Rival revival: After district loss, Matanzas wrestler Kendall Bibla expects to meet Katherine Stewart two more times

The Pirates qualified 11 wrestlers and Flagler Palm Coast qualified five for the regional championships.

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Florida is not one of the top high school wrestling states in the country, so two Florida wrestlers ranked 18th and 19th in the nation in the same weight class is not typical. The fact that the two of them wrestle in the same district and live in the same county means one thing — they see a lot of each other.

Matanzas’ Kendall Bibla, ranked 19th in the 145-pound weight class in the latest girls national rankings, wrestled Bartram Trail’s Katherine Stewart for the seventh time in two years on Feb. 7. Stewart, ranked 18th, pinned Bibla in 1 minute, 49 seconds to win the 145-pound title at the District 3 girls championships at the Pirates’ gym.

It was Stewart’s sixth win over Bibla. But the one she lost was the biggest match yet between the two. Bibla won the state championship last year with a 15-4 major decision over Stewart in the state title match.

The one time I beat her, it mattered. I still can’t believe it to this day.”
— KENDALL BIBLA

“The one time I beat her, it mattered. I still can’t believe it to this day,” Bibla said.

Bibla wrestles for Matanzas but lives in St. Johns County, not far from Stewart. They were on the same team at a dual tournament last summer and got to know each other better.

“She’s awesome, she’s so sweet,” Stewart said of Bibla. “I love competing against her.”

The feeling is definitely mutual. “She’s a really sweet girl,” Bibla said of Stewart. “I love wrestling against her.”

Each time they meet on the mat, it’s a chess match. They know each other’s favorite moves. They know each other’s counter moves. The key sometimes is not being themselves.

Bibla said her mistake in their latest match was attempting a chin whip. When Bibla went high, Stewart said she knew to go low and stay out of Bibla’s tie-up.

“I did the chin whip,” Bibla said. “I have to know I can’t do those with her. I have to change my game a little, not tie up quickly, because I always tie up.”

Matanzas coach Mike Fries has watched all of their matches.

“I can’t think of one where Katherine just shot and took Kendall down,” he said. “Katherine’s points are mostly through slip throws, roll throughs. Kendall had great position today with the snap and spin. She went with the chin whip. She always goes for the home run.”

PIRATES FIRST, BULLDOGS THIRD

Matanzas won the district championship with all 11 of its wrestlers advancing to the Region 1 championships scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 17 at Chiles High in Tallahassee. The Pirates outdistanced second-place Middleburg 179-134.

Flagler Palm Coast, which entered just five wrestlers, finished third with 116 points. Ponte Vedra (100 points) was fourth and Bartram Trail (85 points) was fifth.

The Pirates had three district champs: Mariah Mills at 110 pounds, Tiana Fries at 140 and Brooklyn Watt at 235. Watt was the only wrestler in that weight class. FPC had four district champs: Joslyn Johnson (100 pounds), Christina Borgmann (125), Ana Vilar (130) and Alexa Calidonio (170).

Also moving on to regionals for the Pirates are: Jazlynn Golder (third, 105), R`Cardenay Michel (third, 115), Autumn Jarvis (second, 120), Arielle Yantin (fourth, 125), Saiomy Cabrera (second, 130), Bibla (second, 145), Alexia Paterson-Bermudez (fourth, 155 without wrestling a match) and Ani Brown (second, 190). Brown lost by a pin in 3:14 to Middleburg’s Cheyenne Cruce, ranked 19th in the nation at 190. 

FPC freshman Alicia Vilar also qualified. She placed second in the 140-pound class, losing to Tiana Fries by a pin in the title match. Ana Vilar improved to 29-1 on the season. Borgmann, a state runner-up last year, improved to 17-0. 

“Our goal was to make it to the regional tournament, so it’s on to regionals,” FPC coach David Bossardet said.

Matanzas is trying to defend its 2023 state championship. The Pirates lost two state runners-up in Brielle Bibla (who now wrestles for the University of Mount Olive) and Borgmann, but return Mills (29-1 this season) and Fries (23-2), both two-time state medal winners.

Fries is trying to return to the top of the podium. She won a state championship in 2022 as a freshman. Her workouts begin in the mornings before school with her personal trainer. After practice, she does pushups or sit-ups on her own.

“Everyone goes to practice, so I feel like I have to do extra,” she said.

Before the championship round, the Pirates celebrated their three seniors: Yantin, Cabrera and Jordan Mills, who is ranked first in the state in boys Class 2A at 190 pounds.

Kendall Bibla, a junior, fell to 20-5 on the season with the loss to Stewart, a senior. Three of her losses this season have come to Stewart. She knows she will meet her rival two more times.

“She’s one of the best wrestlers I’ve every wrestled against,” Bibla said. “I’m going to be working hard and doing my best to beat her.” 

 

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