Taina is amazing and now an OW!

Archbishop Spalding junior Taina Fernandez will tell you that her most difficult rivals are those in the top-ranked Cavaliers' practice room.

A four-time Super 32 title-winner and two-time World Champion who is top-ranked among girls at 140 pounds both nationally and by Legacy Wrestling, Fernandez has lost just twice to male opponents as a high school wrestler – once as a freshman and again earlier this year.

Furthermore, each of those setbacks for Fernandez were by narrow decision to Cavaliers’ teammate in the season-opening Ray Oliver Tournament at McDonogh.

“It’s a very tough workout every time I go into that room,” said Fernandez. “But no matter how much it hurts, I know that it’s only preparing me to go out there and do the best that I can do.”

Fernandez faced extreme pressure yet again with 25 seconds left in Saturday’s 138-pound title match of the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association tournament at ninth-ranked Gilman, where she trailed, 4-2, against seventh-ranked Mount St. Joseph junior Ben Scheiner.

Their clash was a rematch of Fernandez’s earlier 4-1 regular-season dual meet victory over Scheiner, a returning MIAA runner-up who was fourth at last year’s Maryland Independent/Private Schools State Tournament.

“With 25 seconds left, I honestly have to say I had no idea what the score was,” Fernandez said. “I was just like, ‘Let me just wrestle as hard as I can with 25 seconds left. If I do that, then whatever happens happens, but I just need to wrestle as hard as I can and not stop.’”

Fernandez’s determination paid off with a three-point takedown for a come-from-behind, 5-4 decision that makes her the first-ever female to become a MIAA Tournament Champion.

“This moment means everything to me, but I’m honestly just so grateful that I was able to do it with the support of my team,” said Fernandez, who received the Charles R. Gamper Award as the tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler.

“I could not have done it without them. I can honestly say that. I wouldn’t be able to have accomplished what I’ve been able to if it were not for the hard work in the room and all of my partners and my coaches and everyone who supports me. I’m just so thankful for them all.”

Fernandez improved her record on the year to 15-1 with six pins, two technical falls and three major decisions by defeating Scheiner, who was coming off a third-place finish at The War On The Shore before losing their initial matchup.

Scheiner won Saturday’s semifinal bout, 4-2, over McDonogh’s sixth-ranked junior Mason Comegys, the eventual third-place finisher and an earlier loser of a 10-5 decision to Fernandez.

“I can always say that [dramatic endings to matches] always feel extra good. They really do. But, regardless, I didn’t care what the score of the match was, I just knew I was going to push hard to win,” said Fernandez, who reached the finals on falls in 81 seconds and 3:51.

“Before the match, all of the doubts, all of the worry and all of the anxiety came in. But I just tell myself that as soon as I step onto that mat, I have to block it all out and just trust in God to give me the strength to go out and do my best on the mat.”

Joining Fernandez on the victory podium were top-ranked senior Zane Leitzel (157), top-ranked sophomore Charlie Mutschler (113) and second-ranked junior Eli Gabrielson (126) among seven finalists and 10 wrestlers who finished within the top three of their weight classes as the Cavaliers (274.5 points) overcame second-ranked runner-up Mount St. Joseph (266) for their second straight MIAA tournament crown.

Guided by 24th-year coach Mike Laidley, the Cavaliers tied Gilman for last year’s MIS title and will try to defend it next weekend at third-ranked McDonogh.

“I almost had a heart attack, but we knew it would be close, and Scheiner wrestled well,” Laidley said. “Our wrestling room at Archbishop Spalding is as tough as nails, and Taina’s a game wrestler who loves the spotlight, competes very well and never gives up. I’ll put her gas tank up against anybody’s.”

A year ago, Fernandez went 7-0 against males, also winning the Ironwoman, Beast Of The East and National Preps tournaments among girls, and she began this season ranked No. 1 at 135 both nationally and in Legacy Wrestling's female ratings.

Fernandez was also top-ranked at 138 pounds among boys by Legacy Wrestling at the season’s outset, making her the first Maryland girl to be ranked No. 1 among males and girls simultaneously.

Fernandez finished third at the season-opening Ray Oliver Tournament at McDonogh following a 4-1 overtime semifinal loss to junior teammate Quentin Bailey. Bailey lost his Ray Oliver title match by 7-1 decision to senior Noah Rankin of St. Christopher.

Fernandez's loss to Bailey was only her second to a Maryland wrestler, boy or girl, as a high school wrestler.

Ray Oliver was also Fernandez’s first-ever high school tournament three years ago during her ninth-grade season, when she finished third following a 7-5 quarterfinal loss to then-junior teammate and eventual 126-pound champion Sean Garretson, a former MIAA and state title winner.

Including the loss to Garrettson, Fernandez went 5-1 at Ray Oliver as a freshman, with her record including two pins and a major decision against males. Fernandez won her third-place bout, 5-3 victory over sophomore Drew Roggie of St. Christophers of Virginia.

Roggie had placed sixth at the previous year’s National Preps Tournament, where he defeated Jake Tamai of Mount St. Joseph, a winner of his MIAA title at 132 pounds on Saturday.

Fernandez received praise from Leitzel, who won a battle of state champions, 2-1, in overtime over the second-ranked sophomore Brooklyn Pickett of Mount St. Joseph for his second straight MIAA crown.

“Taina’s amazing and one of the best training partners ever,” said Leitzel, who was fifth at National Preps. “We all want it, and there are no slackers on our team, and Taina’s in there working as hard as anyone.”

Fernandez was named Legacy Wrestling’s female Wrestler Of the Year as a ninth-grader, when her record of 34-1 included 18 pins and 11 technical falls and a 130-pound title at the second-annual girls Beast Of The East Tournament.

Fernandez had ended the year in late December of 2023 by winning the prestigious Ken Kraft Midlands Women's Championships, defeating four collegiate opponents by as many technical fall victories, outscoring them by a combined, 42-1.

At Midlands, Fernandez scored consecutive 10-0 techs over first-round opponent Jimena Serna of Morton College and quarterfinals' rival Nichole Moore of McKendree University. Moore was a 2022 Under-23 National champion, a 2023 Under-23 World team member, and a two-time NAIA All-American, according to FloWrestling.

In the Midlands’ semifinals, Fernandez delivered a 12-1 technical fall over Aurora University's No. 1 seed Lexi Janiak, a 2023 Under-20 World bronze medalist and 2023 NCWWC (NCAA) finalist. Fernandez won her championship bout, 10-0, over North Central All-American Salome Walker.

In February 2024, Fernandez became only the second Maryland girl to win a National Preps Tournament at the Stabler Center on the campus of Lehigh University, joining John Carroll's Julianne Moccia, winner of the inaugural girl’s division in 2020

Fernandez also continued her dominance of Maryland girls at last month’s Girls’ War On the Shore tournament, where she earned falls in 28, 50 and 74 seconds to reach her title match for a 15-0 technical fall over senior Aeriel Stallworth of Catasauqua (PA).

Stallworth won her semifinal by fall in 4:25 over senior Sophia Hodges of Northeast-Anne Arundel, a previously unbeaten returning state champion who wrestled back to third place and is second-ranked at 140 pounds behind Fernandez.

Fernandez credits several predecessors with the general growth of wrestling for Maryland girls and their influence on her in particular, including Arundel’s Nicole Woody, Magruder’s Helen Maroulis and South River’s Alexandra Szkotnicki.

In March 2006, Maroulis was a freshman when she became the first girl to place at the Maryland wrestling championships with a sixth-place finish at 112 pounds in the 4A-3A state tournament.

In 2007, the 103-pound Woody made more history as a senior by becoming Maryland’s first girl to win an Anne Arundel County and regional title and to finish as a Class 4A-3A state runner-up.

Woody pinned South River’s Curtis Taylor in five minutes, 42 seconds for the county title and blanked Centennial’s Jack Western 2-0 in the finals of the Class 4A-3A regionals on a reversal with 1:01 left in the third period.

Woody lost her state title bout 6-2 to River Hill’s Scott Mantua, who had finished third behind her at regions after losing to Western in the regional semifinals.

Woody won her state semifinal 5-4 in overtime against Tuscarora’s C.J. Savage, having already become the first girl to qualify for the 4A-3A meet as a sophomore and the first to pin a boy at a state meet as a junior.

Western Tech’s Jade Hendricks became the first girl to reach the Class 2A-1A state tournament, the same year that Woody did so on the 4A-3A side. But Hendricks went 0-2.

As a Magruder junior in 2009, Maroulis became the first female to reach the finals of both the Montgomery County and Class 4A-3A East Region tournaments and repeated her sixth-place finish at states.

Maroulis later became the first-ever American female to win a gold medal at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in August 2016, and world championship titles in 2015 and 2017, having earlier earned a gold medal in the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Maroulis also won a bronze medal in the Tokyo Summer Olympics in 2021, a gold medal in the January 2022 Ivan Yariguin Grand Prix in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, and, in September 2025, the women’s gold at The World Wrestling Championships in Zagreb, Croatia,

In 2010, Smithsburg senior Monica Hovermale (103) became the first female to place in the Class 2A-1A states and the third female to do so overall, finishing sixth.

A four-time Washington County champ, Hovermale totaled 104 career victories, becoming Maryland’s first female wrestler to surpass 100 wins. Hovermale went 2-2 as a sophomore at states, becoming the first female to win at least a match on the Class 2A-1A side.

South River’s Alexandra Szkotnicki was as a senior in 2022 became the second-most accomplished female wrestler since Woody by placing fourth at 113 pounds while wrestling against public school boys at the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association Class 4A-3A state tournament a year ago in March.

Szkotnicki went 3-2 at states, including victories by pins in 21 and 73 seconds and by an 11-1 major decision. Her effort came two weeks after defeating 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.

“Those names are inspirations to me,” Fernandez said. “They’re women I’ve looked up to my whole life. It’s crazy to think that I could be among them.”

As the daughter of a Bolivian-born mother, Trinidad (Trini), and a Puerto Rican father, Kareem, Fernandez always has a solid foundation of familial support.

“As Taina’s father, I couldn’t be more proud of her. This season, her goal was continued development and doing whatever she could to help the team,” Kareem Fernandez said. “I believe that her focus made all of the difference. Trini and I are incredibly grateful that she gets to pursue her passion with such amazing coaches, supportive teammates, and a family that’s with her every step of the way.”

Taina Fernandez agrees.

“They’re my crazy family, that’s for sure, but they’re my crazy family that loves me and they mean the world to me. I love them and I don’t know what I would do without them and their support. It’s just constant. That just gives me the mindset to go out there and to wrestle my best.”