Perfection might be the best word to describe the 2026 All‑Big Bend Wrestlers of the Year. The undefeated duo couldn’t have scripted a better finish, each capping the season with a state championship.
Junior Jasper Croom of Florida High and sophomore Kendal Haynie of Wakulla High were selected by area coaches as the Tallahassee Democrat’s All‑Big Bend Wrestlers of the Year for boys and girls.
Croom captured the 132‑pound weight class at the FHSAA State Finals and finished a flawless 50‑0. His path to gold was anything but easy. Croom defeated returning state champions in both the semifinals — an overtime thriller — and the finals to complete his perfect season.
Haynie, meanwhile, dominated the 120‑pound bracket and closed her season 28‑0. She won three of her four state matches by pin, including the championship bout in just 2 minutes, 35 seconds.
Additionally, Florida High’s Clay Allen and Wakulla’s John Sanchez were selected by their peers as the All-Big Bend Boys and Girls Coach of the Year.
Here are the All-Big Bend wrestling winners
Boys Wrestler of the Year- Jasper Croom, Jr., Florida High
Girls Wrestler of the Year – Kendal Haynie, So. Wakulla High
Boys Coach of the Year – Clay Allen, Florida High
Girls Coach of the Year – John Sanchez, Wakulla
The All-Big Bend wrestling first team selections
100 pound division: Sayuri Caceres, Lincoln, Sr., 37-4 – 3rd State, Regional Champion, District Champion, Lady Trojan Champion, Bobcat Champion OW, OTO Champion, Trojan Boys Runner-up, 3rd Jade
106: Brayden Hodges, Wakulla, So., 36-14 – District Runner-up, 2nd Blackwell, 4rd Gator Brawl
105: Michelle Frady, Florida High, 7th grade, 11-26 – 2nd Ponte Vedra, 3rd Ryan Blackwell, 4th 7th Mulligan, 4th Lady Trojan.
110: Torreya Croom, Florida High, 8th grade, 24-24 – 6th Bobcat, 5th Rumble on the Range, 3rd Ryan Blackwell, 4th Mulligan, 4th Lady Trojan, 2nd Districts
113: Malik Leonard, Florida High, So., 37-11 – Regional Runner-up, District Champ, 4th Colby Singletary, 4th Rumble on the Range, 6th Bobcat, 3rd Cam Brown.
113: Jason Marsala, Chiles, Sr. 12, 45-8 – State Qualifier, Region Champ, District Champ, 3rd Border Wars, 4th Bobcat RR, 3rd Longhorn, 2nd Mulligan, 2nd Capital City Classic
115: Natalie Durance, Lincoln, Fr., 11-17 – 5th Freedom, 7th OTO, 8th Wildcat
120: Kendal Haynie, Wakulla, So., 28-0 – State champion, Regional-1st, District-1st, Flagler Rotary Inv-1st, Border Wars- 1st, Queen of the South 1st
120: Juan Torres, Lincoln, Jr., 33-8 – 7th State, 4th Regionals, District Champion, Capital City Classic Champion, Trojan Champion, Dog Pound Champion, 3rd Mulligan
125: Amelia McKnight, Lincoln, Sr., 38-8 – Regional Runer-up, District Champion, Lady Trojan Champion OW, Wildcat Champion, Bobcat Champion, Jade Runner-up, Mulligan runner-up, 4th Braves
126: William Harvey, Wakulla, Sr., 63-4 – 2nd State Tournament, Region Champion, District Champion, Ippolito Champion, Blackwell Champion, Gator Brawl Champion
126: Luke Rodriguez, Lincoln, Jr., 48-14 – 8th State, 4th Regionals, District Runner-up, Trojan Champion, Trojan OW, Dog Pound Champion, Capital City Classic runner-up, 3rd Cam Brown, 3rd Mulligan
130: Jordan Herron, Chiles, Sr., 32-5 – 4th State, Region Champ, District Champ, FPC Rotary Runner-up, Border Wars Champ, Bobcat Champ, Indigo Rain Champ, Mulligan 3rd, Lady Trojan Cham
132: Jasper Croom, Florida High, Jr. 50-0 – State Champion, Region Champ, District Champ, Capital City Classic Champ, Colby Singletary Champ, Mulligan Champ, Braves Champ, Rumble on the Range Champ, Bobcat Champ, Cam Brown Champ
135: Lillie Pepper, Florida High, 8th grade, 11-16 – 5th Districts, 6th Bobcat 4th Own the Ocean
138: Brady Jackson, Wakulla, Sr. 63-9 – 6th State Tournament, Region Champion, District Champion, Ippolito Champion, Gator Brawl Champion, 2nd Blackwell, 6th Grade C
140: Kelsey Marschka, Chiles, Jr., 24-9 – State Qualifier, Region Runner-up, District Runner-up, Border Wars Runner-up, Bobcat Runner-up, Indigo Rain Champ, Mulligan Runner-up, Lady Trojan Runner-up
144: Sterling Hollingsworth, Florida High, Sr., 44-7 – 4th State, Region Champ, District Champ, Capital City Classic Champ, Rumble on the Range Champ, 3rd Bobcat, Cam Brown Champ
144: Aaron Robinson, Wakulla, Sr., 52-10 – 5th State Tournament, 3rd Regionals, District Runner-up, Ippolito Champion, 4th Cradle C
145: Amelia Pena, Lincoln, Sr., 25-14 – District Runner-up, Wildcat Champion, 3rd Lady Trojan, 3rd Jade, 3rd Bobcat, 3rd OTO, 5th Mulligan
150: Troy Thaxton, Wakulla, Sr., 52-12 – 7th State Tournament, 3rd Regionals, District Champion, 2rd Gator Brawl, 3rd Ippolito
155: Claire Ajose-Adeogun, Florida High, Jr., 23-17 – 4th Districts, 6th Freedom, 4th Bobcat, 2nd Own the Ocean, 5th Rumble on the Range, 2nd Rusted Jade, 3rd Blackwell, 3rd Mulligan
157: Colt Sanders, Wakulla., 26-1 – 3rd Ippolito
157: Terence Hinson, Florida High, Sr., 49-12 – 7th State, Region Champ, District Champ, Capital City Classic runner up, 4th Colby Singletary 3rd Mulligan, 3rd Braves, 3rd Cam Brown
165: Hayden Smith, Chiles, Sr.. 49-5 – 5th at State, Region Champ, District Champ, 5th Border Wars, 2nd Bobcat RR, 2nd at Mulligan, 1st Capital City Classic
170: Kiara Nesmith, Florida High So. 20-10 – 3rd Districts, 2nd Own the Ocean, 2nd Bobcat, 3rd Rumble on the Range, 3rd Lady Braves, 2nd Blackwell, 3rd Mulligan
175: Jordan Haigler, Florida High Sr. – 46-7 – 4th State, Region Champ, District Champ, Capital City Classic Champ, 4th Colby Singletary, Mulligan champ, 5th Braves, 3rd Bobcat, Cam Brown Champ
190: Gavin Mitchell, Wakulla, Sr., 45-17 – 3rd District, 3rd Gator Brawl, 4th Blackwell, 6th Ippolito
190: Kylie Fukushima, Lincoln, So, 15-10 – District Runner-up, Lady Trojan Runner-up, Wildcat Runner-up, 3rd OTO
215: Blake Barodte, Wakulla, Sr. 45-17 – 8th State Tournament, Regional Runner-up, District Champion, 3rd Gator Brawl
HWT: Daniel Clement, Lincoln, Jr., 38-9 – Regional Runner-up, District Champion, Trojan Champion, Dog Pound Champion, Cam Brown Champion, 4th Capital City Classic, 6th Bobcat
Here’s the All-Big Bend wrestling second team
100: Sasha Alexander, Chiles, Jr. 105: Sofia Marsala, Chiles, Fr. 106: Channing Vogel, Lincoln, Fr. 110: Julia Pena, Lincoln, Fr. 113: Kyle Manzi, Wakulla, Jr. 115: Ainsley Rodgers, Florida High, Fr. 120: Wyatt Feltgen, Florida High, Fr. 120: Karina Martinez, Lincoln, Sr. 125: Julia Baggett, Wakulla, Jr. 126: Troy Trocher, Chiles, Fr. 130: Kameron Easter, Wakulla, Jr. 132: Patrick Cooksey, Wakulla, So. 138: Jayden Larson, Chiles, So. 140: Sarah Woods, Lincoln, Sr. 144: Toby Trumbower, Chiles, Jr. 150: JT Tompkins, Lincoln, So. 155: Emma Whittaker, Lincoln. Fr. 157: Sammy Passetti, Chiles, Jr. 165: John Cheney, Florida High, Fr. 175: Levi Bradley, Chiles, Jr. 190: Jonah Perdue, Lincoln, Jr. 215: Jordan Willis, Leon, So. HWT: Lonnie Pearce, Wakulla So.
The All-Big Bend wrestling honorable mentions
100: Isabella Pepper, Florida High, 6th grade. 106: Harley Charroin, Florida High, 7th grade. 110: Yashvi Patel, Chiles, So. 113: Xavier Palma, Leon, Sr. 120: Finn Osmar, Chiles, Fr. 120: Dominic Cicco, Chiles, Fr. 126: Weston Middelton, Florida High, 7th grade. 130: Serenity Nelson, Lincoln, Fr. 132: Jaxon Peters, Lincln, Sr. 128: Michael Davila, Lincoln, Sr. 144: David Lopeman, Lincoln, Sr. 150: Diego Silva, Florida High, So. 150: Patrick Sheeran, Leon, Sr. 157: Isaiah McMillion, Lincoln, Jr. 165: Josh Patterson, Lincoln, So. 175: Zymarion Williams, Lincoln. So. 175: Liam Sheeran, Leon, Sr. 190: Andrew Hutton, Chiles, Sr. 190: Andrew Londot, Sr., 215: Damian Ling, Lincoln, So. HWT: Jadin Rolle, Godby, Sr.
Editor’s note: The All-Big Bend teams and results were provided by area coaches.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: All Big Bend team: Who are the Wrestlers of the Year?
Reporting by Jim Henry, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
