All-News4JAX girls wrestling: FPC’s Christina Borgmann gave the sport a try and never looked back

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Christina Borgmann had always been a good athlete.

It just wasn’t in wrestling because she just didn’t know much about it. Now, Borgmann, the All-News4JAX girls wrestler of the year from Flagler Palm Coast, couldn’t imagine not having the sport in her life.

“I’ve always been pretty athletic, but wrestling, you know, is obviously something new, like the positions and stuff,” said Borgmann, who has signed with Felician University. “But ever since I joined, I just liked it so well. I loved it.”

She’s relatively new to the sport, which has only been fully sanctioned by the FHSAA since the 2021-2022 season. And Borgmann didn’t just barge into it after it was sanctioned. Quite the opposite.

Borgmann said that it was really only by chance that she gave wrestling a try.

Borgmann said that she was working out with the Junior ROTC program on the track when Matanzas wrestling coach Mike Fries noticed her.

“He called me over and then he’s like, ‘you should try wrestling. You hear wrestling, you’re like, why would I want to do that? And I was like, no, like, why would I want to do that? And then he’s like, ‘just give me a week.’ And I was like, no. Then he’s like, ‘give me three days,’” she said.

“So, I came in and I loved it. So, I stayed with it. And I just did everything I could to get better at it.”

It took quite the sales pitch to get Borgmann out on the mat. When she did, it was the perfect match.

Varsity 4 All-News4JAX girls wrestlers of the year

Borgmann started wrestling as a sophomore at Matanzas, reaching the state championship match that season. She lost in that round and wouldn’t lose again at the high school level.

Borgmann won the final 58 matches of her career, including a 33-0 mark in her final season and an individual title at the 130-pound limit to lead the Bulldogs to the Class 3A team state championship and the No. 1 ranking in Florida. FPC finished ranked 11th nationally by USA wrestling. The Bulldogs qualified eight wrestlers for state, with two (Borgmann and Kendall Bibla) winning championships.

Borgmann credits her teammates and relationships that she built early on in her career at Matanzas and then at FPC that helped deliver the best season in program history.

“I mean, when we’re in the room like I say, like nothing else matters. Like when you’re wrestling, nothing else should matter,” Borgmann said. “So, it’s like in our room, it’s always like balls to the walls. It’s like we all go hard on each other. So that’s really helped. Like all of us pretty much being up there, that helps a lot.”

All-News4JAX girls wrestling

Weight, Name, School, Class, Notable

100: Lily Bradshaw, Middleburg, Jr.

State qualifier went 34-18. Region 1 runner-up, District 3 champion.

105: Erin Rizzuto, Ponte Vedra, Sr.

State runner-up finished 26-4. Region 1 runner-up, District 3 champion.

110: Mariah Mills, Flagler Palm Coast, Sr.

Third in state, Region 1 champion and District 4 champion who went 29-1.

115: Memphis Moses, Middleburg, Jr.

Went 21-12. Region 1 qualifier (reached blood round) and District 3 runner-up.

120: Trinity Wanamaker, St. Augustine, Sr.

Finished 30-5. Eighth in state, Region 1 champion, District 3 champion.

125: Taylor Pelchat, St. Augustine, Jr.

Seventh in state and went 43-11. Third in Region 1, District 3 champion.

130: Christina Borgmann, Flagler Palm Coast, Sr.

All-News4JAX wrestler of the year. Perfect season at 33-0. State champion. Region 1 champion, District 4 champion.

135: Kailani Barrientos, Oakleaf, Jr.

Went 38-3. Third in state. Region 1 champion and District 3 champion.

140: Iyana Lee, Riverside, Sr.

State qualifier, Region 1 runner-up and District 2 champion.

145: Tiana Fries, Flagler Palm Coast, Sr.

Third in state, Region 1 champion and District 4 champion who finished 26-4.

155: Alexa Calidonio, Flagler Palm Coast, Jr.

Fifth in state, Region 1 champion and District 4 champion who went 30-6.

170: Kendall Bibla, Flagler Palm Coast, Sr.

State champion, Region 1 champion and District 4 champion who finished 31-1.

190: Cheyenne Cruce, Middleburg, Sr.

Third in state, third in Region 1 and District 3 champion who went 37-4. Two-time All-News4JAX wrestler of the tear.

235: Josie Raulerson, Columbia, So.

State qualifier, Region 1 runner-up and District 2 champion who finished 15-5.

Second team

Weight, Name, School, Class, Notable

100: Juliana Mills, Flagler Palm Coast, Fr.

State qualifier, third in Region 1 and District 4 champion who finished 22-12.

105: Joslyn Johnson, Flagler Palm Coast, Jr.

Third in state, third in Region 1 and District 4 champion who finished 22-3.

110: Natalia Choquegonza, Ponte Vedra, Sr.

Fifth in state, Region 1 runner-up and District 3 champion who went 43-10.

115: Maryah Jones, Raines, Jr.

Region 1 qualifier, District 2 champion with a 12-3 finish.

120: Giannina Simonpietri, Bartram Trail, Sr.

State qualifier, Region 1 runner-up and District 3 runner-up who was 9-6.

125: Sara Goodman, Sandalwood, Jr.

State qualifier, Region 1 runner-up and District 2 champion who went 29-8.

130: Aidan Arthur, Fletcher, Jr.

A 21-10 Region 1 qualifier (reached blood round) and District 2 champion.

135: Ana Vilar, Flagler Palm Coast, Sr.

Second in state, third in Region 1 and District 4 champion who went 31-3.

140: Cyndi Almonte, Middleburg, Fr.

State qualifier, fourth in Region 1, District 3 champion. Went 14-22.

145: Lilian Ison, First Coast, Fr.

Went 16-12. State qualifier, Region 1 runner-up, District 2 runner-up.

155: Zara Exilus, Creekside, So.

State qualifier, third in Region 1, District 3 champion. Finished 23-6.

170: Carlee Morrison, Columbia, Sr.

State qualifier was fourth in Region 1, District 2 champion. Went 20-12.

190: Ani Brown, Matanzas, Sr.

State qualifier, Region 1 runner-up and District 4 champion. Went 22-7.

235: Briana Durry, Matanzas, So.

State qualifier, fourth in Region 1 and District 4 runner-up. Finished 12-9.

Third team

Weight, Name, School, Class, Notable

100: Kassidy Grundy, Tocoi Creek, Jr.

State qualifier, fourth in Region 1 and District 3 runner-up. Went 24-12.

105: Toni Silcox, Middleburg, Jr.

Region 1 qualifier (reached blood round) and District 3 runner-up. Went 22-14.

110: Sarah Walsh, Middleburg, Jr.

State qualifier, fourth in Region 1, District 3 runner-up. Finished 33-17.

115: Aislin Wilcox, First Coast, Sr.

Region 1 qualifier and District 2 third place. Went 9-7.

120: R’Cardenay Michel, Matanzas, Jr.

Finished 19-7. State qualifier, third in Region 1 and District 4 champion.

125: Bella Guerrier-Lajoir, Columbia, Jr.

State qualifier, fourth in Region 1 and District 2 runner-up. Went 30-12.

130: Nicole Salvado, Sandalwood, Sr.

Region 1 qualifier, District 2 runner-up. Finished 14-13.

135: Kylee Hopkins, Baker County, Jr.

Was 14-5. Region 1 qualifier (reached blood round) and District 2 champion.

140: Alisha Vilar, Flagler Palm Coast, So.

Went 20-9. Region 1 qualifier (reached blood round) and District 4 champion.

145: Zoe Goode, Oakleaf, Fr.

State qualifier, fourth in Region 1 and District 3 third place. Went 10-11.

155: Ja’niyah Williams, Columbia, Sr.

State qualifier, fourth in Region 1 and District 2 runner-up. Went 22-14.

170: Taniyah McKinstry, White, Fr.

Region 1 qualifier (reached blood round) and District 2 runner-up who finished 17-5.

190: Aubrey Spann, Bartram Trail, Jr.

Region 1 qualifier and District 3 runner-up. Finished 17-10.

235: Kayleen Barnard, Clay, So.

Region 1 qualifier and District 3 champion. Finished 4-10.

Honorable mention

Bartram Trail: Izabella Bentancourt (170, Jr.); Aubrey Thibodeau (130, Jr.); Vivian Williams (145, So.).

Beachside: Sara Zeneli (140, Jr.).

Oakleaf: Lamees Hudson (170, Fr.).

Orange Park: Zoey Flower (125, Jr.).

Ponte Vedra: Donavanne Hofmann (120, Jr.); Eden Thomashunis (125, Jr.).

Raines: Trinity Byrd (105, Sr.).

Riverside: Jahzara Lightfoot (130, Fr.); Paris Robinson (155, So.); Siniayra Thomas (145, Jr.).

Sandalwood: Nevaeh Baisden (135, So.); Isabel Flowers (120, So.).

Suwannee: Breonna Hewitt (145, Sr.).

Tocoi Creek: Anslee Crawford (145, Fr.); Emma O’Neill (135, Fr.).