The Spartan wrestling team at Monsignor Edward Pace High School has a long history of excellence led by coach Frank Pelegri, including winning the Class 1A State Championship in 2000. The 2015-2016 team, which is 2-1 thus far, looks to continue that great history.
Pace’s new assistant wrestling coach Lazaro Reinoso is the biggest addition to the team this season. Reinoso spent his life around wrestling, becoming the youngest member of Cuba’s national wrestling team at the age of 13.
He won the bronze medal in freestyle wrestling for Cuba at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and won the silver medal in 1993 World Wrestling Championships before defecting to the United States in 1994. He coached wrestling teams at universities and high schools across the country before coming to Pace.
The standout star for the team has been senior Alex Perez, who is currently ranked first in Florida in his 138 lbs. weight class by Scout.com. He has also been named the Top Class 1A wrestler in his weight class to watch out for this season by both The Miami Herald and South Florida High School Sports.
“Alex is in a league of his own. He’s a legit champion,” said Pelegri, who expects Perez to be Pace’s first-ever 4-time district champion and considers him one of the Top 10 best Spartan wrestlers ever. Reinoso credits Perez’ success to his tremendous amounts of discipline, hard work, and willingness to help his teammates.
While Perez is a senior, Reinoso says they have a young crew of wrestlers, and he expects that next year will be an even better year.