Maryland World Champ Wins U20 World Bronze Medal (Congrats Taina!)

It didn’t take long for Archbishop Spalding’s Taina Fernandez to endure an experience she hasn’t dealt with in almost two years at the U20 World Championships in Slovakia…losing to a female competitor.

Fernandez’s last setback to a female wrestler came in the Warrior Open Collegiate Tournament in the winter of her sophomore year to Nigerian World Medalist Esther Kolawole, who was competing for William Penn by a score of 5-3.

Prior to that, the soon to be senior’s last loss to another girl (Jenavi Alejandro – a two-time NCAA All-American and national finalist in 2023) was when she was still in middle school at her first Super 32, where she went on to take third. Fernandez has now reeled off four consecutive Super 32 Crowns to set a record she will be looking to break this year.

The unfamiliar feeling overtook the Cavalier in her opening bout in the round of 16 versus India’s Mansi Lather. In the early rounds especially, Fernandez is used to dominating and rolling unblemished to the finals. Lather gave Fernandez a rude introduction to the U20 realm with a 10-2 decision.

“After the loss, I was devastated,” offered Fernandez. “It was my very first match of the tournament, and I had to come to terms with the fact that I just wasn’t ready, whether it be mentally or physically, I just didn’t wrestle my match. And understanding and attempting to accept that hard truth was really painful, but I’m so grateful for the people God placed around me in that moment, who really grounded me, and reminded me that it’s not over, even if I didn’t get pulled back in, I’m going to use this loss as an opportunity to get better.”

Lather would advance to the finals where she would fall in the finals, but her antics pulled the three-time U17 World Champion into the Repechage and a shot to pick up a bronze.

“After finding out I was still alive, my heart nearly exploded,” Fernandez reflected. “I was just so happy that God gave me another opportunity to glorify Him, and it served as a reminder to trust in His plan. So, I knew that the next day, starting with the repechage match in the morning, I wasn’t going to let anything get in the way of wrestling the best match I could, whether it be external or internal pressure; I told myself I was just going to go out there and wrestle free, like I did when I first started this sport at four years old.”

That is exactly what happened, too, as the star dropped an 11-0 technical fall on Norway’s Leah Samsonsen in 5:42 of the consolation semifinals.

The opportunity for the first U20 World Medal was still on the table, and Fernandez had to go through a Russian to get it done, and she did it with a 4-0 shutout of Evangeliia Berezhnova.

“Reflecting on my bronze medal bout, I just remember telling myself over and over again that “I’m gonna get this done.”, Fernandez said. “I was willing to do whatever it took to bring a medal home, and that thought alone motivated how I wrestled the entire match. And once it was over, I just remember a bittersweet feeling rushing over, because although this wasn’t what I wanted, it was a hard-fought victory I earned.”

It’s been quite the summer for Fernandez. The U20 World Bronze is coupled with her third U17 World Gold, which you can read about here:

https://www.legacywrestling.com/post/maryland-represents-at-u17-world-championships

“I feel very proud to bring home a U20 world medal. However, it’s not a gold one, like I had wanted so badly. It serves as a reminder that I can make an impact now on the U20 stage at 17 years old, but if I want to make a gold-medal impact on the U20 stage and beyond, I’m going to need to go back in the lab and keep on growing my wrestling.”

If we have observed anything from Taina over the years, it’s that she welcomes challenges and hunts them down. She could have coasted to the U17 title and waited to mature a bit before taking on the older ladies of the world…but that’s not her.

“I think what I learned the most from this experience is that ultimately, I can only control what I can control,” Fernandez continued. “And going into these World-level tournaments where there are a lot of things going on - whether it be external pressure, how far the venue is from our hotel, when I’m gonna be up on the board, etc. Ultimately, I need to do a better job at just focusing on me, not selfishly, but understanding that I have the power to view everything that’s going on in a positive light that best benefits me, and in turn, react accordingly, rather than how I may be feeling in a certain moment."

“I’m just super blessed to have an amazing support system around me, whether it be my coach, Jason Gabrielson, who went out to Slovakia with me, my family, or my teammates. I couldn’t, by any means, do any of this without them behind me.”

Fernandez will be back on the world stage with a vengeance, and we at Legacy Wrestling feel sorry for any girl who encounters Fernandez over the next year.

Look out world…you pissed off the wrong girl!