- March 9, 2026
FPC's Alexa Calidonio (left) wrestles Tampa King’s Isabella McFarlane in the 170-pound title match at the girls state wrestling championships. Photo by Abe Mills
Alisha Vilar (left) placed third at 145 pounds in the girls state championships. Photo by Abe Mills
Trey Twilley (left) placed third at 132 pounds. Photo by Abe Mills
Ana Vilar with her third-place medal. Photo by Abe Mills
Alexa Calidonio placed second in her weight class, losing a 2-1 decision in the second overtime period in the championship match. Photo by Abe Mills
FPC sophomore Kevin McLean placed third for the third year in a row at the state wrestling championships. Photo by Abe Mills
FPC freshman JoJo Foalima (right) placed third at 165 pounds in the Class 3A boys wrestling championships. Photo by Abe Mills
FPC senior Alexa Calidonio placed for the third time at the girls state wrestling championships, placing second at 170 pounds. Photo by Abe Mills
Alisha Vilar (top) placed third at 145 pounds in the girls state championships, with her only loss to eventual state champ, Ailee Briggs, who won her third state championship. Photo by Abe Mills
FPC freshman JoJo Foalima (left) placed third at 165 pounds. Photo by Abe Mills
FPC sophomore Kevin McLean (left) placed third at 120 pounds. Photo by Abe Mills
FPC senior Joslyn Johnson (left). Photo by Abe Mills
FPC freshman Jacob Hald (right) at the Class 3A boys state wrestling championships. Photo by Abe Mills
Matanzas 125-pounder Cardi Michel at the girls state championships. Photo by Abe Mills
The state wrestling championships were a roller coaster ride for Flagler Palm Coast High School with heartbreak and tears at their lowest point and redemption and celebration at their peak.
When the three-day tournament was all over on Saturday, March 7, the Bulldogs left the Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee with a runner-up finish by Alexa Calidonio, four third-place medals by Alisha Vilar, Kevin McLean, Trey Twilley and JoJo Foalima, and eighth-place team finishes in both the girls and boys tournaments.
Calidonio ended her high school wrestling career with a silver medal after placing fifth as a junior and fourth as a sophomore at the girls state championship. But her second-place finish was bittersweet after losing a 2-1 decision in the second 30-second tiebreaker in the 170-pound championship match.
Alexa wrestled a great tournament. She wrestled a great match in the finals. But her goal was to win a state championship, and she was that close to meeting her goal and just came up short in the 30-second ride-out.
— DAVID BOSSARDET, FPC wrestling coach
“Alexa wrestled a great tournament,” FPC head coach David Bossardet said. “She wrestled a great match in the finals. But her goal was to win a state championship, and she was that close to meeting her goal and just came up short in the 30-second ride-out.”
After three two-minute periods and a one-minute overtime, Calidonio and Tampa King’s Isabella McFarlane were tied at 1-1. In the first 30-second tiebreaker, McFarlane chose bottom and scored a one-point escape before time ran out. Calidonio then chose bottom for the second 30-second period but couldn’t score a point.
“Alexa wrestled this girl a lot and we’ve never taken her down but we have gotten away from her,” Bossardet said of the decision to choose bottom. “All of our guys and girls work extremely hard, but Alexa is the only kid I’ve ever coached who has done every single thing I have asked her to do, whether it’s an optional practice or extra workouts after practice. Because of that, it makes it a little harder. You want it for that girl.”
Calidonio and McFarlane have wrestled several times during their high school careers, Bossardet said, and all of the matches have been close.
Bossardet said the championships were an “emotional roller coaster.” Day 2, he said, wasn’t a great day for the Bulldogs. Calidonio won her semifinal by a 4-1 decision over Niceville’s Brooke Arbic, but the six FPC boys in the Class 3A tournament and the three other FPC girls in the overall girls tournament all dropped into wrestlebacks.
Joslyn Johnson, who won a state title as a sophomore and placed third as a junior, had her title hopes dashed with a pin at 3:28 in the 105-pound quarterfinal by Hernando’s Emerson Webber with Johnson leading 7-3 at the time.
“That was a girl I had concerns about. She’s very good on top and pinned Joslyn with an armbar,” Bossardet said.
It was a very quick turnaround before Johnson’s second-round consolation match, and she was still reeling from the quarterfinal loss, Bossardet said, when she was pinned by Tiffany Francisco of Davie Western to end her tournament.
“It wasn’t in the cards for her, but that tournament didn’t define Joslyn as a wrestler,” Bossardet said, adding that he told her clear her head and taker her time before deciding on her wrestling future.
Sophomore Juliana Mills (105 pounds), freshman Jacob Hald (106 pounds), junior Braden Dailey (113 pounds) and senior Michael Fries (150 pounds) were also eliminated in the consolation rounds by the end of Day 2. All of them had great seasons and lost tough matches, Bossardet said.
Day 3 began with a reversal of fortunes with Vilar, McLean, Twilley and Foalima all winning their consolation semifinals and finals to place third in their weight classes.
It’s very hard to wrestle back, and (Alisha Vilar, Kevin McLean, Trey Twilley and JoJo Foalima) all did that. It was a cool experience on the third day to see the joy on their faces and the joy on their families’ faces. And all four are coming back next year.
— DAVID BOSSARDET, FPC wrestling coach
“It’s very hard to wrestle back, and they all did that,” Bossardet said. “It was a cool experience on the third day to see the joy on their faces and the joy on their families’ faces. And all four are coming back next year.”
Vilar, a junior wrestling in her first state tournament, advanced to the girls’ 145-pound semifinals where she faced two-time state champ Ailee Briggs of Lemon Bay. Briggs pinned Vilar and went on to win her third consecutive state title. Vilar went on to pin both of her opponents in the consolation semis and the third-place match.
“Alisha had a great tournament,” Bossardet said. “She works extremely hard, and the result finally showed the work she puts in, and I couldn’t be more proud of her. Now, everyone knows how good Alisha Vilar is, and more important, she knows how good she is.”
McLean, a sophomore, placed third at state for the third year in a row. Wrestling for St. Johns Country Day as an eighth grader in 2024, he placed third in Class 1A, and placed third for FPC in Class 3A last year at 113 pounds. On Friday, McLean lost to eventual champ Lazaro Soto of Southwest Miami in the 120-pound semifinals. On Saturday, McLean won with a late pin in the semifinals and a 9-3 decision in the third-place match.
Twilley, a junior, also placed for the third year in a row. After losing in the 132-pound quarterfinals, he won four straight consolation matches including a 14-1 major decision over top-ranked Porter Daniels of Palmetto in the consolation quarterfinals and a 2-1 ultimate tiebreaker win over Hagerty’s Bentley Crawley in the semifinals. It was the fourth time Twilley and Crawley wrestled this season with each wrestler winning twice. Twilley won the third-place match by a 4-3 decision.
“Trey and Kevin, I often overlook, because you expect results from them,” Bossardet said.
Foalima, a freshman, lost in the 165-pound semifinals against eventual champ Tyree Graham of South Dade. Foalima went on to win the third-place match by a pin in 5:29.
“I think JoJo could be one of the best to ever do it here,” Bossardet said. “He’s wrestling at 165 pounds as a freshman. That’s a grown man’s weight. He’s very powerful and he’s only going to get stronger. He was able to show how good he is this weekend.”
Matanzas had two wrestlers in the girls tournament. Briana Durry lost two matches at 235 pounds. Cardy Michel lost two matches at 125 pounds.
