- December 2, 2024
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FPC's Alexa Calidonio (left) wrestles Hernando's Mariah Earl in the 155-pound final. Photo by Brent Woronoff
FPC Principal Bobby Bossardet, Alexa Calidonio, head coach David Bossardent, Juliana Mills, Joslyn Johnson, Mariah Mills, Ana Vilar, Tiana Fries, Alisha Vilar, Kendall Bibla, Christina Borgmann and coaches T.J. Gillin and Steve DeAugustino.
Tiana Fries hugs FPC Principal Bobby Bossardet after winning her title match. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Matanzas High School's Ani Brown and Cardy Michel each placed third in their weight class at the Flagler Rotary Girls Wrestling Invitational Photo by Brent Woronoff
The referee raises Christina Borgmann's arm after the FPC senior won the 130-pound championship match. Photo by Brent Woronoff
FPC's Ana Vilar (right) wrestles Emma Hoppe of Viera in the 135-pound final. Photo by Brent Woronoff
FPC's Kendall Bibla, Juliana Mills and Maria Mills. Photo by Brent Woronoff
The referee raises Alexa Calidonio's arm in victory after she decisioned Mariah Earl in the 155-pound title match. Photo by Brent Woronoff
FPC's Ana Vilar pinned Emma Hoppe of Viera at 4:38 in the 135-pound final. Photo by Brent Woronoff
FPC's Christina Borgmann (top) pinned all five of her opponents, including Gabrielle Asabi of Sunlake in the final. Photo by Brent Woronof
FPC's Tiana Fries (bottom) avoids getting pinned in the 145-pound championship match. Photo by Brent Woronoff
FPC's Alexa Calidonio (left) won the 155-pound final by a 9-3 decision over Mariah Earl of Hernando. Photo by Brent Woronoff
The ref raises Ana Vilar's arm after her pin in the 135-pound final. Photo by Brent Woronoff
FPC's Christina Borgmann wins the 130-pound championship match with a pin. Photo by Brent Woronoff
FPC's Tiana Fries pinned Sunlake's Kristy More in 5:17 in the 145-pound championship match. Photo by Brent Woronoff
FPC's Ana Vilar (right) in the 135-pound championship match. Photo by Brent Woronoff
The Flagler Rotary Wrestling Invitational has been one of Florida’s top high school tournaments for 38 years. Now Flagler Palm Coast High School has added a sister tournament to its flagship event.
The season-opening Flagler Rotary Girls Wrestling Invitational was held Nov. 26 at FPC’s main gym with 36 schools, including four of the state’s top five ranked girls teams, participating.
FPC, ranked No. 1 in the state by Kabra Wrestling, won the team title, edging reigning state champ and No. 2-ranked Brooksville Hernando, 197.5 points to 190.5 points. Orlando Freedom High was third with 190 points.
The Bulldogs rallied in the finals to win the inaugural Rotary Girls title. Mariah Mills (110 pounds), Christina Borgmann (130), Ana Vilar (135), Tiana Fries (145), Alexa Calidonio (155) and Kendall Bibla (170) all won individual titles for FPC, while Joslyn Johnson was runner-up in the 105-pound class. Freshman Juliana Mills placed fourth at 105, but her team points didn’t count because only one wrestler per weight class counts toward her team’s standings.
Matanzas wrestlers Cardi Michel (120) and Ani Brown (190) each placed third to help the Pirates to a 14th-place finish with 45 points.
We want the toughest tournament. And we want it to be a first class tournament. We want to give our girls a platform they deserve. We don't want them wrestling in cafeterias and half JV (boys), half girls.
— DAVID BOSSARDET, FPC head wrestling coach
“(This tournament is) a big deal because it's a nice environment and it puts our girls on a platform I think they've earned,” FPC head wrestling coach David Bossardet said. “That's our goal. That's what we want. We want the toughest tournament. And we want it to be a first class tournament. We want to give our girls a platform they deserve. We don't want them wrestling in cafeterias and half JV (boys), half girls.”
The Bulldogs placed second at the state championships last season with just four girls in the field. The year, FPC’s girls squad has bulked up with five current or former state champs (Johnson, Mariah Mills, Borgmann, Fries and Bibla) and two other medalists (Vilar and Calidonio). Mills, Fries and Bibla transferred from Matanzas this year.
Bibla, who won the 145-pound title in 2023 to help Matanzas win its first team championship, is wrestling for her third school. She wrestled at Tocoi Creek as a freshman. The home-schooled athlete travels from St. Johns County every day to participate in practice.
“I’m very happy here,” the senior said after pinning Lake City Columbia’s Carlee Morrison in the first period of the 170-pound final. “FPC is my third school, and I’m only going where the best wrestling is because I want to be the best.”
Bibla was wrestling for the first time since June after suffering MCL and PCL tears in her right knee in a jiu jitsu tournament in July.
“It put a bunch of negativity in my life, because I couldn’t walk, I couldn’t do much,” she said. “But finishing first is a great way to start the season.”
Her state tournament was also cut short last season after tearing an elbow ligament in the quarterfinals. Both the elbow and knee injuries did not require surgery.
Bibla was wrestling up two weight classes from her last two seasons, while Calidonio wrestled down a weight class. Bibla, who weighed in at 160, would like to stay in the 170-pound bracket.
“Not cutting weight, I feel a lot better,” she said. “And I realized bumping up to 170 that you don’t need to cut weight to be successful.”
But Bossardet said the Bulldogs are still not decided on all of their weight classes.
“Alexa wanted to try to wrestle down. She's never wrestled that weight. And Kendall wanted to try to wrestle up. She's never wrestled that weight before. So we said, ‘let's see what it looks like,’” Bossardet said. “Those decisions aren't final, We'll regroup this week and have discussions with, ‘How did you feel?’ I think by winter break, we'll know our lineup. I like what I saw out of Alexa today. Her strength seemed to work for her. I like how she was moving her feet.”
Calidonio decisioned third-ranked Maria Earl of Hernando 9-3 in the final. At 105 pounds, Johnson lost in the title match to Gulf Breeze’s Camdyn Elliott, who Johnson had decisioned, 4-3, to win the state title last spring. At the Rotary, Elliott pinned Johnson at 4:57 in the third period.
No. 1-ranked Mariah Mills decisioned Natalia Choquegonza of Ponte Vedra 4-3 in the 110-pound final. Choquegonza is ranked eighth at 115 pounds. Borgmann, ranked No. 1 at 130, pinned No. 7-ranked Gabrielle Asabi of Sunlake at 1:20 in the final. Borgmann pinned her first four opponents in under a minute. Borgmann and Mills are both defending state champs.
Vilar, who placed fourth at state last season, is ranked second at 135 pounds. The senior pinned all three of her opponents. Fries, who is ranked No. 1 at 140 pounds, pinned all five of her opponents at 145, including fourth-ranked Kristy More of Sunlake in the final. Fries won a state title as a freshman, placed fifth as a sophomore and was a runner-up last year.
Bossardet said the tournament was a good gauge for the season.
“They wrestled hard, but there are areas where we need to get better, and that starts with the coaching. All of our girls are making mistakes with certain positions, so that's something we need to address from a coaching standpoint,” he said. “This is a tournament in November. It's a gauge to see where we're at, but they don't crown state champs in November, they crown them in March.”
