Montes, senior captains lead way for West Orange wrestling -- Observer Preps

A trio of dedicated senior captains has helped lead the West Orange High boys wrestling team to a strong season despite its young roster.

With Metro and district meets just around the corner, the Warriors, who have a 13-5 record in dual meets, have notched some impressive tournament victories — including taking first place at Deltona’s King of the Ring Jan. 21.

“To win King of the Ring with the amount of freshmen and sophomores in our varsity lineup, was a big accomplishment,” head coach Kristen Iannuzzi said. “We’ve not had that many freshmen and sophomores in our lineup, I don’t think ever.”

Helping to bring the younger Warriors along in what is a building year of sorts have been seniors Tyler Montes, Hagen Salickram and Christopher Villafane. At King of the Ring, Montes and Villafane each won first in their respective weight classes and Salickram placed second. This past weekend at an event at Timber Creek High, Montes and Salickram each placed third amongst a competitive field.

Beyond their performances, though, has been a valuable trio of leaders — most notably Montes.

“(Montes is) just the kind of kid you want on your team — he’s an awesome leader because he buys into the program and he believes in the program,” Iannuzzi said. “All three of my captains have performed really well.”

The team’s long term prospects for this season took a hit recently when junior Jaylen Paucar was involved in a car accident that resulted in a hip fracture.

“That was a huge blow for us as a team,” Iannuzzi said. “To take someone like (Paucar) and remove him from the lineup was difficult for everybody, because of his spirit and his love for the sport and the team.”

And, though the team is done one of its better wrestlers, the Warriors have rallied around their injured teammate.

“They’ve done a phenomenal job,” Iannuzzi said of her team’s reaction to the adversity the accident created. “(Paucar) was able to come to King of the Ring, so we let him go get the trophy.”

With the Metro West Conference meet set for Feb. 8 at Apopka and the District 3A-2 Meet schedule for Feb. 17 on their home turf, the Warriors are eyeing ways to continue to improve their young wrestlers while getting their upperclassmen ready for a run at state.

And though several quality programs will stand in their way — including an Apopka Blue Darters squad that has put together an impressive season of its own — the Warriors are optimistic they can continue to build on a strong start to the season in the remaining weeks.

“There’s always room for improvement — there’s always room to get better,” Montes said. “Everybody needs to push each other and hold each other accountable.”

Contact Steven Ryzewski at [email protected].