- April 28, 2024
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Flagler Palm Coast High School had just two girls wrestlers last year. Now the Bulldogs are heading toward fielding a full team.
The Bulldogs sent six wrestlers to a season-opening girls tournament at Lake Gibson on Nov. 25 and came away with two championships, a runner-up and two third-place finishes.
Christina Borgmann and Gabby Proctor have transferred to FPC from state girls champ Matanzas.
Borgmann, who was a runner-up at last season’s state championships, won the 130-pound title at Lake Gibson. Ana Vilar, who placed sixth at state, won the 125-pound title at Lake Gibson.
Proctor was the runner-up at 155 pounds at Lake Gibson, while Joselyn Johnson (105 pounds) and Alexa Calidonio (190) placed third. Freshman Alisha Vilar went 4-2 in the 140-pound class.
Junior Ana Vilar and sophomore Johnson wrestled for FPC last season. Calidonio joined the team’s Flagler Wrestling Club in the spring after lacrosse season.
“She was in my freshman PE class,” FPC wrestling coach David Bossardet said. “She comes from a lacrosse family. Her brother, Brandon, is on our (wrestling) team, and she decided to give it a try. She’s been wrestling with us all summer.”
Alisha Vilar, Ana’s younger sister, is primarily a gymnast, Bossardet said.
“Gymnastics is her priority, and we support that,” he said. “So we got creative with her schedule.”
Bossardet said Borgmann and Proctor have fit right into the Bulldogs’ program.
“Obviously, going to a different program, things are going to be different,” Bossardet said. “But they’ve gone in with an open mind and done everything we’ve asked of them.”
The FPC boys team is rebuilding this year, Bossardet said. The Bulldogs will be heading to two season-opening tournaments this weekend — the Optimist Invitational at Jacksonville Sandalwood High and a JV tournament.
Bossardet said a lot of the Bulldogs’ first-year varsity wrestlers will be going to the JV tournament to get some experience under their belt.
The Bulldogs have only two home dates this season — the annual Flagler Rotary Invitational on Jan. 26-27 and the dual meet with Matanzas on Jan. 31.
“We want to wrestle in front of our home fans,” Bossardet said. “We’re trying to add another home dual. Last year, most of our duals were at home, so we wanted to return the favor and travel to their places.”
Mainland’s girls wrestling team placed fifth at the Princess Punchout at Wiregrass Ranch. Three Buccaneers reached the finals to finish second in their weight classes — Mia Vega (130), Jeslene Gonzalez (170) and Eva Rojas (190).
Three other Mainland wrestlers won medals — Trinya Tillman, third at 155 pounds; Kylie Ratcliffe, fourth at 125 pounds; and Alexa Kiser, fifth at 190 pounds.
Mainland High, the reigning Class 4A state girls basketball champ, has ramped up its schedule this season. The Bucs are 1-2 with losses to state powers Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas and Montverde. Mainland plays its first home game at 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 2, against Panama City Rutherford.
The Mainland boys basketball team, which reached the state championship game last season, has started the season with three straight wins. The Bucs don’t have a home game until Dec. 8, when they host Bishop Snyder.
Nikki Hagstrom won both the open and masters (age 45-49) titles at the International Powerlifting League World Championship on Nov. 16 in Eugene, Oregon.
Hagstrom, the wife of Flagler Palm Coast High School weightlifting coach Duane Hagstrom, also broke the squat world record with a lift of 380 pounds, the deadlift world record with a lift of 468 pounds and the total world record with 1,086 pounds.
Nikki, representing Team USA, won the best lifter award for all females, regardless of age or weight.
Duane Hagstrom, who is also Nikki’s coach, said she has been raising her numbers in squat and bench in training.
“Her best squat in training is 400, and bench is 250,” he said. “She has only been lifting for five years.”
