Crofton senior Lexy Pabon looks to continue her family’s wrestling tradition with her third straight state title as a female. Pabon remains the first and only wrestling champion, male or female, for a Crofton program whose school opened in September 2020 with freshmen and sophomores.
The third-born of seven children, Pabon followed her oldest sibling and brother, Lonnell Owens-Pabon, into the sport.
Pabon is looking to “pass the baton” to her fifth-born, 170-pound freshman sister, Lilah, and leave her mark on the Cardinals’ program while competing between 125 and 135 pounds against boys and girls this season.
Lexy was a freshman 120-pounder in 2022, when she was a runner-up to then-sophomore Emma Hardemann of Northern-Calvert following a 2-1 loss. Owens-Pabon, meanwhile, went 36-1 as a 220-pound senior at South River in 2022, being a Class 4A-3A state runner-up after having won county and regional titles over the previous two weekends.
Owens-Pabon lost his state title bout, 2-1, in overtime to Severna Park senior Patrick Ellis a week after pinning Ellis in their Class 4A East Region title bout. A third-place finisher at counties during his sophomore year, Owens-Pabon is a redshirt sophomore at the SUNY University at Buffalo.
Lexy Pabon returned to win her third straight regional and second consecutive state crowns last season. Pabon’s run included state tournament falls in 77 seconds, 3:32 and 4:37, the latter in the finals over Frederick freshman Annika Emshoff.
Pabon won her state semifinal, 13-0, over Hammond junior Clara Freeman, who finished third after having placed fourth at states the year before. Freeman shared a common opponent with Pabon, who won a clash of state champions, 8-7, over Hardemann in December 2023. But later in January 2024, Freeman came from behind to pin Hardemann in 2:38 of a 125-pound bout.
Pabon regularly practices at HeadHunters in Columbia with the big boys and girls, including Boonsboro senior Tanner Halling, Archbishop Spalding sophomore Taina Fernandez, former Watkins Mill High wrestler Nebi Tsarni and former South River High wrestler Alex Szkotnicki, all of whom are extremely accomplished wrestlers.
Halling has placed third, second and first in the past three state tournaments and is currently ranked No. 1 as a senior by Legacy Wrestling at 132 pounds.
Halling finished last year with a mark of 48-0 at 126 pounds, where he used three technical victories to reach the state finals before winning his championship bout, 8-4, over sophomore Devon Opel of Northern Garrett.
Halling was 45-0 as a 120-pound sophomore before losing his Class 2A-1A state title bout, 3-2, to then-freshman Jo Jo Gigliotti of South Carroll, who will be after his third straight Class 2A-1A state crown this season as a junior.
As a freshman, Halling finished with a record of 37-1 at 106 pounds, losing, 3-1, in his state quarterfinal to eventual three-time Class 2A-1A state champion Tyler Garvin before pinning two-time state runner-up Evan Owen of South Carroll for third place.
Fernandez is among the states all-time pound for pound best athletes, regardless of era or weight class. Named Legacy Wresling’s Girls Lower Weight Wrestler Of The Year, Fernandez will compete on the Cavalier’s boys’ team this season as a sophomore at 132 pounds.
Ranked No. 1 nationally at 135 pounds, Fernanandez won an Under-17 World Championship in Amman, Jordan in August, and is already considered to be one of Maryland’s greatest female wrestlers of all time.
Tsarni became the Wolverine’s second state champion as a sophomore and the program's first-ever three-time state champion as a 155-pounder senior during last year's all-girls’ state tournament.
Named Legacy Wrestling’s Female Middleweight Wrestler Of The Year, Tsarni finished her senior year ranked No. 4 nationally, was runner-up at the NHSCA Nationals, and is a freshman at The Air Force Academy.
Szkotnicki was a senior in 2023 when she established herself as the second-most accomplished female wrestler in Anne Arundel County by placing fourth at states at 113 pounds while wrestling against public school boys at the Class 4A-3A state tournament.
Szkotnicki’s effort came two weeks after defeating then-Broadneck sophomore Cam Williams, 1-0, to become only the second female to win an Anne Arundel County title, and a week after having placed third at the Class 4A-3A East Region Tournament.
Now in her second season as a sports psychology major at McKendree University in Illinois, Szkotknicki went 3-2 at states, including victories by pins in 21 and 73 seconds and by an 11-1 major decision.
Pabon had a record of 20-30 with 10 pins as a freshman, a record of 15-4 with 11 pins and one technical fall as sophomore, and a mark of 14-2 with nine pins and one technical fall last year for a career record of 49-36 with 30 pins and two technical falls.
“Only three of Lexy’s losses were to girls and with all of them being when she was a freshman,” said Jason West, who is in his fourth year coaching the Cardinals and his 13th overall. “Two of Lexy’s losses were against Emma Hardemann and one was against Delaware Military Academy’s Alyssa Mahan. Since then, Lexy has been undefeated against girls, including a win against Emma Hardemann.”
Pabon spoke to Legacy Wrestling for this Q&A.
Legacy Wrestling: How does it feel to be the first and only state champ for Crofton and what was it like to repeat as state champion last year?
Lexy Pabon: Being able to repeat for gold again was very reassuring. It helps me to realize that it's not just about putting in all the blood sweat and tears for hours every day and seven days a week. It's about believing what you can do with it and what you can accomplish with it.
I am very proud about being able to accomplish one of my short-term goals. Although it is a bigger accomplishment for most wrestlers, I find it as a milestone on the path to pursuing my overall goal to become a potential national champ.
LW: How big was your last year’s state semifinal performance against Clara Freeman given that you had shared a common opponent in Emma Hardemann of Northern-Calvert?
LP: I was looking back at the match by watching the videos. I thought I could have done way better in my match against Clara. I was out of it and almost froze up. It's hard going against the training partner you work out with in the same room in the off-season almost every single day.
So, of course, I was very hesitant at first. There were a few scares during the match because she was really good at defending my half-nelson. She was very strong, so it took a little while. Overall, I’m happy with how I executed my plan.
I’m getting kind of used to the pressure and I’m not going to let it get to my head. I’m very proud of that accomplishment and I’m learning to trust that even if someone could be gunning for me, it just doesn’t matter.
LW: At what weights did you compete as a freshman and sophomore?
LP: As a freshman I competed in the 120-pound weight class and finished second that year. For both of my sophomore and junior years, however, I competed at between the 125 and 130 pound weight classes. Both years, I finished first in states.
LW: At which weight will you compete this year, and what are your specific goals for yourself on the season?
LP: My competition is against these boys. I’ll probably start the year around 125 and 126 or 130 and 132. For the girl states, I'm still unsure of what weight I will compete at. This season, I just want to have fun. It's basically my final season as a Crofton cardinal. I want to make memories.
I want to give my all and hopefully leave a strong impact as a reminder that girls can wrestle, too. Before every match, my Dad comes up to me and says "win or lose, make sure they never want to wrestle you again.” Each time, I stand by what he says and give myself a thousand percent.
LW: Are you planning on wrestling in college, and if so, where and what will you major in and why?
LP: Right now, my grade point average is a 3.0. Hopefully, taking all these college courses will help boost it up. I do wish to wrestle in college, whether it's their college team or a club team.
I'm not sure about what college or what my major will be. My overall goal is to make it to the Olympics and the worlds. Whatever gets me there is what I want to do and where I want to be.
LW: With whom have you practiced at HeadHunters in terms of former or current state champions?
LP: During my overall training at HeadHunters, I have practiced with Taina Fernandez, Nebi Tsarni, Alex Szkotnicki, Tanner Halling and many more accomplished and high-level wrestlers.
LW: Can you tell us about being the third-born of eight siblings, three boys and five girls, with your elder brother and younger sisters also being wrestlers?
LP: My older brother’s name is Lonnell Owens-Pabon, and he’s been a big part of my wrestling journey. Lonnell went to South River High School. My brother and I are very competitive against each other. I saw my brother wrestle and we always roughhoused with one another.
This taught me a good lesson, that even if you are bigger or stronger, I will still win. I started wrestling freshman year. I used to play soccer, fencing, and other non-combative sports.
I know during Lonnell’s senior year he wrestled at 220 pounds.
Lonnell won first at counties and regions and was second at states. The state final was where he suffered his only loss for his entire senior season in 2022. Coming into wrestling, with him being a top name at the time, I've always tried to live up his legacy that he built at South River.
We wrestled together at the state tournament in 2022 for different schools, with me finishing second as a freshman and him being second also. Lonnell’s currently wrestling at The University of Buffalo in the 197 weight class.
This year, my little sister, Lilah, is a freshman who is wrestling at 170 pounds and I’m a senior. Now I'm building my legacy at Crofton, showing my little sisters the path way into the wrestling world, and I'm hoping to pass the baton to her. So the Pabon family ain't leaving yet.
LW: How do you want to be remembered at Crofton as far as your legacy?
LP: This might sound a little crazy, but I don't want to just be remembered as the state champ or the first ever Crofton female wrestler. I want to be remembered as a hard-working and dedicated, resilient athlete.
When people hear my name or think of me, I want them to think about how it doesn't matter about what your perceived disadvantages are. It's about how you can use those disadvantages to your own advantage.
It's about how much you want it and how much you're willing to sacrifice for it. As my coach, Jason West, has said to me and my teammates many times, “Dust or Diamonds?" I like shiny things, so I chose to be a diamond.
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