Blaine Taranto - Venice Indians Wrestling - Senior Year

Venice wrestling wins first IBT district championship since 2015 SARASOTA — Venice will add some more hardware to its trophy case after the the wrestling team continued its stellar 2025-26 campaign on Friday at Sarasota High.

For the first time in 11 years your Indians captured the individual district title! Points were scored by everyone for a total team effort. 10 out of the 14 extended their season by placing top 4 to advance to the regional tournament next week. Those advancing:

106 Mason Hutchinson 4th
113 Carter Faling 4th
120 Niccolo Pellicano 1st
126 Levi White 4th
132 Taber Jordan 2nd
144 Kase Hopper 1st
150 Massimiliano Pellicano 1st
157 Christian Medina 2nd
175 Jeremiah Day 1st
190 Christopher Eckstein 1st

Alumni night this Wednesday. Social 5-6:15pm then duals vs Riverdale at 6:30 Looking forward to seeing everyone there!!

A solid 4 day stretch for your Venice Indians. Started with a dual meet win against Parrish on Wednesday by a score of 48-35.

Then traveled up to New Port Richey for the Gulf Holiday Duals. With a total of 14 teams your tribe went 8-0 and claimed the team title. Displaying some resilience along the way. No win is ever deserved, they are earned.

In pool play:
W over East Lake 60-24
W over Dunedin 55-24
W over Gulf 71-10
W over Berkeley Prep 72-12
W over Godby 71-6
W over Morgan 78-6

Championship pool
W over Braden River 41-35
W over Slam Academy (Tampa) 59-23

A lot of standouts this weekend displaying that they are willing to Take the Weight.

Niko Roldan @ 106 at 6W-2L
Niccolo Pellicano @ 120 at 8-0
Levi White @ 126 at 7-1
Taber Jordan @ 132 at 7-1
Cannon Cribbs @ 138 at 4-1
Will Wimbish @ 138 at 3-0
Kase Hopper @ 144 at 7-1
Massimo Pellicano @ 150 at 8-0
Christian Medina @ 157 at 8-0
Brandon Ryder @ 165 at 7-1
Christopher Eckstein @ 190 at 6-2
Markus Liddiatt @ 215 at 6-1
Dom Badagliacco @ HW at 5-2

🤼 MATCH NIGHT! 🤼
Wrestling is ready to battle as they take on Parrish Community School!
⏰ JV: 6:00 PM
⏰ Varsity: 7:00 PM
📍 The Tee P*e
Bring the noise, pack the gym, and support our wrestlers as they go to work! 💪🔥

See you Wednesday Night!

Your Venice Indians competed in the Ryan Vaught Fit2Win invite this weekend. The team placed 5th out of a total of 26 teams. With only having 9 out of the 14 weight classes scoring points for the program, we definitely left some food on the table. However with the 11 athletes that made the trip, 8 of them placed in the top 6. Really excited to get back in the kitchen and continue to improve. Next up is the first home dual of the year against Parrish Community High School this Wednesday at 6pm with the JV and varsity following afterwards. Make sure you come out and show your support!

Massimiliano Pellicano- 1st @ 150
Kase Hopper- 2nd @ 144
Levi White- 3rd @ 126
Niccolo Pellicano 4th @ 120
Christian Medina 4th @ 157
Brandon Ryder 4th @ 165
Christopher Eckstein 5th @ 190
Taber Jordan 6th @ 132

Venice Indians Wrestling senior Blaine Taranto is Florida's #1 ranked high school wrestler. He's also SNN's top pick for January's Carl Reynolds Law Student-Athlete of the Month. SNN, The Suncoast News Network Venice High School MORE: https://www.snntv.com/story/48127430/studentathlete-of-the-month-blaine-taranto-venice-high-school

With nearly 70 young boys and girls, we are extremely thankful for all the local youth that have committed to being a wrestler. It’s not just a sport, but it’s who we are. We wrestle not only an opponent but with all of life’s trials and tribulations. We are committed to building the mental fortitude necessary, in everyone that dares to put their foot on the line.

Always proud to support the Venice Indians Wrestling Program - New UA Hoodies for the 2025-2026 Team

My bro 😎

We are now accepting new clients to the shop! Please come down and visit Lucas and myself! We can do appointments or walk ins upon availability. First time new clients to the shop with Lucas are getting a special promotion! Also we are doing a special give back this month! Any student from Sarasota county schools gets 10% from each cut given back to the school they attend! Refer a friend and come see us!

My brother - come see Lucas for a fresh cut!

Come down and see our new barber Lucas!