Kadena freshman Florencia Wiggins pins Kinnick's Lindsey Bennett at 190 pounds, sealing the Panthers' Division I dual-meet triumph. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
KADENA AIR BASE, Okinawa – Just when Kadena needed a big move, a Panthers freshman came through.
Florencia Wiggins scored a pinfall victory in 20 seconds over Lindsey Bennett at 190 pounds on the heels of a big throw.
It gave the Panthers the points margin needed in a 35-30 victory over Nile C. Kinnick in the Far East Girls Wrestling Tournament’s Division I dual-meet final.
“I just tried to keep my hips as low as I could, and when she pushed into me, I used that and turned so I could throw her,” Wiggins said.
When she heard the referee’s hand hit the mat, signaling the end of the bout, “I was so happy,” Wiggins said.
She finished in third place in Wednesday’s individual-freestyle portion of the tournament at 180 pounds.
In something of a gamble, Wiggins was moved up to 190 for the dual-meet final by coach Joey Wood, while 190-pound champion Ryah Narcis was bumped down to 180.
Narcis lost by pin to Kinnick’s Gabriella Garcia Santos, keeping the Red Devils within striking distance, trailing 30-25. Kinnick was due five points by walkover at 207 pounds, so the 180 bout became pivotal: Had Bennett won, Kinnick would have taken the banner.
“It gave her (Wiggins) a chance to pull one out for the team and gain redemption,” Wood said. “It came down to Flo. And she was ready. What a climactic ending.”
In the Division II dual-meet final, late drama was hardly a bother as Zama joined Kadena in a sweep of the Far East banners. The Trojans got four wins by pin and another by technical fall in downing Yokota 29-10.
Kinnick's Gabriella Garcia Santos pins Kadena's Ryah Narcis at 180 pounds. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Kinnick’s Julia Blackwell pins Kadena’s Emily Perez-Golden at 130 pounds. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Kinnick's Caroline Aguon briefly gains the upper hand on Kadena's Mia Espiritu at 118 pounds. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Kadena's Ayana Cartwright tries to take down Kinnick's Samantha Lamontagne at 105 pounds. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
A handful of wrestlers on each team were in their first year, with Kinnick sporting six rookies, which bodes well for the future for each team, Red Devils coach Stan Hovell said.
“To do this well at Far East as first-year wrestlers is phenomenal,” Hovell said, adding that he already has girls at school asking to wrestle next year.
Every bout in Thursday’s final was decided by pin. Inspired by a vocal partisan crowd, the Panthers raced ahead 20-0, behind pins by Ayana Cartwright (105 pounds), Juli Thompson (112) and Mia Espiritu (118).
But the Red Devils were just beginning to fight.
Audrey Snyder (124) and Julia Blackwell (130) got Kinnick into the match, each with pins in under a minute.
Kadena’s Mina Anderson struck back at 138 pounds, but the Red Devils’ Adrianna Cazares (145) swung the momentum again, and Kinnick got a walkover win at 155, setting the stage for the stretch run.
The last three bouts contested on the mat ended in under a half minute. Kadena’s Katarina Franchi (165) beat Evelyn DeWolfe in 13 seconds, then Garcia Santos pinned Narcis in 28 to set the stage for Wiggins’ heroics.
Zama's Jessa Bolin gains control of Yokota's Emery Horne at 145 pounds. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Zama's Harmony Hildebrandt tries to take down Yokota's Kalina Hatano at 124 pounds. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Yokota's Brie'ann Long wrenches Zama's Miki Kerwin's shoulders to the mat at 112 pounds. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Yokota's Justine Barao pins Zama's Ali Cadungug at 105 pounds. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Neither side featured a full lineup, but both coaches Chris Waite of Zama and Yokota’s Theo Kuntz say they’re hopeful for better turnouts in the coming years.
“We didn’t know what we would have at the start of the year,” said Waite, whose Trojans had eight wrestlers to just four for the Panthers. “I have a great coaching staff and the girls worked so hard. We hope winning will attract more athletes in the future.”
Zama’s Harmony Hildebrandt (124 pounds) agreed. “It’s looking good,” she said. “We put in the dedication, the hard work … We’ll get more wrestlers and more banners” in the future, she said.
The Trojans got pins from Hildebrandt and Lucia Ada, the 100-pound individual champion. Jessa Bolin scored a technical fall at 145 pounds, and Zama got walkover wins from Emma O’Flynn (138) and Evangeline Nelson (165).
The Panthers got pinfall victories from Justine Barao (105) and Brie’ann Long (112).
This was Waite’s first Far East title as a head coach since his years at Robert D. Edgren, where he piloted the Eagles to Far East D-II football banners in 2006-08.
The tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler award went to senior Serena Koslow of American School In Japan, in a close ballot race with Kinnick’s Blackwell.
Koslow joined her older brothers Shane (Class of 2017), Austin (2019) and Warren (2020) as Far East individual champions from the same family. But only Serena has come away with the coveted wrestler of the tournament award.
“This was such a fun Far East,” Koslow said.
