- March 4, 2026
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For the second consecutive season, the Braden River High wrestling team is sending eight wrestlers to the Florida High School Athletic Association individual state championships.
The Pirates will be represented by six boys wrestlers and two girls wrestlers March 5-7 at Kissimmee's Silver Spurs Arena. That matches the single-season program record set last year.
Here are the wrestlers who will compete against the very best in Florida:
It's been a battle for Coach Cezar Sharbono to keep 120-pounder Jayden Russell mentally focused this season. At times, he said it has driven him crazy.
But he also said the senior brought his best to the regional meet. It was a level of execution the coach hadn't seen since the beginning of 2025-26.
"If you would have talked to me a month ago, I would have told you there's no way Jayden is going to make it back to state," Sharbono said. "Mentally, he was not where he needed to be."
For a while, football is what Jaden Morales saw in his future. His 5-foot-5, 126-pound frame, though, didn't project well on the gridiron.
So wrestling became his competitive avenue. He missed out on the 2024-25 postseason after failing to make weight at the district meet.
Sharbono said he would have placed at the state tournament, had he competed. Now is the senior's last chance to do so.
"He got on top of things this year," Sharbono said. "Mentally, he's much better than he used to be. He's on track."
Alexis Hutter has gone undefeated in postseason action, going 7-0. She also has the fewest losses of any state qualifier for the Pirates.
Both of those defeats came against opponents who will wrestle at 140 pounds in the state tournament.
"She's become one of my best girls since she's come (into) the room," Sharbono said. "Super athletic, super aggressive, super strong."
A fever didn't stop Jacob Fuentes from wrestling in last year's state championship. He didn't place, but did spend two days afterward in the hospital to drain an abscess in his throat.
The senior has stayed healthy so far this postseason, and has earned his way back to the final stage. Four of his losses have been to a two-time, state champion.
Among all the first-time wrestlers who joined Sharbono's program, the coach noticed a trend. But he's also seen Fuentes break that mold.
"They tend to focus on doing one thing really well, and it becomes easier to pick them apart and start to decipher what they do," Sharbono said. "Jacob isn't that kid."
As a junior, Evan Rowe walked into Braden River's wrestling room without any experience in the sport. What he did have was MMA and Jiu-Jitsu experience.
He's the team's winningest wrestler this season. Sharbono said he's the most coachable of all the Pirates. Rowe immediately applies whatever he's taught.
Being a Navy pilot is his dream. As of March 1, he's waiting to hear back on his application to the U.S. Naval Academy, where wrestling coach Cary Kolat is interested in having him join the team.
"Evan is a coach's dream," Sharbono said. "Probably one of the hardest workers on the team — from all aspects, not just in the room."
Feb. 28 marked exactly one year since Logan Pike's second ACL surgery. He couldn't wrestle at all as a sophomore after tearing his ACL in December 2024.
This has been his season of redemption. After placing third at the regional and winning the district meet, the opportunity to succeed at the state championship lies before him.
"He's always been a state-level wrestler. Now he knows he's there," Sharbono said. "So I think we're going to see him open up and really start performing."
Karliana Arteaga left Braden River High School midway through the season to take classes at Manatee Technical College. But she'll return to campus as a full-time student after the state tournament.
Per Sharbono, that's a big win for the program. She'll be back in the hallways and classrooms advocating for wrestling — and for female involvement, especially.
The then-sophomore appeared at last year's state championships, too, but lost both her matches and failed to place. She'll seek a better result this time around.
"Karli, right now, is in that state where she is happy where she's at," Sharbono said. "I'm trying to push her out of her comfort zone to make her even better."
This postseason has been a breeze for Freedom McDaniel. He's defeated every opponent at the regional and district levels.
His presence on the mat, though, looms larger than achievements alone.
There's one Pirate who Sharbono hears about from other coaches on a regular basis. They all say McDaniel is their favorite wrestler to watch.
"Freedom is the best of the best when it comes to just being a kid," Sharbono said. "He's got this overwhelming goodness and great attitude about him."
