Super32 Results: Fernandez becomes 4x Champ

Some of Maryland’s brightest stars accepted the challenge Super 32 presents and headed south to the Greensboro Coliseum Special Events Center in North Carolina for two days of madness for the boys, if you were lucky enough to navigate the deep and dangerous brackets on Saturday, and one for the rest of the pack (Sunday).

Maryland wrestlers experienced their fair share of madness on the mats as many were humbled and some tasted unexpected and rare outcomes. A few exceeded or equaled expectations as they made statements on one of wrestling’s grandest stages.

FERNANDEZ MAKES HISTORY AS FIRST FOUR-TIME SUPER 32 CHAMPION

Archbishop Spalding’s Taina Fernandez, who is ranked No. 1 at 135 pounds nationally by High School on SI, started collecting Super 32 Championship Belts when she was in the eighth grade. That one at 123 pounds on an 11-0 technical fall of Wisconsin’s Carley Ceshker came after a third-place finish at 115 pounds as a seventh grader. Ceshker is now a senior, who is ranked sixth in the nation at 140 pounds.

Once in high school, Fernandez turned that first title into a streak as she won the 132-pound belt as a freshman and sophomore. The freshman version came on a 7-0 blanking of Oklahoma’s Bella Williams and last year’s was earned by tech, 11-0, over Massachusetts’ Corynne McNulty, who wrestles at Blair Academy. McNulty is ranked eighth at 135 this year.

That set Fernandez up to grab a fourth crown this year and the way the timeline worked for the finals, the junior’s title bout would likely come before Pennsylvania’s Bo Bassett could accomplish the feat on the boys’ side at 150 pounds.

That little turn seems appropriate with the way women’s wrestling is exploding now. And to make it all sweeter, one of the pioneers of women’s wrestling in the country, and the pioneer in Maryland, Nicole Woody was on hand to cheer her on. Woody wrestled at Arundel and graduated in 2006 as a state runner-up, as well as county and regional champ.

“Having Nicole Woody, one of the pioneers of women's wrestling and one of my personal inspirations, watching me accomplish this feat, was so meaningful!” remarked Fernandez. “Coach Woody has always expressed her support, from when I was just a little girl at my first national event, so for her, now, being there for me, cheering me on, to accomplish this big goal of mine, was just so heartwarming.

“I felt, and still feel, so grateful for her encouragement throughout my wrestling journey, and I think her being there, watching me take on this feat, is just a testament to the trail that she's blazed in women's wrestling, which motivates me to leave lasting footsteps of my own.”

Fernandez was set to face a girl she had handled on three previous occasions in the 138-pound finals, Arizona’s No. 2 Morgan Lucio. The two-time World Champ pinned Lucio in the finals of the U.S. Open Women’s Showcase, then teched her at Fargo and last weekend’s Who’s No.1 event by Flo Wrestling.

The Cavalier posted her third 10-0 tech of Lucio, going up 8-0 at the break, and then polishing it off ten seconds into the final period, 2:10. The girl’s competition used Freestyle rules, which meant ten-point techs and two, two-minute periods. The girls’ weight classes were also different as they condensed 14 weights into 12 utilizing in-between weights such as 138 pounds for Fernandez, skipping the normal 135 and 140.

“It feels amazing,” Fernandez said. “The first thought that comes to mind is me, as the little seventh-grader I was at my first Super 32, when I took third. Ever since then, I remember telling myself that I would work as hard as I could to win the next year as an eighth grader.

“Once that next year came around and I won, I set the same goal for myself again for the next Super 32, then the next one, until I realized that this year was not just another goal, but my chance to make history. However, on that same note, although I'm super proud of myself and my performance, I'm still setting the same goal I've set all these previous years: to do everything in my power to maintain my work ethic so that I can win this upcoming year.”

In the quarterfinals and semis, Fernandez faced two ladies ranked at 140 pounds, No. 15 Vivienne Gitke (Colorado) and Georgia’s No. 4 Great Garbuzovas, teching both, to go along with another tech and a pin in the early rounds.

“Honestly, I did go into the tournament understanding that I had the opportunity to make history, being the first to win four Super 32 titles,” Fernandez continued. “However, as the tournament progressed, I found that thought moving more and more to the back of my mind, to where the only thing I was focused on was wrestling my very best everytime I stepped on the mat, taking it one match at a time.

“Now, reflecting on the gravity of the accomplishment, it feels in a way, satisfying, to realize how great my goals are becoming, and that I'm following through on them. However, in that same sense, I also acknowledge that my winning four times was just another goal off my checklist, and that I will still set another one right in its place --- winning S32 five times next year. Overall, yes, I understand the weight of the accomplishment. Still, I'm not going to let its weight cause me to treat it differently from any other goal I've accomplished, and I'm especially not going to let its weight satisfy my hunger for more goals.”

ELIJAH COLLICK EXPLODES FOR FOURTH PLACE FINISH

Stephen Decatur’s Elijah Collick has been putting steady work in on the national scene since his season ended with a third 2A/1A state championship. The senior’s efforts have paid big dividends as he has put together an impressive national hitlist and added to it at Super 32.

Collick walked into Super 32 as the No. 29 man in the 126-pound ranks and improved his stock immensely with his biggest win coming in the consolation semifinals over No. 15 Sean Willcox of California, 3-2. The Seahawk met a top ten foe in the third-place match, Tennessee’s JoJo Uhorchuk (No. 9 at 120), and took it on the chin a bit and fell by major decision, 10-0.

Collick’s journey to the podium started in the Round of 256, where he dropped an 18-3 technical fall on Marquavious Lane of Georgia then collected two more techs before finally being tested in a 4-2 win over Wisconsin’s Parker Spierings in the Round of 32.

In the Round of 16, Collick met his first ranked rival in Honorable Mention Logan Stewart and dealt the Pennsylvanian a 7-1 decision. Georgia’s No. 2 Antonio Mills was on tap for the quarters and Collick didn’t fold under that pressure, hanging tough in a 4-2 loss to the eventual champ. Another honorable mention guy from PA, CJ Caines, was awaiting Collick in the consolation rounds and was discarded 7-3. A 4-1 win over Montana’s Cael Floerchinger moved Collick into position to scrap with Willcox.

“Placing fourth at Super 32 was a huge accomplishment for me and I feel grateful for being able to wrestle in it and put on a show for the people watching,” said Collick. “Beating someone like Willcox gave me a huge confidence boost and showed me I’m right there with some of the best competition. Overall, the tournament was fun, and exciting, I think that my performance was very good and showed on the mat.”

TWO TSARNIS HIT THE PODIUM

Salah Tsarni had a day on Sunday en route to placing fourth at 175 pounds that he has probably not experienced since his earliest days on the mat as he was pinned twice.

Tsarni was dominant on Saturday and in his first match on Sunday. On Saturday, the Blair Academy transfer, put two tech falls on the bracket and a Round of 16 major decision, 16-4, of Honorable Mention Ethan Secoy (Georgia). The quarters on Sunday went as planned with another major decision, 21-10, versus No. 16 Brennan Warwick of Ohio.

This presented Tsarni with the opportunity to avenge his 7-6 16U Fargo finals loss to Pennsylvania’s No. 10 Jayden O’Farrill. Despite the loss Tsarni held on to his higher ranking due to other factors and began Super 32 ranked second in the country.

Tsarni appeared in control in the early moments of the match but all that shifted with an O’Farrill takedown. In the second period, the unthinkable happened when O’Farrill stuck Tsarni at the 2:57 mark. The junior dusted himself off and handled No. 13 Eli Leonard (Wisconsin), 10-0, to reach the consolation final with California’s No. 15 Mario Carini. The Carini match was more shocking for score before the fall than the pin itself as when Carini decked Tsarni at the 4:55 mark, he was up 15-2 on the scoreboard.

Zakey Tsarni finished as a runner-up at 120 pounds in the 11U Division. Tsarni was seeded second and fell to the top seed from California, Jaguar Madyun, 9-1. A tech fall and two pins paved his way to the finals.

Kesi Tsarni is ranked 11th at 145 pounds and was in the 148-pound bracket where she failed to place, falling in the blood round to a name familiar to the Tsarni Family, O’Farrill, Mia O’Farrill on this side, 6-5. Tsarni dropped her quarterfinal to No. 1 Violette Lasure (Pennsylvania). Prior to that, she was able to avenge a Journeymen loss to No. 7 Faith Bane of North Carolina, 8-5. Bane came back from that to place sixth.

Ladies and Gentlemen, it appears we have a for real Family Rivalry building that will likely be revisited multiple times since Kesi begins her sophomore year, and Mia is still in the eighth grade. Salah is a junior, while Jayden is a sophomore. So, things could be quite interesting over the next few years.

PICKETT’S PROGRESS CONTINUES

Nothing that occurred at Super 32 hurt the Mt. St. Joseph Grappler’s national standing. In fact, despite not reaching the podium, Pickett, who is ranked 25th in the nation at 150 pounds, raised it by picking off No. 4 Davis Parrow of Minnesota, 5-4 in the consolation rounds.

A match later, the sophomore fell to No. 15 Bently Sly of North Carolina, ending his voyage two matches before the blood round. Pickett lost his Round of 32 bout to No. 25 Colin Rutlin (Missouri), 3-0. His bracket was large as he wrestled as far back as the Round of 128.

TUCKER COMES UP JUST SHORT OF THE PODIUM

Bullis’ Noah Tucker now holds a No. 25 national rating at 175 pounds and like Pickett, nothing at Super 32 will damage his position. Perhaps he even improved it as well by reaching the blood round before bowing out on a 12-4 loss to Wisconsin’s Leonard.

Pennsylvania’s CJ Pensiero moved down from 190 pounds where he is an honorable mention entry and fell to Tucker, 11-3, in the consolation bracket. Following a 16-6 major and 17-1 tech, Tucker edged Ohio’s Kyler Crooks, 5-4, then squared off with Tsarni’s nemesis, Jayden O’Farrill, who defeated him 14-6 to end Tucker’s time in championship contention.

LEITZEL AND MUTSCHLER MAKE WAVES

Neither Cavalier brought any hardware home from North Carolina but kept the theme amongst Marylanders going by improving their national stock.

Leitzel made it out to the Round of 32 at 150 pounds before tasting defeat at the hands of No. 10 Tommy Gibbs (Indiana), 7-4, pinning one guy and edging another, Josh Brown (South Carolina), 1-0. The senior pocketed a huge win over No. 20 Jackson Bradley (Indiana), 7-5, before being eliminated by No. 28 Dominic Way from West Virginia, 7-3.

Mutschler, who is ranked 18th at 105, lost in the 106-pound blood round to New Jersey’s Charlie Wylie (No. 5 at 110 pounds), 13-2. Wylie, who wrestles for Port Jervis in New York, placed third. The sophomore stuck No. 24 Sandy Breeden (Missouri) in 2:23 while holding an 8-4 lead.

Mutschler sandwiched a pin, and a tech fall around a 12-6 loss to No. 1 Madison Healey of Pennsylvania, who is a World Bronze Medalist.

KIESSLING SUFFERS RARE LOSS

Korbin Kiessling (80 pounds) has been on quite a ride through the middle school landscape over the last few years as he has won back-to-back USA Wrestling Triple Crowns and any other title he went after in that span including the Super 32. It’s the kind of streak that takes on a life of its own and adds extra pressure to just about any match, let alone the Super 32 finals.

So, when Kiessling was grinding through his scoreless match with New York’s JJ Sullivan, there was much more on the line than in many of the other finals as the thought amongst fans surely started to lean towards, is this it? Will Sullivan be the guy? As it turns out, Sullivan was the one to finally put a loss on Kiessling. After a mind-boggling run of domination, it was over on a 1-0 ultimate tiebreaker Rideout.

Kiessling cruised to the finals with a 15 second pin, a 41 second fall, then a match that went the distance, 8-0, with New Jersey’s Anthony Messina in the quarters before a 1:43 second decking of Ohio’s William Huffman in the semis.

PEREZ PLACES FIFTH

Another in the middle school field, Esais Perez also found his way to the awards stand, coming in fifth at 100 pounds. In the placement match, Perez rolled over Illinois’ Jaxson Barton, 18-4. Perez’s losses came to the fourth-place finisher, Tennessee’s Jhakai Roller, 11-3, and to the champion, Ausome Guillermo (California), 6-4, in consecutive matches. Two tech falls and a pin placed Perez in the semis with Guillermo.

HERBERT SECURES BRONZE

Back to the little guys and the 8U Division and Bryce Herbert who placed third at 65 pounds. In the bronze bout, Herbert planted California’s Dylan Messiha in 45 seconds, almost replicating their opening match in which Herbert gained the fall in 54 seconds.

Between those two encounters, Herbert met the runner-up, Virginia’s Emory Whie, and succumbed, 15-0, and pinned North Carolina’s Milan Bassiri, who placed fifth.

Link to the Classic Style Brackets:

https://arena.flowrestling.org/event/9a95313b-46c4-4d46-8374-79a581b1da4e