State of the Program ... Heritage (FL)
Heritage (FL)
Head Coach: Jeff Degginger (entering 8th season)
Staff: Tom Gregg (AHC/JV) Tori Degginger (Asst) Cody Barton (Hvy Coach/JV)
Heritage returns an outstanding team that nearly broke into the top 10 at the 2A traditional tournament in 2022. Unfortunately for the Panthers they graduated State Placer Williams Clement, State Qualifiers Vicente Angel Ramirez-Ellis, and Trace Liberatore as well as lost State Placer Roman Maldonado as a transfer to Palm Bay. That is tough and will impact the Panthers ability to make a run back to the top 10.
Now just because the Panthers will be impacted - doesn’t mean they won’t make it happen. This team will be much younger, but Coach Degginger has a solid foundation to build on. State Placer Gabriel Ferreira returns and should be hunting the top step at 138 or 145. The Panthers also return State Qualifiers Kaleb Gabrielson and Aiden Baker … both of whom have the ability to make the podium in 2023. But ultimately the rise (or fall) of Heritage will likely come down to how well Nicholas Deboer, Keith Cole, and Jason Martin wrestle this season. All three have the ability to punch their ticket to Kissimmee - the question is - will they? Keep an eye on Solomon Peterson, Gustavo Ferrerira, Noah Seehaus, Stephon Barry, Jaden Saglembeni, Tyquez Smith, Daunte Daube, Devon McDonald, and Harper Noel. Trust me … at least one of those names will surprise some people and have an outstanding season.
“We’ll be significantly younger than last year. We’re returning 3 SQ’s and 1 placer with a very talented core. Our Captain, Gabriel Ferreira will be in the title hunt with Aiden Baker and Kaleb Gabrielson looking to reach the podium. Every year we challenge these kids to get better and they’ve never let us down. However, if we’re going to repeat, it’ll depend on how quickly our younger kids step up.”
NOTE: All mentions of placers and qualifiers in the body are based on the 2021-22 season. If a wrestler placed higher or lower in a previous year it is not captured above.