Breakdown: The Girls Knockout Christmas Classic finals
KISSIMMEE - The finals at the Girls Knockout Christmas Classic did not disappoint.
Here’s a quick recap. (Note: This was no an official FHSAA-sanctioned event, so wrestler teams have been added to the agate to identify them with their Florida high school)
The Finals
100: #1 Camdyn Elliott (Well Trained) dec. (#11-95-Flo) Annalise Maralit (Ashley Ridge Girls-SC) 6-4
This tight match kicked the festivities off on Thursday with Elliott rallying to win with a reversal in the second and a takedown in the third.
105: #1 Gabriele Tedesco (Lake Gibson) maj. #3 Maite Coutinho (Orlando Freedom) 11-2
What else can you say about a Knockout three-peat other than Tedesco was her normal self in controlling the match and continues to leave her lasting mark on Florida wrestling.
110: #1 Mariah Mills (Matanzas) dec. Senna Grassman (Cleveland) SV-1 4-2
The match of the finals as both wrestlers battled to a 0-0 score entering the third period. Two escapes surrounded a takedown and then an inspired Mills scored the winner just eight seconds into the extra frame.
115: #1 Iyonna Church-Ross (Charlotte) dec. #5 Paola Ramirez (Kissimmee Osceola) 7-4
The steady Church-Ross battled a tough Ramirez in the final with the Osceola sophomore giving her a lot to handle but it was Church-Ross with the hand raised in the end.
120: #7 Sydney Bridenstine (Hernando) dec. #2 Delialah Betances (Liberty) 1-0
The Hernando senior squeaked this out with an escape in the third against the Georgia State Champion transfer to Florida. Both girls battled tightly, with neither of them giving up any offensive points.
125: #4-Flo Zao Estrada (Daughters Zion-SC) p. Milly Hughes (Jefferson) 2:33
Nationally-ranked Estrada came flying out of the gate and build a 10-2 lead in the first period as the returning Knockout champion controlled this match from the start before putting it away just 33 seconds into the second.
130: Marigona Lau (Glynn Coastal Wrestling) p. #4 Julianna Caisse (Palm Harbor University) 3:31
Another tight battle before Lau turned a takedown into a win late in the second. Caisse scored the match’s first takedown and took a 2-1 lead into the second.
135: #7 Bryanne Kaminsky (Orange City University) p. #3* Tiana Fries (Matanzas) 5:45
Oh what a tournament for Kaminsky who scored the win by fall to take a match that was 1-1 before it was ended by the Titans senior.
*Fries was not ranked in the latest Kabra Wrestling rankings for having not weighed in yet during the FHSAA season.
140: #1-145 Sofia Delgado (Miami Coral Park) dec. Elle Kaufmann (The Lovett School) 4-0
The defending state champion used her motor to win this razor-tight battle for the 140 crown. In the end, it was Delgado’s endurance that proved her the better wrestler.
145: #2 Katherine Stewart (Bartram Trail) p. #19 Ciara Cortez (Sebastian River) 1:43
The soon-to-be-top-ranked-again Stewart controlled the match and won with a first-period pin to end an amazing tournament run by Cortez.
155: #1 Mya Bethel (North Miami) maj. #8-145-Flo May Prado (Level Up) 12-1
One of the more anticipated finals of the day proved to be anticlimactic with the national champion Bethel controlling the match early and often.
170: #1-170-Flo Piper Fowler (Cleveland) p. #4 Salexa Lontoc-Ortiz (Orlando Freedom) 1:50
The #2 pound-for-pound wrestler in the country according to Flo didn’t disappoint and proved she was one of the best wrestlers in the building with four first-period fall wins at the Knockout.
190: #3-170 Emari Brown (Harmony) p. Mallory Ladd (Enterprise) 3:15
Brown moved up for the tournament and showcased her athleticism in a final that she was in control of from the beginning.
235: #13 Rotchiva Clermont (Orlando Freedom) dec. #4 Ani Brown (Matanzas) 4-0
The perfect desert for the Girls Knockout Classic finals with Clermont and Brown battling for five exhausting minutes before the Freedom senior secured the crown with a final minute takedown.
