Varsity 4 All-News4JAX boys wrestling: Bryce Fiore makes history and he’s just getting started

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The exclamation point on a high school wrestling career should come at the end of it.

Bryce Fiore stamped it at the very beginning.

Fiore, the Varsity 4 All-News4JAX boys wrestler of the year, had a season unlike any other. The St. Johns Country Day star stormed to a state championship in the 113-pound weight class, capping his season with a 4-2 decision in the final for a 38-0 mark.

Talk about putting a bow on things.

By the way, Fiore is a 14-year-old … seventh grader.

He’s just embarking on his varsity career. He should be grappling his way through middle school tournaments, not tearing through varsity like a seasoned upperclassman. But the wrestling prodigy has been working towards the podium for years, more than holding his own against older wrestlers. Fiore said getting the gold medal this season and doing it with friends was an unbelievable experience.

“Having super good teammates and being around all of them just helped me so much accomplish my goals,” he said. “And yeah, probably the podium and getting on the top.”

Varsity 4 All-News4JAX boys wrestlers of the year

That’s just how Fiore likes it. He’s been into wrestling most of his life and kicked the tires on other sports. But nothing moved the needle like the competition of wrestling did.

“I like it being an individual sport because it can’t just be your teammate’s fault,” he said. “If you lose, it’s your fault.”

There hasn’t been much losing at all for Fiore.

Fiore has been on the wrestling scene for years but surged into the spotlight over the last eight months. He won the Super 32 middle school division and went back-to-back in winning the Tulsa Kickoff national championship.

When did people start really paying attention to this surging middle schooler as a realistic threat to make noise on the mat at the varsity level?

“After I started winning at really big national tournaments, like Super 32 and stuff,” he said.

Fiore was born in town but spent his sixth-grade year in Cocoa Beach at Titusville Christian Preparatory School where he stacked those national championships. He returned to the area this year and ramped up that pace.

“They just said I have to work as hard as I have or I have to work even a little harder than how I did the first time I won a state title because they know [opponents] want to work harder than me to beat me next year,” Fiore said.

Varsity 4 All-News4JAX boys wrestling

Brant Parsons of Kabra Wrestling compiled the Varsity 4 All-News4JAX boys wrestling team.

First team

Weight, Wrestler, School, Class

106: Soren Bakkar, Bishop Kenny, Jr.

34-13, Sixth in Class 1A state, Region 1 runner-up, District 4 champion

113: Bryce Fiore, St. Johns Country Day, 7th

All-News4JAX wrestler of the year was 38-0, Class 1A state champion, Region 1 champion, District 4 champion

120: Kevin McLean, Flagler Palm Coast, So.

35-4, Third in Class 3A state, Region 1 champion, District 2 champion

126: Mario DiBella, Bartram Trail, Jr.

36-2, Third in Class 3A, Region 1 champion, District 1 champion

132: Robert Twilley, Flagler Palm Coast, Jr.

42-5, Third in Class 3A state, Region 1 runner-up, District 2 champion

138: Sebastian Bonachea, Oakleaf, Sr.

39-4, Sixth in Class 3A state, Region 1 champion, District 1 champion

144: John Antonucci, Tocoi Creek, Jr.

40-7, Sixth in Class 3A state, Region 1 runner-up, District 1 champion

150: Howard Hill, St. Johns Country Day, Fr.

51-8, Third in Class 1A state, Region 1 champion, District 4 champion

157: Daniel Raines, Middleburg, Sr.

62-13, Fifth in Class 2A state, Region 1 champion, District 2 champion

165: Joseph Foalima, Flagler Palm Coast, Fr.

39-8, Third in Class 3A state, Region 1 champion, District 2 champion

175: Vladislav Chechkovsky, Tocoi Creek, Jr.

43-4, Class 3A runner-up, Region 1 runner-up, District 1 champion

190: Theodore Brase, Fletcher, Sr.

37-8, Class 3A state runner-up, Region 1 champion, District 1 champion

215: Porter Loveland, Middleburg, Sr.

74-5, Class 2A state runner-up, Region 1 champion, District 2 champion

285: Jayshawn McLeod, Clay, Jr.

20-2, Fourth in Class 2A state, third in Region 1, District 3 champion

Second team

Weight, Wrestler, School, Class

106: Jacob Hald, Flagler Palm Coast, Fr.

36-7, State qualifier in Class 3A, Region 1 runner-up, District 2 champion

113: Walter Howard, Beachside, Jr.

36-9, Eighth place in Class 2A, Region 1 runner-up, District 3 champion

120: Easton Tapley, Providence School, Fr.

34-11, State qualifier in Class 1A, third in Region 1, District 4 champion

126: Connor Barnes, Oakleaf, Sr.

29-4, Class 3A runner-up, Region 1 runner-up, District 1 runner-up

132: Immanuel Gibbs, Tocoi Creek, Jr.

41-6, Fourth in Class 3A state, third in Region 1, District 1 champion

138: Mikah Ikeda, Episcopal of Jacksonville, Jr.

46-5, Seventh in Class 1A state, Region 1 runner-up, District 4 champion

144: Ryan Hancock, Bishop Kenny, Fr.

33-18, Eighth in Class 1A state, fourth in Region 1, District 4 runner-up

150: Micah Thomas, Middleburg, Sr.

57-10, Sixth in Class 2A state, Region 1 runner-up, District 2 champion

157: Luke Manghisi, Creekside, Jr.

44-10, Sixth in Class 3A state, Region 1 runner-up, District 1 champion

165: Drew Holmquist, Clay, Sr.

54-5, Fourth in Class 2A state, third in Region 1, District 3 champion

175: Desmond Valdes, Menendez, Sr.

22-8, State qualifier in Class 1A, third in Region 2, District 5 champion

190: Landon Martin, Clay, Jr.

22-4, Sixth in Class 2A state, Region 1 champion, District 3 champion

215: Brett Bearden, Bolles, So.

33-2, Fifth in Class 1A state, Region 1 champion, District 4 champion

285: Holden Corbin, Suwannee, Sr.

53-7, Fifth in Class 1A state, Region 1 champion, District 2 champion

Third team

Weight, Wrestler, School, Class

106: Jonathan Harp, Middleburg, So.

64-12, State qualifier in Class 2A, third in Region 1, District 2 champion

113: Luke Mims, Creekside, So.

36-9, State qualifier in Class 3A, Region 1 runner-up, District 1 runner-up

120: Zachary Lim, Nease, Sr.

27-7, Region 1 qualifier (reached blood round), District 1 runner-up

126: Leonardo Torres, Stanton Prep, Sr.

33-5, Sixth in Class 1A state, Region 1 runner-up, District 3 champion

132: Cash Trujillo, Ponte Vedra, Jr.

27-16, Eighth place in Class 2A, Region 1 runner-up, District 3 champion

138: Landon Caviness, Tocoi Creek, Jr.

36-7, State qualifier in Class 3A, third in Region 1, District 1 runner-up

144: Christopher McKeel, Middleburg, Sr.

57-18, State qualifier in Class 2A, third in Region 1, third in District 2

150: Michael Fries, Flagler Palm Coast, Sr.

32-11, State qualifier in Class 3A, Region 1 runner-up, District 2 runner-up

157: Calvyn St. Clair, Clay, Jr.

51-10, Seventh in Class 2A state, Region 1 runner-up, District 3 champion

165: Nikita Chechkovsky, Tocoi Creek, Jr.

39-9, State qualifier in Class 3A, third in Region 1, District 1 champion

175: Lucas Comora, Bolles, So.

40-16, State qualifier in Class 1A, fourth in Region 1, District 4 champion

190: Landon Slater, Suwannee, Sr.

33-10, State qualifier in Class 1A, Region 1 runner-up, District 2 champion

215: Markyle Bouie, Sandalwood, So.

40-6, Fifth in Class 3A state, Region 1 runner-up, District 1 champion

285: Taylor Davenport, Baldwin, Sr.

24-5, Third in Class 1A state, Region 1 runner-up, District 3 champion

Honorable mention

Baker County: Taz Kinghorn (150, Sr.); Jordan Perez (285, Jr.)

Bartram Trail: Rhett Durden (113, So.); Breckin Lukanich (150, Fr.); Malik Bousalham (175, Sr.)

Bishop Kenny: Dylan Lunsford (126, Sr.)

Bolles: Andrew Makeev (113, Fr.)

Clay: Liam Soto (106, Fr.)

Columbia: Xavier Williams (215, So.)

Cornerstone Classical: Ry Miller (150, Jr.)

Creekside: Michael Lenz (138, Sr.); Killian Lonergan (190, Jr.)

Flagler Palm Coast: Joseph Dailey (113, Jr.)

Fletcher: Jonathan Hipp (144, Sr.)

Menendez: Matthew Thorn (132, Sr.)

Middleburg: Nathan Harvey (126, Jr.); Keensdee Roseme (190, Sr.)

Oakleaf: Keenan Freeland (144, Sr.)

Orange Park: Elijah Grant (132, Sr.)

Ponte Vedra: Daniel De Almeida (150, Sr.); Michael Aker (165, So.)

Providence: Camden Garcia (157, Sr.)

Stanton Prep: Diego Torres (138, Sr.)

Suwannee: Rylan Milian (126, Jr.)

Tocoi Creek: Alec LaVoie (106, So.); Nikita Chechkovsky (165, Jr.)

Trinity Christian: Nicco Musso (165, Jr.)

Union County: Aiden Hancock (106, Sr.)

West Nassau: Bryce Mangum (215, Sr.)

Wolfson: Taylor Martinez (138, Sr.)

Yulee: Sloan Denison (113, Fr.); Lincoln Brehmer (132, Sr.)