For the 23rd year, the Wellington Wolves hosted their March Madness basketball tournament in Wellington during the weekend of March 1-2. According to Tournament Director Chris Fratalia, president of the Wellington Wolves travel basketball program, it was the biggest tournament in the event’s history.
Throughout the two-day event, more than 400 games were played by 140 youth basketball teams from throughout the state. In addition to teams from Palm Beach County, teams traveled to Wellington from as far away as Miami and Bradenton.
Fratalia was delighted with how the tournament was conducted from beginning to end. “It was a great weekend of competitive basketball,” he said. “It was our largest tournament ever, and the smoothest. We had a number of great volunteers step forward to help.”
The main venue for the March Madness tournament was Wellington’s Village Park on Pierson Road. However, 19 different venues across Palm Beach County were used to stage the tournament. Seven of those locations were in Wellington. In addition to the three indoor courts at Village Park, the other Wellington venues were Polo Park Middle School, Emerald Cove Middle School, Wellington High School, Wellington Landings Middle School, Palm Beach Central High School and the Neil S. Hirsch Family Boys & Girls Club. Crestwood Middle School in Royal Palm Beach was also used for the tournament.
Other tournament venues in Palm Beach County were Keiser University, Okeeheelee Middle School, John I. Leonard High School, Woodlands Middle School, L.C. Swain Middle School, Palm Springs Middle School, Jeaga Middle School, Christa McAuliffe Middle School, Tradewinds Middle School, Santaluces High School and Dr. Joaquín García High School.
This year’s tournament kicked off at Village Park on Saturday, March 1 at 8:30 a.m. Fratalia was there to welcome all the players, coaches, parents and fans. Fratalia’s comments were followed by the singing of the national anthem by Emily Shecter.
The boys basketball teams in the tournament ranged from third graders to varsity, while the girls basketball teams ranged from sixth graders to varsity.
A total of 20 teams from the Wellington Wolves competed in the tournament: 13 boys teams and seven girls squads. Of those, six won their respective age bracket: three boys teams and three girls teams. The winning boys teams were the third grade Division 2, 10th grade Division 1 and 11th grade Division I. The three winning girls teams were the eighth grade Puma Division 1, the eighth grade Street Division 2 and the ninth grade Puma Division 1.
On the afternoon of the second day of the tournament, the Wellington Wolves organization honored one of its recent, more accomplished former players — Landen Harwood.
“Landen won the Palm Beach County player of the year award for 2025,” Fratalia said. “He is a Lake Worth Christian School senior. He played for the Wolves for six years and is on a scholarship to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University [in Daytona Beach]. He has a 4.79 GPA.”
Some of the more creative team names in the tournament were the Miami Blue Rays, Florida Sea Dragons, Muck City, 561 Wildcats, Inspir8tion Basketball, Yeti Select, TC Kings and the Florida Rebels.
On the first day of the tournament, 4,421 new and slightly worn shoes were collected at Village Park for In Jacob’s Shoes, a nonprofit that collects shoes for needy children in South Florida. This shoe collection effort was coordinated by the Council of Dads, which is led by Wellington resident John Sitomer, in cooperation with the Wellington Wolves.
“We have collected more than 15,000 pairs of brand-new and slightly worn shoes during the last five March Madness tournaments here in Wellington,” Sitomer said. “The overall effort was a smashing success. We received donations from a wide cross-section of the entire Wellington community and beyond.”
To stage Wellington’s March Madness Basketball Tournament required nearly 100 referees who came from Palm Beach County, Broward County and the Treasure Coast. The referees were assigned by Erik Benz and Leon Lipsick, the co-directors of the Ref Collective.
In support of the referees and volunteers, a number of restaurants donated food and drinks for the hospitality room at Village Park. Those restaurants included Agliolio, Lutina’s Pizza & Subs, C.R. Chicks, Chicken Salad Chick, 40 Flavors Wings & More, Bagels With Deli, PBE Catering and Reggae Jerk Bar & Grill.
According to Fratalia, plans are already underway for next year’s March Madness basketball tournament, which will be held March 7-8, 2026.
