Kubasaki's Jordan Patterson pins ASIJ's Ruby Hannam in the 145-pound final. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
KADENA AIR BASE, Okinawa – Things didn’t look good for Lucia Ada as she tweaked a thigh muscle during her first match Wednesday at 101 pounds.
But the Zama sophomore battled through the pain and emerged as one of 13 weight-class champions on historic Day 1 of the first Far East High School Girls Wrestling Tournament.
“It feels amazing. I’m so proud of myself,” Ada said after her final bout, a defensive struggle in which she came out on top 5-0 over Kadena’s Jasmin Davis.
Ada was expecting to go up against three-time Kanto Plain champion Annika Farin of Nile C. Kinnick, but Farin suffered a left-shoulder injury in her first-round bout against Davis, sidelining her.
“I thought she (Farin) was going to be my (final) opponent,” Ada said, adding that as a result, “I kind of dedicated (the final) to her.”
Wednesday’s individual freestyle bouts marked the culmination of years of lobbying DODEA-Pacific to give girls their own distinct Far East tournament, rather than have girls go up against boys, as had been past practice. Girls wrestling began as a pilot program a season ago and got the go-ahead for a Far East tournament for 2025-26.
Davis and the Panthers won the Division I team standings with 100 points, outdistancing Kinnick by 16. Ada and Zama, with 29 points, won the Division II team crown.
Kadena was led by Ayana Cartwright (105 pounds), Juli Thompson (112), Jasmine Kinney (155), Katarina Franchi (165) and Ryah Narcis (190) as weight-class champions.
Kinnick’s Caroline Aguon (118), Audrey Snyder (124), Julia Blackwell (130) and Gabriella Garcia Santos (180) also claimed titles.
The other three champions were Jordan Patterson of Kubasaki (145), Seisen’s Ami Levin (207) and American School In Japan’s Serena Koslow (138), who became the fourth member of her family to win a Far East title.
“I can’t believe it,” Koslow said after beating Kadena’s Emily Perez-Golden 10-0 in 54 seconds. Koslow credited “all the hard work and everybody who supported me all this time.”
She joins her brothers Shane (2017), Austin (2019) and Warren (2020), who each won Far East weight classes for St. Mary’s.
Kadena's Ryah Narcis pins Edgren's Danni Waldo at 190 pounds. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Kadena's Katarina Franchi used leg laces to tilt Humphreys' Vanesse Medel en route to victory at 165 pounds. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Kadena's Jasmine Kinney pins Kubasaki's Esmeralda Mendez to win the 155-pound title. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Kinnick's Audrey Snyder gains control of Kubasaki's Jaylene Sanchez and wins the 124-pound title. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Kadena's Juli Thompson locks in a head-and-arm hold on Osan's Gavriella Duran at 112 pounds. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Zama's Lucia Ada outlasts Kadena's Jasmin Davis in a defensive struggle to win the 100-pound title. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
ASIJ's Serena Koslow, left, becomes the fourth member of her family to win a Far East title (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Cartwright used two big throws en route to pinning Jennifer Hagio of Humphreys in 3:49. “It’s the legs that do it. I train my legs,” Cartwright said.
Despite two sore shoulders, Thompson fought through the pain and used a chest press to pin Gavriella Duran of Osan in 2:40. Duran very nearly caught Thompson a couple of times in the early going, but Thompson survived.
“She (Duran) was my biggest opponent of the year, so I’m glad I got to wrestle her in the finals,” Thompson said.
Kinney also tweaked a shoulder, her right one, in her final against Kubasaki’s Esmeralda Mendez. Despite the pain, Kinney went on to pin Mendez with a chest press in 3:43.
Then came Franchi, who tied up the legs of Humphreys’ Vanessa Medel and tilted her four times to claim an 11-0 technical fall in 1:01.
“A lot of time, a lot of effort and a lot of help from the coaches,” Franchi said. “They drilled me a lot just so I could do it right.”
Narcis and Robert D. Edgren finalist Danni Waldo went at it hammer and tongs deep into the second period. Waldo nearly had Narcis caught, but Narcis turned the tables with a chest press to win in 5:32.
“Stay calm, do not underestimate her power, do not give up and remember all the people who supported me,” Narcis said.
Aguon, like Ada, was an unlikely champion who pinned favored Maia Minton of Matthew C. Perry in 2:28 – and seemed quite shocked about it.
“I was super nervous; I knew how good she was,” Aguon said. “I kind of just did it, it worked and kind of surprised myself. I didn’t think I could win. But once I took her down, I just kept going.”
Snyder came next and gave up the only technical points she surrendered all season early in her final against Kubasaki’s Jaylene Sanchez. But Snyder gained the upper hand with a series of tilts and won a technical fall 12-2 in 2:47.
“She’s really strong,” Snyder said of Sanchez. “When she scored on me, I realized I was in a Far East final and I have one shot at this title if I wanted it. Keep shooting, keep working, keep pushing.”
Blackwell capped her Kinnick career by going unbeaten over three seasons. Her opponent, Isabella Borjas of Humphreys, injured her left knee late in the first period and Blackwell won by default.
Patterson came away victorious, pinning ASIJ’s Ruby Hannam with a chest press at 1:45 after also giving up two early points. “I had to stick with it and not let those two points affect the rest of the match,” Patterson said. “You have six minutes in a match.
Kinnick’s last weight-class victory came at 180 pounds when Garcia Santos pinned Kubasaki’s Ainsle Schielke in 1:53.
Levin capped the historic first Far East finals round by pinning Humphreys’ Sophia Dunn in 2:04.
The D-I and D-II dual-meet phase of the tournament is scheduled to start 9 a.m. Thursday.
