FERNANDEZ BREAKS OWN RECORD WITH 5th SUPER 32 TITLE
Marylanders in the High School Divisions at the Super 32 Challenge in Greensboro, North Carolina braved the dangerous mats of the toughest preseason gauntlet in the nation and were mostly frustrated with the outcomes.
The boys competed over two days on Saturday and Sunday. The Girls Tournament was a one-day affair.
FERNANDEZ CONTINUES TO AMAZE AS SHE COLLECTS 5th SUPER 32 BELT
Just one of our highschoolers, Archbishop Spalding’s Taina Fernandez, brought home any hardware and she did it in grand style by breaking her own record of being a four-time Super 32 Champion. A feat the senior achieved a year ago alongside Pennsylvania’s Bo Bassett.
Not many people get a chance to break their own record. And becoming a five-time Super 32 Champ is one that may stand for a long time as it would require someone to win a High School crown as a middle school grappler. Fernandez did so as an eighth grader in the 123-pound weight class.
“It feels sort of bittersweet, in a way,” Fernandez offered. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m so proud of the accomplishment itself and all the hard work that led me there, year after year, just striving to become a little better than the year before, not knowing that it would culminate in this.
“However, it makes me a little sad that this is my last year at this competition and that I'm getting closer and closer to the end of my high school career. Overall, it’s just been such a journey, and when I think back on each Super 32 title, they’re each a reflection of that journey throughout the year. So, to think this is my last year... my last journey... makes me really emotional.”
Fernandez, a three-time U17 World Champion and U20 World Bronze Medalist, is ranked No. 1 at 145 pounds by High School on SI. Her finals opponent from Texas, Landri VonGonten, is an U17 World Silver Medalist, who is currently ranked No. 1 at 140 pounds.
“Before the finals, I was honestly just thinking about how it would be my last Super 32 match ever,” reflected Fernandez. “And I just keep processing that over and over again, and letting it fuel me. I wanted to end my last-ever run at Super 32 with no regrets and just truly say I let it all out there one last time.”
In the early going of the 148-pound final, VonGonten was hanging in there and was even close to securing a takedown but instead collected a step out point. That would be it for VonGonten’s scoring, though, as Fernandez ended the first period up 4-1. The senior added two more takedowns and a push out point in the second period to arrive at the 9-1 final.
“I’m honestly so grateful for my final match; it was so meaningful to me that that match would be my very last time stepping on the Super 32 mat,” Fernandez said. “I just wanted to let loose and not burden myself with the weight of potentially winning my fifth Super 32 belt and making history but instead view it as a blessing and remind myself how much of a blessing it is to be able to compete in this tournament one last time. And as the match went on, I think I was able to let that thought take over and truly wrestle free.”
Super 32 used Freestyle Rules for the Girls and Folkstyle for the Boys.
The run to the finals included big wins over No. 5 Audrey Robinson of Oregon, by fall in the semifinals, 1:39. Iowa’s No. 6 Hayden Bratland was given a 10-0 technical fall to mull over. Earlier matches saw Fernandez pull of a 10-0 tech fall in just nine seconds to open the day and an 11-0 tech in 56 seconds against No. 34 Karis Butler (Washington).
“Overall, I can truly say I’m happy with my final Super 32 performance, but am I satisfied with my performance? I don’t think I’ll ever be, and I believe that’s what's led me to this fifth and final accomplishment,” reasoned Fernandez. “The insatiable determination I have to be the very best wrestler I can be, regardless of what milestones I reach along the way. My story at Super 32 may be finished, but there are plenty of other goals I haven’t even begun to write.”
Fernandez’s freshman championship was earned with a 7-0 win over Oklahoma’s Bella Williams, who was 113-0 in high school and now competes at the University of Iowa. New Jersey’s Corynne McNulty was defeated with a 10-0 tech for the sophomore crown. In 2025, Arizona’s Morgan Lucio was discarded with a 10-0 tech
SUMMER MUTSCHLER WAS OH SO CLOSE TO AA STATUS
Fernandez’s squadron mate at Spalding, Summer Mutschler, is ranked sixth at 115 pounds and had to decide whether to cut to 112 pounds for Super 32 or move up to 118. The decision was to go up in weight, and it seemed like a brilliant idea when Mutschler stuck No. 4 at 120 pounds, Angelina Gochis from Illinois in 2:49 of their round of 16 meeting.
Following that win, Mutschler was paired up with the top ranked 115-pounder in the nation, Pennsylvania’s Isla Silva, who won by tech fall, 10-0. This dropped the junior into the consolation rounds where she encountered California’s No. 28 Sophia Marie Gonzales, who surprised Mutschler with a win by fall.
GABRIELSON SLAYS SOME BAD BOYS
Another Spalding grappler, No. 31 Eli Gabrielson, made some serious waves in the 126-pound bracket before getting stopped two wins shy of reaching the podium. A 6-2 record was compiled with both losses coming to nationally ranked rivals.
Gabrielson’s hitlist contained wins over Washington’s Arcadius Cruz, Florida’s Benito Barnhart, New York’s Vincenzo Mannello, and Texas’ Oliver Pulliam – all wrestlers who have been nationally ranked in the past or are on the cusp of that designation.
The senior’s setbacks came versus Pennsylvania’s No. 6 Dom Morrison, 6-1, another Keystone Grappler, No. 40 Gabe Benyo.
VERCELES AND CHARLIE MUTSCHLER UP TO 126-Pounds
Both Tyler Verceles (Loyola-Blakefield) and Spalding’s Charlie Mutschler were in the 126-pound bracket alongside Gabrielson with neither enjoying the same level of success. Mutschler posted a 3-2 record.
Verceles, who is ranked 24th nationally at 120 pounds, was seeded 13th at 126. Gabrielson and Mutschler were unseeded. Verceles went 2-2 with a loss to No. 39 Jacob Saunders of Missouri. The second loss came to Nevada’s Abraham Coronado, who is currently unranked, but owns a win over Gabrielson from the NHSCA Sophomore Nationals in 2024.
Consistency has been Coronado’s problem and the reason he is currently unranked on the national scene.
OTHER HIGH SCHOOLERS TASTING SUCCESS
Former Loyola Don, Charles Cooper, who is off to the St. James Academy in Virginia, went 4-2 at 106 pounds with a big-time win over Texas’ No. 28 Fernando Jimeno, 3-1.
Cooper was tripped up by nationally recognized talent only in the form of No. 4 Cameron Bartlow of California, who he went into overtime with before falling, 4-1, and No. 21 Rylan Sandoval from Oklahoma, 9-3.
DeMatha’s Julian McCrimon was 2-2 at 106 pounds. Spalding’s Isaac Cichetti put up a 3-2 tally at 138. Northern Garrett’s Lukas Wolf was 2-2 in the 175-pound field as was Catonsville’s Josh Agen Davis in the 190-pound bracket.
KIESSLING & WILDY LEAD THE MIDDLE SCHOOL BRIGADE
Five of Maryland’s brightest youth stars found spots on the Super 32 Middle School podium with Korbin Kiessling (95 pounds) and Justin Wildy, Jr. (136) pacing the youngsters with third place finishes.
Kiessling was on fire out of the gate with a tech fall and three pins to advance to the semifinals. In the other corner would be Indiana’s D’Angelo Chavez, a wrestler so talented he would be in the high school rankings if eligible. Chavez won a tough 2-0 bout over Kiessling and went onto win it all.
Kiessling bounced back to take third with a 3-0 decision of Ohio’s Kolton Hartman in his placement match.
Wildy had the same trajectory and also reached the semis before dropping to the consolation rounds. Wildy’s sledding was a bit tougher than Kiessling’s, though, as had one pin, an 8-2 decision, and a 3-0 win over Arizona’s Jaime Valencia in the quarters.
Wildy’s semifinal foe, Georgia’s Beau Abbott, handled him and then claimed the 136-pound Belt, while Wildy came back for third with a 4-0 win over Ohio’s Ayden Hudson.
CLEMONS, TRACEY, AND THE REST OF THE HARDWARE GANG
Brody Clemons was in the same bracket with Wildy and the two did not meet but Clemons was able to work his way to the fifth-place position on the podium by sticking New Jersey’s Ryan Mertz in 1:49 of their fifth-place match. Wildy beat Mertz two times at S32.
Clemons opened with wins of 10-3 and 7-0 before dropping back-to-back matches to Ohio’s Hudson, 1-0, and New Jersey’s Kellan Crowell.
Billy Tracey’s 80-pound bracket was maxed out at 32 kids with him seeded 14th. When the final whistle blew, Tracey’s hand was raised as the 1-0 winner of the seventh-place match over Florida’s Reece Fish.
Tracey was 5-2 overall with a nice win over Pennsylvania’s Jett Sidun, 3-0. The losses came at the hands of California’s Quinton Faull and Tennessee’s Kalix Fitzpatrick. Faull failed to place while Fitzpatrick finished third.
Ryker Stover was the last of the middle schoolers to place and he did so in a Round Robin bracket at 180 pounds where he landed in the sixth spot.
Raymond Davis was in the 8U Brackets and ended the action in fifth place at 55 pounds. Davis lost his first match of the day to New York’s Alex Butler, then won two in a row before encountering Butler and falling once again.
Davis dished a 14-0 major decision loss to South Carolina’s Eli Franklin to claim his fifth-place positioning.
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