KISSIMMEE — Three girls’ state champions were crowned Saturday, and an entire hoard of area medals were brought back home by local wrestlers at the conclusion of action at the 2021 girls’ state meet at Osceola.
First to take the top podium step was Clay junior Madisyn Blackburn (128). Blackburn pinned her way through the tournament, with three falls in Friday’s wrestling; she added to her total with two more pins on Saturday, pinning Freedom’s Shelby Weber in 3:20 in the semis.
Then, in an all-local final, Blackburn completed the weekend with a third-period fall over Ponte Vedra’s Olivia Richie, in 4:52. Richie had gotten to the championship match herself with a third-period fall over top-seed Carolyna Bellon of Mater Lakes Academy, the defending champion at 128.
Next up was Orange Park’s Tayana Labady at 222. Labady had had one pin on Friday, adding two more on Saturday, starting with a late fall in the third period of her semifinal match, completing the pin in 5:53 over Freedom’s Kiara Brin.
The championship match was completed a bit more quickly, as Labady pinned Dr Phllips’ top-seeded Aaliyah Hyacinthe, a 2020 finalist, in 3:34.
Last of the three champions was Orange Park’s Andrea Smith, who competed in the HWT division; she’s had regular-season competition at both 195 and 220 during the course of this year. Smith began her day with a semifinal pin over Norland’s Shanakay Chambers, in 3:09.
That brought another all-local final against Mainland’s Aniya Dixon, who reached the final after a bye from competition on Friday, followed by a third-period fall (5:59) against Lake Mary’s Farida Marciano. It took going into double overtime to decide things; after eight minutes, Smith — who was a match short of placing in 2019 and second last year, both times at 197 — took a 3-2 win.
Team-wise, Matanzas was the top area squad, finishing fifth with 76 points, with Dr Phillips winning the team title, Freedom second, host Osceola third and South Dade fourth. Ponte Vedra (71.5) was sixth, while Orange Park and Arnold tied for 10th at 46 points.
Clay (42) was 15th, with AAU club Riot Performance 16th at 41, University (Orange City) 17th at 38.5 and Seminole 18th with 36. Wewahitchka was 27th, with 29.5 points, while Mainland was T-30th in the 118-team field with 26.
Finishing between 31-60 were Nease (38th, 22 points), Lincoln & Raines (T-40th, 20), Pin-N-Win WC/Westside (T-43rd, 19), Oakleaf (T-47th, 18), Fletcher (T-50th, 17), DeLand (T-57th, 12) and Applied Pressure & Deltona (T-60th, 10).
Rounding out local teams in the field were Pace Wrestling Alliance (69th, 9.5 points); Paxon & Tallahassee Battle WC (T-73rd, seven); Creekside (T-78th, six); Bulldogs of Jacksonville & Middleburg (T-80th, four); Baker Cty (T-89th, three), Bay, Ridgeview, South Walton and Union Cty did not score.
Below follows a summary of the other Saturday performances, with championship matches and local efforts:
100: Palm Harbor University’s Clare Booe was 5-0 on the weekend, with an 8-6 win in the final over Osceola’s Kealonie Vega.
Locals: Ponte Vedra eighth-grader Mary Manis was third and Arnold freshman Valarie Solorio fourth. Manis had lost by fall in the round of 16 to Booe on Friday, but rallied with two consi-side pins that day. On Saturday, Manis took decisions over Matanzas/Seabreeze’s Tiana Fries (4-0), Zephyrhills’ Kohana Martinez (6-1) and North Port’s H Eastes (5-3) to reach the medal round, where she won by injury-default over Solorio. Solorio, for her part, had lost by fall in the semis to Booe (3:14), but came back to reach the bronze match with a fall over First Baptist Academy (Naples)’ Hailee Moder, in 4:59. Middleburg’s Gracie Bradshaw and Mainland’s Abby Couillard fell in their first consi-side match Saturday, with Bradshaw losing by fall (3:39) to Naples’ Reagan Thomas and Couillard taking a 13-3 loss against Martinez.
106: Hialeah Miami Lakes’ Jasmine Godinez completed a 5-0 weekend with an 11-9 win in the championship match over University (Orlando)’s Tiana Marcillo.
Locals: Nease sophomore Brielle Bibla took third, Fletcher senior Ana Bradshaw fifth and University (Orange City) freshman Katie Roche sixth. Bibla had reached the semis on Friday; in that round, she went six minutes with eventual champ Godinez before falling, 11-2. But she’d bounce back with pins in the consis over Roche (1:29) and then over Hernando’s Kali Christie (1:42), whom she’d decisioned in the quarters on Friday, to take third. Bradshaw also had reached the semis, losing by fall in that round to Marcillo (5:08). After a 3-0 loss to Christie in the consi semis, Bradshaw falled Roche in :32 for fifth. Earlier in the bracket, however, Roche pushed her way onto a podium space, with a 49-second fall over Freedom’s Stephanie Usuga-Pineda and a 17-2 tech over South Dade’s Natalie Duran. Deltona’s Dianna Pineda was one match short of the medals; after pinning University (Orlando)’s Shyniyah Sills in 4:32, she would fall to eventual fourth-place Christie, 7-3, in the consi quarters.
112: Palm Harbor University’s Hannah Hall was 5-0 in the tournament, with an 8-0 shutout in the final round over St Cloud’s Sophia Anderson.
Locals: Pace’s Helena Alcantar lost her first consi-side match, with a loss by fall to South Dade’s Lorelei Wydra (1:48); Wydra would go on to place fourth.
117: Matanzas’ Riley White’s bid to join her area rivals as state champion fell short Saturday, as she fell, 4-1, to two-time champion Juliana Diaz of Dr Phillips, who’d also won over White in 2020. White got to the championship with a 2-1 semifinal win Saturday over Braddock’s Analy Picado.
Locals: Seminole’s Brianna Pena won three of her four consi-side matches to claim a fifth-place medal. Pena pinned North Port’s Paige Baker (1:32) and McKeel Academy’s Maddie Lazenby (4:31) to assure a medal; after a 7-1 loss to Picado in the consi semis, Pena falled Osceola’s Talia Lugo in 4:12 in the fifth-place match.
122: Freedom’s Kailey Rees racked up five first-period falls for her title, with a fall in the final over Oak Ridge’s Malaicka Pierre-Louis in 53 seconds.
Locals: Four area girls — Applied Pressure’s Kendall Bibla, Pin-N-Win/Westside’s Emma Smith, University (Orange City)’s Bryanne Kaminsky and DeLand’s Naobi Lagos — all took losses in their first consi-side match Saturday. Bibla fell to eventual fifth Janecia Rayna of Dr Phillips by fall (2:23), while Smith lost by fall to Gulf’s Callie Alfieri (:22) in the top half of the consi bracket. In the bottom half, Kaminsky lost by fall to Tarpon Springs’ Efymia Trikilis (2:36) and Lagos took a loss by pin to eventual sixth Taesha Inelus of North Miami (2:29).
128
Locals: Wewahitchka’s Kaylee Easter, like Pena at 117, won three of her four consi-side matches after falling in Friday’s quarters, to place fifth. Easter started with a fall over Oviedo’s Jana El’harake (2:25) and a 15-0 tech over Riverdale’s Cece Morrison to punch her ticket to the state podium. After a loss by fall (1:33) to Bellon in the consi semis, Easter rallied to pin Windermere’s Sophia Lahik in 2:36 for fifth. Clay’s Jaidyn Vinson and Pin-N-Win/Westside’s Tesla Kirkland both lost their first consi-side matches, with Vinson losing by fall to Morrison (2:27) and Kirkland falling by pin to El’harake (4:14).
134: Hagerty’s Jada Llamido took five bonus-point wins, with four falls prior to an 18-3 tech in the finals over North Miami’s Tydaisa Mack.
Locals: Ponte Vedra’s Josie Sagasser bounced back after a semifinal loss by fall to Llamido (1:56), with two bonus-point wins of her own to take third. In the consis, Sagasser majored Freedom’s Rachel Ferreter, 15-1, in the semis, then came back to fall Cypress Creek’s Stephany Dean in 3:45 to take the bronze medal. Matanzas’ Isabella Tietje also rallied out of the consis to medal, finishing sixth. Tietje began with an 8-3 win over Lady Pirates’ Da’Maria Raymond and then pinned Orange Park’s Aubrianna Apple (1:35) to punch her ticket to the podium, with subsequent losses to Dean (1:37) in the consi semis and Ferreter (3:22) in the fifth-place match. Apple did win her first consi-side match, pinning Dr Phillips’ Elisha Robinson in 4:13 to get to Tietje.
140: Lake Highland Prep’s Chloe Ogden, a North Carolina signee, was 4-0 with four first-period falls, the last of those in the final over Largo’s Teigan Slauson in 1:22.
Locals: After reaching the semifinals on Friday, Bartram Trail’s Talia Megas would take sixth. After a loss by fall (2:00) in the semis to Slauson, Megas fell in the consi semis to Treasure Coast’s Gabriella Perez (2:47) and again in the fifth-place match to Timber Creek’s Giovanna Diaz (3:59).
147: Treasure Coast’s Iris Feliz was 4-0 on the weekend, with three pins and a 14-0 major, winning by fall in the finals (1:41) over South Dade’s Larissa Gallo. No locals reached Saturday’s competition.
154: Land O’Lakes’ Caitlyn Davis pinned her way through the bracket, with four pins in all, the last of those in 3:24 over Dr Phillips’ Neikisha Francois.
Locals: After a loss by fall in the semis to Davis (1:49), Orange Park’s Jasmine Hecht took two pins of her own on the back to place third. Hecht had pins in the consi semis over Dr Phillips’ Emanuele Zumba (1:59) and in the third-place match over Freedom’s Lindsey Larose (2:01).
162: Dr Phillips’ Armelle Oliantus had four pins in 3:36 of mat time, pinning Winter Haven’s Jennah Mustafa in 37 seconds in the final.
Locals: After falling in the quarters on Friday, Matanzas’ Morgan Morrison won three of four by fall to rally back for a fifth-place medal. Morrison pinned Mainland’s Jah’Mya Hill (2:09) and Ponte Vedra’s Mira Schmidt (:28) to assure herself of a medal; after a consi-semi loss by fall to Apopka’s Assenach Gregoire (2:50), Morrison falled Admiral Farragut’s Grace Vernine in 4:50, avenging her quarterfinal loss Friday. Schmidt got to Morrison with a 14-9 decision over Panther’s Kira Hendrix, while Union Cty’s Nadia Aldana lost by fall in her only match Saturday, losing by pin to eventual fourth Lilly Yambor of Gateway in :41.
172: South Dade’s Yarissa Gallo won twice on Saturday for her title, pinning Gateway’s Emiliana Martinez in 3:36 in the championshp round.
Locals: University (Orange City)’s Trinity Evans was sixth in the weight class; after a bye into the consi semis, Evans took losses by pin in the consi semis to eventual fourth Emily Rivera (1:31) of Dr Phillips and to Osceola’s Fabiola Figeroa (1:47) in the fifth-place medal match.
184: Arnold sophomore Henlee Haynes’ bid to win a second state title came up just short Saturday. After pinning Oakleaf’s Jazzmine Moore (2:49) in the semis, Haynes fell to Freedom’s Sierra Chavez by a 9-3 count in the title match to place second.
Locals: Raines’ Jada Arnold, Moore and Riot Performance’s Jayla Harrison would all join Haynes on the state podium, placing third, fourth and sixth, respectively. Arnold lost in the semis by fall to eventual champion Chavez (3:00), but came back in the consis with pins over Dr Phillips’ Amber Etienne (:21) in the consi semis and over Moore (2:47) in the third-place match. Moore got to the bronze-medal match with a fall over Harrison (2:07) in the consi semis; Harrison, in her turn, punched her podium ticket with pins over Mainland’s Trinya Tillman (2:21) and Dr Phillips’ Franceska Robles (:43), with a subsequent loss by fall in the fifth-place match to Etienne (1:54). Ponte Vedra’s Emma Dix and Union Cty’s Nyasia Williams both lost their first consi-side matches, with Dix falling by pin to Robles (4:38) and Williams taking a loss by fall (4:14) to East Lee County’s Jainell Vargas.
197: Lincoln’s Maggie Moss took a pin Friday to reach the semis, adding a second in that round over Wekiva’s Ramiya’h Steele (1:34), but then lost by fall in the final to Dr Phillips’ Skyy Gowan in 1:14.
Locals: After losing by fall to Moss on Friday, Seminole’s Valerie Vega pinned all the way back to third place on Satgurday, with consi-side pins over Freedom’s Brenda Thomas (2:35), Western’s Iselena Martinez (2:35) and Steele (2:49) in the third-place match.
222
Locals: Mainland’s Cheyenne Wigley was fourth, Riot Performance’s Cheyenne Cruce fifth and Matanzas’ Nakeisha Marcellus sixth. Wigley fell in the semis to Dr Phillips’ Hyacinthe (1:09), but came back with a consi-semi pin over Cruce (2:17) and reach the third-place match, where she lost by pin to Freedom’s Brin (2:08). Cruce had a bye into the consi quarters, where she falled Apopka’s Lorelei Bachmann in 90 seconds to secure her medal. She then went on to pin Marcellus in 1 minute to claim fifth. Marcellus also had a bye into the consi quarters, where she took down Tallahassee Battle WC’s Cadence Lyons by a 4-1 count. She then lost in the consi semis to Brin (3:40). Lyons did win her first consi-side match to get within a match of the medals, decisioning Osceola’s Katelyn Chin, 11-6.
Brackets from the weekend can be found HERE.
North Florida Matmen 