JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Pressure. Cheyenne Cruce felt it. Embraced it. Rose above it.
The Middleburg star and now two-time All-News4JAX girls wrestler of the year followed a state championship as a sophomore with another as a junior. She’s only gotten better, with a 32-0 season locking her in as one of the best grapplers in Florida, and, best in an emerging sport.
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That pressure came from the outside, sure. Defending any championship is arguably far more challenging than winning one.
“Honestly, the pressure, that was the biggest thing. And it wasn’t even like other people putting the pressure on me. It was the pressure I was putting on myself to succeed,” Cruce said.
“I think what created that pressure for me was like, I had had done it my sophomore year, and I didn’t want to be where I didn’t want to go in and then I win one year, and the next year I fall through. I wanted to continue to see myself succeed.”
If Cruce felt that pressure internally, she didn’t show it publicly. Despite wearing the target of a defending state champ, Cruce rolled to district, region and state titles in the 190-pound weight class for her second straight unbeaten season. She was 39-0 as a sophomore.
Cruce has had to continue getting better. The sport, now in its third year as sanctioned by the Florida High School Athletic Association, continues to see more girls get involved. More competitors naturally means more competition and Cruce said that she saw better athletes and grapplers this season than her first two. In Cruce’s freshman year, girls wrestling was in its first year of being sanctioned. According to the National Federation of High School Athletic Associations, 228 schools and 1,093 athletes participated in girls wrestling. In the most recent participation data available by the FHSAA (2022-23), that number jumped to 296 schools and 1,547 athletes.
Cruce got into the sport at the ground level and has seen the numbers and the competition boom. This year, the area had five individual state champs, the highest number in the sport’s three-year history. There were four in 2022 and just two last year. This season, Flagler Palm Coast’s Joslyn Johnson (100) and Christina Borgmann (125), Matanzas’ Mariah Mills (110) and Bartram Trail’s Katherine Stewart (145) all won championships and join Cruce on the All-News4JAX team.
“I was actually thinking about this the other day, the numbers, in girls wrestling. My freshman year, we didn’t even have a full bracket when we went into state, but like, this year, we had girls who weren’t making it past regions because our brackets and our the numbers had grew so much,” she said. “That didn’t happen my freshman year. To see how much it has grew over the last three years is amazing.”
Previously, if girls wanted to take part in varsity wrestling at the high school level, they had to compete against boys. And they did. In 2020-21, the FHSAA said that 701 girls wrestled that year. But that was still a competitive disadvantage and not a full sport for females.
The creation of a true, sanctioned tournament for girls has been a remarkable addition and afforded athletes like Cruce the opportunity to compete, shine and help build a sport from the foundation up.
“When I was 8, 9 years old, I had no clue what wrestling was like. I didn’t learn what wrestling was till I was in seventh grade,” she said. “So, like to be able to have these girls that are looking up to me and they’re like, ‘Oh, I want to be like Cheyenne, I want to be a two-time state champ,’ that’s such an amazing feeling to have. … You think about it, and it’s like, ‘what I didn’t have that.’ So, to be able to be that for another girl. It’s amazing.”
All-News4JAX girls wrestling
First team
Wt, Name, School, Yr.
100, Joslyn Johnson, Flagler Palm Coast, So.
Comment: Season record 33-5. District 3 champ, Region 1 runner-up, state champion.
105, Skyla Fisher, Middleburg, So.
Comment: Season record 20-9. District 3 champ, Region 1 champ, 1 match from state medal.
110, Mariah Mills, Matanzas, Jr.
Comment: Season record 37-1. District 3 champ, Region 1 champ, state champion.
115, Natalia Choquegonza, Ponte Vedra, Jr.
Comment: Season record 37-8. District 3 champ, Region 1 champ, state 4th place.
120, Donavanne Hofmann, Ponte Vedra, So.
Comment: Season record 22-10. District 3 champ, 1 match from state.
125, Christina Borgmann, Flagler Palm Coast, Jr.
Comment: Season record 25-0. District 3 champ, Region 1 champ, state champion.
130, Ana Vilar, Flagler Palm Coast, Jr.
Comment: Season record 36-3. District 3 champ, Region 1 champ, state 4th place.
135, Kailani Barrientos, Oakleaf, So.
Comment: Season record 24-2. District 2 champ, Region 1 champ, state 3rd place.
140, Tiana Fries, Matanzas, Jr.
Comment: Season record 30-3. District 3 champ, Region 1 champ, state runner-up.
145, Katherine Stewart, Bartram Trail, Sr.
Comment: Season record 42-1. District 3 champ, Region 1 champ, state champion.
155, Karla Ortiz, Westside, Jr.
Comment: Season record 26-4. District 2 champ, Region 1 champ, 1 match from state medal.
170, Alexa Calidonio, Flagler Palm Coast, So.
Comment: Season record 32-10, District 3 champ, Region 1 champ, state 4th place.
190, Cheyenne Cruce, Middleburg, Jr.
Comment: Season record 32-0. District 3 champ, Region 1 champ, state champion.
235, Josie Raulerson, Columbia, Fr.
Comment: Season record 26-6. District 2 champ, Region 1 champ, 1 match from state medal.
Second team
Wt, Name, School, Yr.
100, Lily Bradshaw, Middleburg, So.
Comment: Season record 16-13. District 3 runner-up, 1 match from state.
105, Vasheer Burke, Clay, So.
Comment: Season record 28-7. District 3 runner-up, 1-2 at Region 1 (injured).
110, Erin Rizzuto, Ponte Vedra, Jr.
Comment: Season record 30-6. District 3 runner-up, Region 1 runner-up, state runner-up.
115, Memphis Moses, Middleburg, So.
Comment: Season record 24-16. District 3 runner-up, Region 1 4th, 0-2 at state.
120, Autumn Jarvis, Matanzas, Jr.
Comment: Season record 26-12. District 3 runner-up, Region 1 runner-up, 1 match from state medal.
125, Karson Kremski, Beachside, So.
Comment: Season record 18-11. District 3 runner-up, 2-2 at Region 1.
130, Saiomy Cabrera, Matanzas, Sr.
Comment: Season record 16-11. District 3 runner-up, 1 match from state.
135, Sara Goodman, Sandalwood, So.
Comment: Season record 6-5. District 2 runner-up, Region 1 runner-up, state 8th place.
140, Jasmine Gore, Riverside, Sr.
Comment: Season record 18-6. District 2 champ, Region 1 runner-up, 0-2 at state.
145, Kendall Bibla, Matanzas, Jr.
Comment: Season record 24-7. District 3 runner-up, Region 1 runner-up, 1 match from state medal (injured).
155, Ava Burre, Bartram Trail, Sr.
Comment: Season record 37-14. District 3 champ, Region 1 runner-up, state 5th place.
170, Hannah Matalobos, Bartram Trail, Sr.
Comment: Season record 19-18. District 3 runner-up, 2-2 at Region 1.
190, Ani Brown, Matanzas, Jr.
Comment: Season record 29-10. District 3 runner-up, Region 1 runner-up, state 7th place.
235, Trayce Goodman, Westside, Sr.
Comment: Season record 18-12. District 2 3rd, Region 1 4th, state 8th place.
Third team
Wt, Name, School, Yr.
100, Kassidy Grundy, Tocoi Creek, So.
Comment: Season record 16-14. District 3 3rd, 2-2 at Region 1.
105, Jazlynn Golder, Matanzas, Jr.
Comment: Season record 20-14. District 3 3rd, Region 1 runner-up, 0-2 at state.
110, Makayla Johnson, Baker County, Sr.
Comment: Season record 9-6. District 2 champ, 1-2 at Region 1.
115, Bella Guerrier-Lajoir, Columbia, So.
Comment: Season record 16-8. District 2 champ, 1 match from state.
120, Sarah Walsh, Middleburg, So.
Comment: Season record 18-18. District 3 3rd, Region 1 4th, 0-2 at state.
125, Taylor Pelchat, St Augustine, So.
Comment: Season record 23-8. District 3 3rd, 1 match from state.
130, Kylee Hopkins, Baker County, So.
Comment: Season record 15-7. District 2 champ, 1 match from state.
135, Finn Arthur, Fletcher, So.
Comment: Season record 12-11. District 2 3rd, Region 1 4th, 0-2 at state.
140, Alisha Vilar, Flagler Palm Coast, Fr.
Comment: Season record 25-14. District 3 runner-up, 1 match from state.
145, Siniayra Thomas, Riverside, So.
Comment: Season record 16-12. District 2 champ, Region 1 4th, 0-2 at state.
155, Aryan Benson, Tocoi Creek, Sr.
Comment: Season record 16-9. District 3 runner-up, Region 1 4th, 1 match from state medal.
170, Zara Exilus, Creekside, Fr.
Comment: Season record 12-11. District 3 3rd, 2-2 at Region 1.
190, Cherinice Knight, Westside, So.
Comment: Season record 3-6. District 2 champ, 0-2 at Region 1 (injured).
235, Jazmine Moore, Oakleaf, Sr.
Comment: Season record 14-9. District 2 runner-up, 1 match from state.
Honorable mention
Baker County: Mackenzie Jordan (125, So.).
Beachside: Sara Zeneli (140, So.).
Creekside: Lauran Wilson (155, So.).
Fletcher: Nicole Anderson (120, So.).
Fernandina Beach: Anjana Sermadevi (110, Fr.); Audrey Miller (130, So.).
Matanzas: R’Cardenay Michel (115, So.); Brooklyn Watt (235, Jr.).
Menendez: Ella Manchester (145, Jr.).
Middleburg: Callia Kuroski (110, Sr.); Lauren Hughes (140, Sr.).
Oakleaf: Jazmine Soto (105, Fr.).
Paxon: Isabel Flowers (120, Fr.).
Ponte Vedra: Autumn Natal (100, Fr.); Eden Thomashunis (130, So.).
Ridgeview: Zoey Fowler (135, So.).
St Augustine: Trinity Wanamaker (120, Jr.).
Tocoi Creek: Saniyah Callahan (135, Sr.).
Westside: Jaleah Terry (110, So.); Layah’ Mixon (125, Sr.).
White: Zakiya Williams (115, Jr.); Iyana Lee (155, Jr.).