- February 25, 2025
Flagler Palm Coast celebrates its regional championship with individual champs (from left) Maria Mills, Kendall Bibla, Tiana Fires, Alexa Calidonio and Christina Borgmann displaying their brackets. Photos by Rachel and Abe Mills
FPC's Christina Borgmann won the 130-pound championship at regional to advance to state. The senior is a reigning state champ. Photos by Rachel and Abe Mills
Tiana Fries won the 145-pound title at regional. Fries won a state championship as a freshman and will try to win another as a senior. Photos by Rachel and Abe Mills
Seabreeze's Sofia James placed third in the 170-pound weight class at regional to advance to the state championships. Photos by Rachel and Abe Mills
FPC's Alexa Calidonio won the 155-pound regional title to advance to state for the second time. Photos by Rachel and Abe Mills
FPC's Mariah Mills looks for the ref to tap the mat to signify pin at regional. Mills won the 110-pound title to advance to state for the fourth time. Photos by Rachel and Abe Mills
FPC's Kendall Bibla won the 170-pound weight class at regional to advance to state for the fourth time. Photos by Rachel and Abe Mills
FPC's Juliana Mills defeated Kassidy Grundy of Tocoi Creek in the 100-pound third-place match at regionals to advance to state. Photos by Rachel and Abe Mills
FPC 105-pounder Joslyn Johnson (right) wrestles Erin Rizzuto of Ponte Vedra in the regional semifinals. Johnson will try to defend her state championship March 6-8 in Kissimmee. Photos by Rachel and Abe Mills
FPC 135-pounder Ana Vilar placed third at regional to qualify for state for the third time. Photos by Rachel and Abe Mills.
Matanzas 190-pounder Ani Brown placed second at regional to qualify for state for the third time. Photos by Rachel and Abe Mills.
Matanzas 120-pounder Cardy Michel placed third at regional to qualify for state. Photos by Rachel and Abe Mills.
Flagler Palm Coast’s Christina Borgmann has not lost a high school wrestling match in two years. When she found herself on her back in the semifinals of the Region 1 girls wrestling tournament on Feb. 22, the spectators sensed an upset.
Lahela Turnquest of Pace caught Borgmann in a cradle and put her on her back in the 130-pound semifinal and spectators in the Panama City Bay High gym cheered.
“The gym got very loud and not in our favor,” FPC coach David Bossardet said. “But Nina was able to stay focused and battled back.”
Borgmann recovered to pin Turnquest in the second period and then pinned Tallahassee Lincoln’s Amelia McKnight in the title match. She was one of five FPC wrestlers to win regional titles as the Bulldogs advanced eight wrestlers to the state championships on March 6-8. Maria Mills (110 pounds), Tiana Fries (145), Alexa Calidonio (155) and Kendall Bibla (170) also won their weight classes.
The Bulldogs’ other state qualifiers were Juliana Mills (third, 100 pounds), Joslyn Johnson (third, 105) and Anna Vilar (third 135). FPC’s ninth wrestler, Alisha Vilar, missed state by one round losing to Kelsey Marschka of Tallahassee Chiles by an 8-7 decision in the 140-pound consolation semifinals.
Seabreeze senior Sofia James, who won a fourth-place medal at the state girls weightlifting championships a week earlier, also qualified for the state wrestling championships, placing third in the 170-pound weight class.
Three Matanzas wrestlers are also headed to state: Ani Brown placed second at 190 pounds, Cardy Michel placed third at 120 pounds and Briana Durry placed fourth at 235 pounds.
FPC won the regional title with 202 points. Middleburg was a distant second with 92.5 points.
FPC’s Borgmann, Mariah Mills, Fries, Kendall and Johnson will all be trying to win their second state championship. Johnson, Camdyn Elliott of Gulf Breeze and Erin Rizzuto of Ponte Vedra entered the tournament ranked first, second and third, respectively, in the state at 105 pounds. Johnson lost to Rizzuto in the semifinals and then went on to win the consolation final to take third place. Elliott won the regional title.
“It was the second time they ever wrestled,” Bossardet said of Johnson and Rizzuto. Joslyn is now 1-1 against her. There is a very good chance we’ll see that girl again in the state semifinal.”
Calidonio probably wrestled the best match of her career, Bossardet said, when she won a 14-8 decision over Lake Mary’s Zaria Slater in the final. In the district final a week earlier, Calidonio trailed Slater 11-1 at one point before battling back to pin the Lake Mary wrestler.
But the match that excited the crowd the most was Borgmann’s.
“Nina is a perfectionist,” Bossardet said. “I say there’s ice in her veins. I don’t know too many people who can stay focused in a moment like that. An undefeated state champ gets caught on her back, down (three) points and the gym is cheering against you.”
