Taina Fernandez Makes Maryland Wrestling History, Becomes First Female MIAA Champion

Ranked nationally among girls and boys, Fernandez’s dramatic 5-4 championship win powered Spalding to a team title and etched her name alongside Maryland wrestling legends.

Taina Fernandez discusses strategy with coach Brian Leitzel at the MIAA Championships, where she made history as the tournament's first female champion. / Trini Navia

Archbishop Spalding’s Taina Fernandez achieved another history making milestone by becoming the first female to win a MIAA Wrestling Tournament Title.

A Historic Night in the Toughest Conference

Traditionally the toughest conference in Maryland. The MIAA is a premier collection of private schools that have a monopoly on the Legacy Wrestling State Rankings with six of the state’s top ranked teams doing their work out the MIAA “A” Conference.

“Once I reached the finals, knowing that I would make history if I won, I just tried to block that thought from my mind,” revealed Fernandez. “Although it would sneak its way into my head every now and then, I just keep reminding myself that I’m going to go out there and wrestle to the very best of my ability, just like I do in every other match.

“There was extra pressure from that (potential to be first girls champ), especially at first, as I thought about it the days leading up to the tournament. However, I think once the day of the tournament came, I just knew I was going to do my best, regardless of whether it resulted in a win or a loss. Most importantly, I just kept reminding myself of how grateful I was to be able to compete at all, and that I knew my team and coaches had my back through it all.”

Taina Fernandez shows off her Outstanding Wrestler Award and championship Gold Medal after becoming the first female champion at the MIAA Wrestling Tournament. / Trini Navia

More Than a Milestone — A Team Difference-Maker

Fernandez’s Spalding conglomerate is ranked number one in Maryland as is Taina amongst the 140-pound girls in the state and nationally as well for High School on SI. Fernandez is ranked third on the boys list at 138 pounds by Legacy Wrestling in Maryland. The junior’s title winning efforts last Saturday at the Gilman School aided her Cavaliers’ title defense over Mount Saint Joseph, 274.5-266.

Fernandez taking down a St. Joe foe in the finals helped the cause as without that win, the Cavaliers would have fallen to the Gaels, 270.5-270. It was trending towards the top-seeded Fernandez finally suffering a defeat to a boy that was not a teammate as the Cavalier trailed 4-2 with 25 seconds left on the clock.

Heroics in the Final Seconds

As she has done many times in her career, Fernandez shined most when the moment called for it, digging deep and coming up with the heroics necessary to gain the winning takedown and disappoint Ben Scheiner, 5-4. Fernandez previously handled Scheiner 4-1 in a dual meet.

“Deep Waters” and Unshakeable Belief

“Thinking back on my finals match, specifically me having to come back to win, I went into that match knowing that I was going to have to go through “deep waters” to get the win,” Fernandez continued. “However, on that same note, I also reminded myself of how much my coaches have prepared us to go through “deep waters”, so I kept telling myself that no matter how hard it gets on that mat, you keep going and step off the mat with as few regrets as possible.”

The Ray Oliver Tournament is hosted by the McDonogh School each year and typically marks the first competition for many of Maryland’s private schools. As a freshman, this was where Fernandez made her high school debut. She would finish third that year and again this year and did not make an appearance a year ago.

World Titles, Super 32 Crowns, and What’s Next

Fernandez has lost twice to boys during her time on the high school mats with both coming at this affair and both coming to an opponent wearing a similar singlet. Fernandez’s teammates are the only ones who have been able to slay her with four-time National Prep placer and two-time state champion, Sean Garretson doing it her freshman campaign, 7-5, and Quentin Bailey dishing the 4-1 overtime loss this December. Bailey was a state runner-up in 2025.

At that first Ray Oliver, Fernandez took out a returning National Prep Tournament placer in Virginia’s Drew Roggie (St. Christopher’s). So, right out of the gate, there was a glimpse of her extraordinary ability versus the boys.

That culminated with her becoming a MIAA Champ this year. Fernandez reached the final on consecutive falls over Boys’ Latin’s Devon Pringle, 3:57, in the semifinals, and 1:21 over John Carroll’s Harrison Desai in the quarterfinals. The performance led to Fernandez being named the Outstanding Wrestler.

“Thinking back on my run to the title and tournament overall, I just feel so full of gratitude, specifically for my team and my coaches,” Fernandez elaborated. “I think about how I just took it one match at a time and could trust that although I wrestled the match alone, my teammates had my back through it all. Ultimately, that support from them meant the world to me, and gave me an extra oomph of motivation to just go out there and leave everything I had every single time I stepped on the mat.”

Fernandez Earned Her Spot in the Tournament in a Wrestle-Off

Spalding coach Mike Laidley revealed at the MIAA Tournament seeding meeting that Fernandez won a wrestle off with Bailey to gain the MIAA Tournament lineup spot. At the meeting, Fernandez was granted the number one seed based on her prior win over Scheiner and the fact she had also hung a 10-5 loss on second seeded Mason Comegys of McDonogh at Ray Oliver Tournament in the consolation finals.

“Honestly, leading up to the tournament, being seeded number one, I did feel a little bit of extra pressure, because I didn’t want to let my team down,” remarked Fernandez. “However, I then realized that my coaches fully believed in my ability to win, and that only made me want to “prove my seed,” not think of it as an extra layer of additional expectations. I also believe shifting my initial mindset from viewing being seeded the number one seed as a burden, to simply being blessed to be able to compete at all, really helped.”

In order for a boy to wrestle at the National Prep Tournament, he must place in the top six at the Maryland Independent Schools’ States, which doubles as the National Prep Qualifier for Maryland.

There’s little doubt Fernandez would advance to National Preps and given her history with the top guys behind her, would likely do so as a state champion. But chasing history is a favorite pastime of Fernandez’s and the junior is two-for-two when it comes to winning National Prep Titles on the girls’ side and the road to four championships needs further paving this year.

In light of that, Fernandez has conceded the spot in the lineup to Bailey so he can explore his potential at National Preps on the boys’ card while she works on another chapter for the history books.

Fernandez Has a History of Making History

Fernandez authored a big first in the fall when she became the first girl to win four Super 32 crowns, doing so alongside Bo Bassett (Bishop McCort, PA), who achieved the feat on the boys’ side.

That Fernandez has a thirst for breaking new ground does not come as a surprise given her roots in Maryland and that state’s history with women’s wrestling on the national landscape.

Maryland birthed the greatest female wrestler the United States has ever produced in Helen Maroulis, who was the first girl to ever place at the Maryland Public Secondary School Athletic Association Tournament, placing sixth in the 4A/3A division for Magruder High School in 2006. Maroulis would replicate that feat two years later with another sixth-place finish.

Since those high school days, Maroulis has won three Olympic Medals and 11 overall Olympic and World Medals, both records amongst female wrestlers, and was the first U.S. Woman to win an Olympic Gold. Maroulis struck Olympic Gold along with another Marylander, Kyle Snyder, at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Olympic Bronze came in 2020 and 2024 for Maroulis. World Championships were claimed in 2015, 2017, 2021, and 2025.

“This is amazing!!!!,” enthused Maroulis. “Huge congrats to her!!! Never had a doubt, though.” 

Built on a Legacy of Maryland Pioneers

Another women’s wrestling pioneer, Arundel’s Nicole Woody, hit the scene around the time of Maroulis and while she only placed once, she is the only girl to ever reach the state finals in Maryland, finishing as a runner-up in 2007 in the MPSSAA 4A/3A brackets. Back then, the girls had no choice but to compete against boys, at least on the high school level.

Woody took her talents to Oklahoma City University and became a four-time WCWA All-American. Woody reached the finals three times and won a National Championship in 2011.

“Taina's beating some of the best college girls in the country and in the world,” Woody said in a previous interview. “Like I've said before, she's going to be the best wrestler, male or female, to ever come out of Maryland."

Following the groundwork laid by Maroulis and Woody, two more Maryland girls have worked their way to the state podium over the years since with Smithsburg’s Monica Hovermale doing so with a sixth place showing in 2010 to become the first 2A/1A female placer.

“It's crazy to see how much girls wrestling has grown,” offered Hovermale. “I am just very happy to see that the sport has grown.”

Most recently, Alexandra Szkotnicki made waves for South River with a fourth-place finish at the 2022 4A/3A states.

Earning the Respect of Legends

Legacy Wrestling’s Lead Wrestling Writer and National Wrestling Hall of Fame member, Lem Satterfield, has watched all five compete over the years and chronicled their exploits. Satterfield is a legend in Maryland and beyond that has been on the beat long enough to know what’s what and who is the real deal.

“As a former Boxing Writer, I know that when that sport came up with the equalizing phrase ‘pound for pound the best’ it was meant to allow you to address a simple question: How do you compare great fighters from different weight classes fairly, without their weight being the determining factor,” Satterfield added. “I would put Taina’s cerebral analyzing and tactical abilities, her gas tank, and her execution, let alone her accomplishments up against any Maryland wrestler, I’ve ever seen, male or female, up against anyone. As it stands right now, I would say Taina is one of the top five in the state, pound-for-pound, male or female.” 

Last summer, Fernandez won her second straight World Championship Title. After the Super 32 escapades, Fernandez became one of the initial winners of the Girls’ Triple Crown Award, created this year, and given to girls who won titles at the Women of Ironman, Beast of the East, and PowerAde.

The creation of this award, set Fernandez out on another history making quest, spurred on by the chase for another unique accolade, as she had not appeared at Ironman or PowerAde until this year. The Beast championship was the third in three tries.

Fernandez was 7-0 versus boys as a sophomore but suffered an injury during a college open that season that kept her from joining the Spalding lineup at the MIAA Tournament in 2025. Her date with history would come a year later in the 2026 edition of the MIAAs.

“I feel really proud about making history as the first female MIAA champ,” said Fernandez. “It’s something that I had set as one of my goals this year, and honestly, there were some days where I thought I wasn’t ever going to be able to, but I just kept showing up and putting in the work regardless, and I’m so grateful for where that’s gotten me.

“On the same note, what mattered more to me, more so than making history, was just breaking the limits that I had set on myself, leading up to now, my junior year here at Spalding, and just proving to my freshman self that she wasn’t delusional when she believed she could compete on a boys team, and not just compete, but actually be a part of the team.”