A roundup of Southwest Florida high school events from Monday, Feb. 23 through Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026.
SATURDAY
Region 2A-3 Wrestling
North Fort Myers High School wrestling has been slowly moving up the area food chain over the past few years.
This weekend at the Region 2A-3 wrestling championships at Charlotte High School, the Red Knights proved to be the kings of the hill among other competing schools.
Despite North’s tremendous performance, there were still some highlights from other area schools, including a couple regional championships.
North brought seven wrestlers to regionals, and had all of them qualify for states, including three regional champions and a runner-up finish in the team race, behind only Charlotte.
The team went 14-0 on Friday to send everyone to the semis, only two faltered on Saturday morning. They will all go to states along with the five girls who qualified last week.
Clinton Thompson won the 138-pound weight class with a pin over Riverdale’s Logan Miller, whose Raiders fought tooth-and-nail with the Red Knights for the runner-up trophy.
Kalel Hernandez overcame lots of adversity to win at 175 with an 11-0 major decision over Nikolai Krywko of Parrish, while West Lucas also pitched a shutout, a 6-0 victory over Cape Coral’s Ezequiel Pedraza.
Hernandez said he had a goal to tech everybody, but coming off several concussions that laid him out most of the year, he didn’t have the endurance.
“My conditioning is really bad. Once I get into the later pounds. I get very fatigued and struggle,” Hernandez said.
Lucas said he just wanted to have fun and compete. He didn’t pin anybody, but the result was still a regional championship. He was proud of how everyone competed.
“I couldn’t get any pins this weekend, but every one of our guys who qualified for regionals qualified for states. The past few years we’ve really been good. We’ve come a long way,” Lucas said.
The Red Knights had two other finalists who had to settle for second. At 106, Andrew Bishop, who reached the finals with a last-second reversal in the semis, lost a major decision 12-1 against Charlotte’s Alexander Nassiff.
At 157 pounds, Gabriele Nudi was defeated by Brooks Cowan of Northeast Senior in a 5-1 decision.
Other schools had wrestlers who excelled this weekend. Riverdale just got beaten out for third in the team standings by Braden River (135.5 to 128), but the Raiders had a lot to be proud of, with six boys going to states.
Eric Bush was a regional champion at 120 with a technical fall over Vince Wurtsbaugh of Mariner. Bush said he was just trying to get extra time on the mat and that he’s not quite where he wants to be yet.
“I started a little slow. I have some things to work on this week. I’m excited to go to the state tournament,” Bush said.
The Raiders have only one senior this year. Coach Keith Evans said the team came in and wrestled well, doing as was expected.
“Eric is an animal and works hard and it shows on the mat. He’s not afraid to let it fly and it pays off,” Evans said. “We’re young, almost everyone comes back and we’ll have some young guys stepping up. It’ll be exciting.”
Riverdale had three to settle for second. Jaxon Perry (132), Logan Miller (138) and Daniel Iriarte (285).
Kael Seneca of Fort Myers contributed the lion’s share of the points for the Green Wave in winning at 128 over Tyler Jeskie of Barron Collier by technical fall.
“At the end of the day I know it’s just a sport, but I know I’ve worked my butt off to get in this position,” Seneca said. “I couldn’t be more grateful for my practice partners, coaches and everyone who put the time and effort into helping me in my craft.”
Other runners-up included Vince Wurtsbaugh of Mariner (120), Tyler Jeskie of Barron Collier (126), Isaac Maolobado of Immokalee (150), Ezequiel Pedraza of Cape Coral (190) and Sebastian Corporan of Bonita Springs (215).
Individual Results: 106: Alexander Nassiff (Charlotte) over Andrew Bishop (North Fort Myers) Maj. Dec. 12-1; 113: Caden More (Charlotte) over Joseph Obstaculo (Hollins), Fall 3:05; 120: Eric Bush (Riverdale) over Vince Wustsbaugh (Mariner), Tech Fall 3:18; 126: Kael Seneca (Fort Myers) over Tyler Jeskie (Barron Collier) Tech Fall 5:15; 132: Evan Cope (Charlotte) over Jaxon Perry (Riverdale), Maj Dec. 15-4; 138: Clinton Thompson (North Fort Myers) over Logan Miller (Riverdale), Fall 1:17; 144: Jake Austin (Charlotte) over Jacob Fuentes (Braden River), Tech Fall 5:40; 150: Angel Ojeda (Manatee) over Isaac Maldonado (Immokalee), Dec. 4-1; 157: Brooks Cowan (Northeast senior) over Gabriele Nudi (North Fort Myers), Dec. 5-1; 165: Evan Rowe (Braden River) over Hayden Hansford (Port Charlotte), Dec. 4-2; 175: Kalel Hernandez (North Fort Myers) over Nikolai Krywko (Parrish), Maj. Dec. 11-0; 190: West Lucas (North Fort Myers) over Ezequiel Pedraza (Cape Coral), Dec. 6-0; 215: Freedom McDaniel (Braden River) over Sebastian Corporan (Bonita Springs), Dec. 4-0; 285: Jaxon Newton (Charlotte) over Daniel Iriarte (Riverdale) Fall 1:58.
— Chuck Ballaro
Region 1A-3 Wrestling
St. John Neumann won the Region 1A-3 tournament out of 34 teams with 266 points at Bradenton Bayshore. Individually, 11 of the Celtics’ 14 wrestlers reached the top four with six finishing in first place. Lemon Bay would finish as the runner-up with 145 points.
“Although the goal for us was to leave with 14, we were able to have 11 get to the top four,” St. John Neumann head coach Blaine Ison said. “Nevertheless, I’m very happy overall with the wrestlers competing as we prepare for states.”
The Celtics’ first-place finishes were highlighted by senior Lincoln Sledzianowski, who would defeat junior Giovanni Perez (Duendin) in the 144-pound weight class 18-3 by a technical fall to keep his record at 29-0.
“This was a huge reflection on how I do every day,” said Sledzianowski. “It was a great moment for me. Now for the rest of the way, all I have to do is keep calm and score points to keep going.”
Other highlighted matches senior Erik Perez (St John Neumann) defeating junior Lukah Zherka (Aubrey Rogers) by fall in the 126 pound class, Bayshore’s junior Broc Dahlin defeating junior Damien Zherka (Aubrey Rogers) 13-5 in the 138 pound class and senior Bennett Sweitzer (Bishop Verot) defeating senior Jacob Bacon (Aubrey Rogers) 2-1 in a rematch in the 175 pound class.
“I wrestled him (Bacon) in the past and wanted to show him that I was ready for him this time,” said Sweitzer. “I’m very glad that this time I won, and it went my way.”
Teams: 1. St. John Neumann 266, 2. Lemon Bay 145, 3. Aubrey Rogers 135.5, 4. Bishop Verot 98, 5. Dunedin 86, 7. Bayshore 82, 8. Evangelical Christian 75.5, 11. Cardinal Mooney 58.5, 16. Sarasota Military 34, 17. Canterbury 30.5, 18. Island Coast 24.5, 21. Oasis 20, 27. Booker 11.5, 33. Southwest Florida Christian Academy 5
Individual: 106: Greyson McDonald (St John Neumann) 38-8, Fr tech fall Bradley French (Admiral Farragut) 16-1, 8th 15-0 (3:09); 113:James Sanders (St John Neumann) 35-7, Fr d. Logan Dean (LB) 25-15. Sr 11-1; 120: Benito Barnhart (St John Neumann) 22-1, So. d. Everett Stephens (AR) 46-5, Jr. 4-2; 126: Erik Perez (St John Neumann) 39-3, Sr. pinned Lukah Zherka (AR) 45-10, Jr. (5:54); 132: Bekim Zherka (AR) 40-3, Jr. d. Jalal Naghib (St John Neumann) 39-7, Fr. 7-2; 138: Broc Dahlin (Bayshore) 43-2, Jr. d. Damien Zherka (AR) 37-9, Jr 13-5; 144: Lincoln Sledzianowski (St John Neumann) 29-0, Sr. tech fall 18-3 Giovanni Perez (Dunedin) 46-8, Jr. (1:54); 150: William Buckley (St John Neumann) 39-6, So. d. Elliot Sear (LB) 34-8, Jr. 16-5; 157: Thiago Vianna (Admiral Farragut) 37-3, Jr. d. Jason Schiavello (Clearwater Cen Catholic) 39-7, Jr. (2:45); 165: Randy Wallace (La Belle) 22-7, So. d. Garry Woessner (Dunedin) 46-3, Sr. (SV-1 15-12); 175: Bennett Sweitzer (BV) 37-3, Sr. d. Jacob Bacon (AR) 46-5, Sr. 2-1; 190: Arron McCarty (Robinson) 54-2, Sr. d. Koletin Washington (Chamberlin) 28-4, Jr. 6-5; 215: Blake Roulund (Cardinal Mooney) 27-0, Sr. d. Elijah Willis (Anciote) 38-7, Sr. 9-4; 285: Tyce Cole (Jefferson Sr) 35-1, Jr d. Therry Saintcyr (Evangelical Christian) 33-6, Jr. 4-1
— Patrick Clines
Region 3A-2 Wretling
Gateway finished seventh overall with 83.5 points. Gateway’s Anthony Farnot beat North Port’s Owen Nappi 8-5 to win the Region 3A-2 165-pound final, and Gateway’s Rowland Rodriguez was the 215-pound runner-up, losing a 4-1 decision to North Port’s Devon Young.
Boys Basketball
Region 2A-3
Northside Christian 57, First Baptist 48: The Lions finished their season with a 24-6 record.
Region 1A-3
Victory Christian 74, Donahue 26: The Shamrocks finished their season with a 23-7 record.
WEDNESDAY
Softball
Gulf Coast 5, Aubrey Rogers 2: Emma Caetano, Melissa Hyatt and Hannah Rearden recorded two hits each for the Sharks while freshman pitcher Keyah Kamara struck out 12 batters in 7 innings.
Girls Lacrosse
Bishop Verot 18, Palmetto Ridge 0: Shea Swartz, Riley Hartley, Ghia Donley, Samantha Till, and Maddie Cronin each had 2 goals. Clare Murnane added 3 goals and 4 assists along with 2 draws controls, 2 caused turnovers and 4 ground balls. Samantha Till and Olivia Antoon each had 4 draw controls.
Flag Football
Bishop Verot 27, Gateway Charter 26: The Vikings went on the road and beat the Griffins in overtime. Lila Dinkel scored two touchdowns and came up with the game-sealing sack. Emme Lamb and Emma Mantilla also scored for Verot.
TUESDAY
Baseball
St. John Neumann 7, Canterbury 5: Cole Travers went 2-for-3 with a run scored, an RBI and a stolen base for the victorious Celtics. MJ Hough earned the victory on the mound, allowing four runs in 6 2/3 innings, striking out six.
Community School 10, Evangelical Christian 1: Ryder Lutz went 2-for-3 with two doubles and an RBI for CSN. Jackson Perkins allowed two runs on two hits in five innings, striking out eight.
South Fort Myers 11, First Baptist 9: Fernando Valenzuela drove in three runs for the Wolfpack, who held on for the win. East Hicks had three hits for FBA.
Southwest Florida Christian 5, Ida Baker 1: Brady Moore tossed a complete-game three-hitter, striking out 10. Dylan Plimpton had two hits, one run scored and an RBI, while Wilse Guerrero added two hits, including a triple, and one RBI.
Softball
Fort Myers 12, St. John Neumann 5: Gianni Torres went 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBI to help power the Green Wave past the Celtics. Mikayla Magas added three RBI and Tori Fulcher drove in two runs for Fort Myers. Lilly Lane allowed two runs on four hits while striking out 12 batters in seven innings. Cece Spencer went 2-for-4 with a solo home run for Neumann.
Charlotte 6, Bishop Verot 5: Ashley Blexrud went 1-for-3 with two RBI and Paige Bettermen went 3-for-3 for Bishop Verot.
Riverdale 11, Estero 4: Adrianna Manetta went 3-for-4 with a double and also struck out 10 batters on the mound.
Flag football
Mariner 31, Island Coast 0: Gabriella Silva led the Tritons with two rushing touchdowns, one passing touchdown and also returned an interception for another score.
Boys tennis
Gateway 4, Mariner 3: Ryan Hunter and Damien Gleason each notched singles wins and teamed up to win a doubles match for Mariner.
MONDAY
Softball
Gulf Coast 14, Lely 0: Senior Hannah Rearden went 2-for-3 with a home run and four RBI and senior Nelinka Lambcke added three RBI. Freshman pitcher Keyah Kamara struck out 12 batters in five shutout innings while also blasting a home run.
Cape Coral 8, St. John Neumann 5: Kathryn Hanypsiak had a home run and two RBI to lead Neumann while Cece Spencer went 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI.
SFCA 14, Oasis 4: Braelyn Davis led the King’s, going 4-for-5 with a home run and three RBI. She also struck out nine in five innings. Bella Gee contributed three hits and Baylie Davis had two doubles.
Baseball
Charlotte 14, Mariner 3: Xavier Muentes had a solo home run for Mariner.
Boys tennis
Fort Myers 6, Charlotte 1
Singles: Mason Whitesides (C) d. Sam Kellemburger (FM) 8-2; Steven Zuk (FM) d. Luke Bailey (C) 8-2; Tanish Madhar (FM) d. Alex Halmenho (C) 8-5; Yazan Sabha (FM) d. Ayden Solans (C) 8-8 (8-6 tiebreaker); Samik Shetty (FM) d. Jacob Tremblay (C) 8-2. Doubles: Tanish M. And Samik S. (FM) d. Tremblay and Aleix Davis (C) 8-0; Kellemburger and Zuk (FM) d. Whitesides and Solans (C) 8-4.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: SWFL results: St. John Neumann, North Fort Myers flex at regional wrestling
Reporting by Dan DeLuca, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News / Fort Myers News-Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
