VICTOR BALMECEDA Wrestling Graduated: 1989 Inducted: 2024

Victor Balmeceda was a star wrestler at Southwest, winning the GMAC championship as a junior and finishing 32-1 as a senior, losing only the state championship match. He continued to excel at the next level, becoming a JUCO All-American at Chowan College, and an NCAA Division I tournament qualifier at Appalachian State University. But it was as a coach that he truly made his legacy. He has been the head coach at South Dade High since 1997 and has won a total of 16 state championships, including the last ten in a row. His teams have finished as state runners-up eight times, meaning his team has finished first or second in the state 24 of the 27 years he has been head coach. In 2008, his South Dade team defeated Brandon High School and ended their 459-match winning streak in a nationally televised match. In 2014, he was inducted into the Florida chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.