpt in the material shows an additional Key West result not named among the six: “Alfredo Corrales (Key West) 46-5 won by fall over Tommy Rollins (Baker County) 42-9 (Fall 5:42).” The supplied local reports do not make clear whether Corrales is one of the six Monroe County qualifiers, so his status relative to the Keys’ half-dozen requires confirmation.
Local outlets differ on the tournament venue. Keys Weekly states, “They will compete at Silver Spurs Arena in a three-day tournament beginning Thursday, March 5 at 12:20 p.m., with final matches taking place late in the afternoon of Saturday, March 7,” while Podium Chase locates the FHSAA 1A State Championships in Lakeland. The supplied reporting preserves both venue claims; official confirmation from FHSAA or tournament organizers is needed to reconcile the discrepancy and to confirm brackets and first-round pairings for Holushko, Alexandre, Guzman, McCoy, Matheis and Keefe. Results from the three-day tournament will determine whether Monroe County adds state placers to close out the winter sports season.
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