Article & Photography By Cynthia Leota
On Jan. 20, 2024, while the high school male wrestlers were wrestling in their Dual State Championships, eight of the top girls’ wrestling teams in Florida had their first-ever team dual meet at Freedom High School in Orlando. An event Coach David Pritz of Hernando Wrestling said was “a concept to prove that the girls should have a state championship duals as well.” Needless to say, it wasn’t a coincidence Coach David Bush of Orlando Freedom Wrestling chose to host the elite duals on the same weekend.
Just one day before the duals, USA Wrestling released the national girls’ high school team rankings, listing the top 40 teams in the country. Hernando and Orlando Freedom both made the top 40, with Hernando ranked #18 and Freedom ranked #24.
“It’s fun to see our girls’ team getting national recognition,” Coach Pritz said on being nationally ranked. “These girls have worked very hard and they deserve the recognition.” Pritz continued, “Florida is growing into one of the top states for women’s wrestling. I believe the top Florida girls can compete with the best girls from all over the country.”
Teams in attendance at the duals were Bartram Trail, Hernando, Matanzas, Middleburg, North Miami, Orlando Freedom, Ponte Vedra, and South Dade.
Hernando came out strong with their first dual versus Bartram Trail, dominating them 57-6. They suffered one loss at the 145 lb weight class with #1 ranked Katherine Stewart (Bartram) over #6 ranked Makenzie Eltzroth.
Although the Lady Leopards surrendered a loss to South Dade with a score of 27-51, Hernando would battle back and go on a run, winning the next three duals against #9 North Miami 51-18, #1 and defending state champs, Matanzas 47-30, and #2 Orlando Freedom 60-24.
“We took a tough loss to a great dual team in South Dade,” Pritz said, “The girls responded really well to some adversity. They rallied together and supported each other and we wrestled really good the rest of the tournament. We came away with two big wins against the defending state champs (Matanzas) and nationally ranked Freedom.”
When asked about the coveted state title, Pritz said, “Our goal all year has been to win a state title. This team has bought in and believes in each other. It will have to be a total team effort but I know these girls are capable of reaching this goal.”
Notable matchups throughout the duals were, #4 Emma Bauknight (Hernando) over #7 Arianna Garcia (South Dade) Fall 1:38; #6 Makenzie Eltzroth (Hernando) over #9 Aniah Paz Decision 6-4; #12 Mariah Earl (Hernando) over #10 Ava Burre (Bartram Trail) Decision 2-0; #12 (190) Chloe Stinnett (Hernando) over #6 (170) Brooklyn Watt (Matanzas) Fall 4:33; #1 Grace Leota (Hernando) over #4 Salexa Lontoc-Ortiz (Freedom) Fall 1:11.
