Lady War Eagles at Flagler
By WALT JACOBS
Correspondent
The Wakulla High School Lady War Eagles wrestling team opened their season at the Annual Flagler Rotary Girls Invitational in Palm Coast. War Eagle Wrestling is a weekly feature included under the Sports tab at the top of our home page.
The prestigious tournament featured an abundance of top ranked wrestlers and is widely considered to be one the toughest tournaments in the state of Florida.
One could hardly imagine a tougher opponent than the one Emma Riggs had in her very first varsity match. She faced the returning state champ Joslyn Johnson of Flagler Palm Coast who, going into the match, was ranked No. 2 in the state and No. 5 in the nation at 105. Johnson pinned Riggs in the first period. Undeterred by the setback, Riggs rebounded in round 1 of the consolation bracket by pinning Bailee Bucich of University High in 48 seconds. In round 2, Riggs faced Juliana Mills of Flagler Palm Coast. Riggs wrestled tough before falling late in the first period.
At 135 lbs., 11th ranked sophomore Julia Baggett faced No. 16 Alondra Santana-Perez of Hernando. Baggett dominated the contest and led 10-5 going into the third and final period, but an untimely lat drop attempt went awry and resulted in Santana-Perez securing the pinfall. Baggett bounced back bravely in her next bout with a pin over St. Augustine’s Dalilah Schmidt midway through the second period. In her next match, she continued her winning ways with yet another pin over #23 Malia Rezac of Sunlake. In the consolation semifinals, Baggett faced off with No. 23 (in 130) Ceajah Brown of Freedom. Julia gave a valiant effort but Brown prevailed with a 15-0 tech fall.
Highly touted freshman Kendal Haynie’s varsity debut pitted her against Mariah Mills from Flagler Palm Coast. Mills, a senior, is ranked No. 1 in Florida and No. 18 nationally. Halfway through the first period, with Mills up 6-1, Haynie frightened the Flagler faithful when she put the hometown hero on her back. Haynie ended up losing the match 16-6, but she rebounded fiercely in the consolation bracket. In dominant fashion, she proceeded to pin Freedom’s Angelica Gonzalez-Nunez in 20 seconds, No. 21 Natalie Sanchez of Winter Springs in 55 seconds and Toni Silcox of Middleburg in 1:21. In the consolation semifinals, Haynie majored No. 4 Julia Brocato of Sunlake 12-0. Subsequently, Haynie pinned No. 19 Yhoalibeth Ruiz of Freedom in 2:48 to secure third place in the 110 pound bracket. Haynie’s performance moved her up in the rankings to No. 5 in the state. When asked to sum up her first varsity tournament experience, Kendal replied “(It was) so much fun! It wasn’t just going to the tournament that was fun, but the people I saw and the girls that I have never wrestled before was a brand new experience for me. I can’t wait for the next tournament and many more to come!”
On the team’s performance, Coach Benny Litowsky said, “The ladies wrestled well. We had Emma Riggs grab a win in her first ever high school tournament. Julia Baggett fought back after a tough loss in the opening round, (and) wrestled a terrific tournament. Kendal Haynie, our freshman phenom, wrestled a hard fought match against the No. 1 ranked girl, a returning state champ. She was in the match the whole time, just missing the mark as time expired. She then went on a tear, with 4 pins and a major decision on her way back to a true third place finish at this premier tournament.”
Next the Lady War Eagles will compete in the Let Freedom Ring Girls IBT in Orlando on Dec. 7th. The boy’s varsity wrestling team will open their season at home against Middleburg on Thursday Dec. 5th. The preliminaries will begin at 6:30 and the dual will start at 7 p.m.
WRESTLER of the WEEK
Kendall was 5-1 at Flagler (4 pins and a Major decision). “Her tenacity and grit, wrestling back after a first round loss, proves her mettle, and we are excited to see where she will go in the weeks to come!” said Coach Benny Litowsky.
COACH’S CORNER
“We are the new era of Wakulla Wrestling. A team of hardworking, dedicated, and disciplined young men and women who strive for excellence on and off the mat. We represent Wakulla with pride, integrity, and an unwavering commitment to our teammates and community.”
