From Tampa to tiny wrestling rooms across the state, this group of young women is showing that Florida isn’t just a “developing” girls’ wrestling state anymore—it’s a pipeline.
Take Keana “Kiki” Bush and Mya Bethel at Grand View University, one of the toughest women’s programs in the country. Coming out of Florida, they stepped straight into a room full of All-Americans and national contenders and are already battling through college opens and building their résumés. For Florida girls to land at Grand View and scrap their way into that lineup says a lot about how prepared they were coming out of high school.
Over in Kentucky, Lindsey Wilson College has practically become “Florida North.” You’ve got:
- Grace Lashinsky
- Emma Bauknight
- Kendall Bibla
- Brielle Bibla
- Sydney Bridenstine
all in that same powerhouse room. Lindsey Wilson is known for its blue-collar, hard-nosed style, and seeing multiple recent Florida grads there at once is huge for the state’s reputation. They’re not just surviving the jump to college—they’re pushing the pace in practice, scoring big wins at opens, and putting Florida girls on the NAIA map.
Florida also has representation at some of the most respected NCAA women’s programs in the country. Gabby Tedesco, out at McKendree University, has taken it to another level—she’s already been ranked No. 1 in the nation at her weight. Having a Florida girl sitting at the top of the college rankings shows just how high the ceiling is for athletes coming out of this state.
At Ursinus College in Pennsylvania, Erin Rizzuto is proving that Florida wrestlers can thrive at strong academic schools while still competing at a high level on the mat. Balancing college coursework and a college wrestling schedule is no joke, and Erin is showing younger Florida girls that you can chase both big academic goals and big wrestling goals at the same time.
Then there’s Gracie Leota at Presbyterian College, one of the early Division I pioneers for women’s wrestling. Presbyterian has been at the front edge of D1 women’s wrestling growth, and having a Florida product like Gracie in that lineup sends a loud message: Florida girls belong on the Division I stage. Every win she picks up, every tough match she wrestles, raises the bar for the next wave.
You’ve also got Christina “Nina” Borgman at Felician University in New Jersey, taking Florida toughness up to the Northeast and helping build a young program, and Cheyenne Cruce, a standout Florida state champ, who has taken her talents to the college level as well.
On the biggest traditional wrestling stage of all, Kinea Moore made history as Florida’s first women’s Division I commit, heading to Oklahoma State University. That commitment alone shouts to the rest of the country that Florida girls are ready for the brightest lights and toughest schedules.
At North Central College, one of the premier women’s programs in the nation, Milana Borrelli and Callie Alfieri are sharpening their skills in a room packed with All-American talent. Up north in New Jersey, at Felician, and across NAIA and NCAA divisions, Florida girls are spreading out and standing out.
And those are just a chunk of the names from one era. You also have athletes like Mariah Mills and Bri Kaminsky from recent graduating classes, who helped build the standard in Florida and opened doors for the ones coming after them. Even as they carve out their own paths, their impact is obvious every time a younger Florida girl steps on the mat believing she can wrestle in college too.
What ties all of these women together is more than medals or records. It’s the way they’ve:
- Turned Florida-firsts (first girls’ teams, first state tournaments, first college signees from their schools) into normal expectations.
- Walked into tough out-of-state rooms and proved that Florida girls can hand-fight, scramble, and grind with anyone.
- Come back home to clinics and off-season events and poured into the next generation of girls who are just now lacing up their first pair of wrestling shoes.
Florida girls’ wrestling is still young, but this wave of college athletes is the proof of concept:
- Kiki and Mya at Grand View
- Grace, Emma, Kendall, Brielle, and Sydney at Lindsey Wilson
- Gabby Tedesco at nationally ranked McKendree
- Erin at Ursinus
- Gracie at Presbyterian
- Nina at Felician
- Kinea at Oklahoma State
- Milana and Callie at North Central
- Cheyenne and so many others continuing their careers
They are the bridge between “Florida is trying to catch up” and “Florida is on the map.”
And the best part? The girls currently in high school are watching all of this happen in real time—and they’re already chasing them down.