No Girls’ Matches at Who’s #1? FloWrestling Says They Tried

Kennedy Blades wrestled Macey Kilty in the 2018 Who’s #1 event hosted by FloWrestling. (pc: TeamUSA.org/Justin Hoch/jhoch.com)

by Derek Levendusky, AWW staff writer
pc: TeamUSA.org/Justin Hoch/jhoch.com

FloWrestling’s Who’s #1, the annual showcase of some of the nation’s top high school wrestling talent, will not feature a girls’ match this year. Today on FloWrestling’s popular podcast, FloWrestling Radio Live, some of the hosts offered an explanation.

“A lot of people question, and rightly so,” said Andrew Spey today on FRL, “they’re asking where are the girls or women’s matches. We’ve had them in the past. Willie, I know you tried to set those up, and there’s was just extenuating circumstances, couldn’t get it done this year…not that we did not want them—we absolutely did—and you went through a lot of lengths to try to get one but [it didn’t work out.]”

“I had my heart set on Kennedy Blades and Emit Alor,” explains co-host Willie Saylor, “and Kennedy got hurt at the World Championships. I didn’t want to ask a 15-16-year old athlete, whether they’re male or female, after they got hurt at the World Championships—after they got their heart broke at the World Championships, I didn’t want to put them in a position that they felt pressured. Ya know, ‘Flo asked me to be on this card, I should probably do it because it’s Who’s #1 and it’s FloWrestling and I should do it.’ I didn’t want to put that pressure on her. I didn’t think it would be fair.”

The event card features 13 matches between the boys, including a recently added matchup between world teamer Pat Downey and grappling star, Nicky Rodriguez, with altered freestyle rules. But to the dismay of many in the women’s wrestling community, there’s no female names on the card.

“I mean it was hard,” continues Saylor, commenting about the Blades match he wanted to set up, also pointing out that her injury was a concussion. “If I don’t ask her, does she feel slighted. If I do ask her, and she’s not ready, does she feel pressure? And so I just went hands off with it.”

The past few years have included marquis matchups between top female talent, including Macey Kilty vs. Kennedy Blades in 2018, and Macey Kilty vs. Grace Figueroa in 2017. FloWrestling’s Saylor was also interested in a matchup between Fargo champs Sterling Dias and Sage Mortimer, but Dias was in Russia at the Vorobyeva Open, and their weight difference was too far apart.

“The whole landscape this year for it just didn’t fall into place,” offered “The Wrestling Nomad” aka Dan Lobdell, also a member of the FRL podcast. “…All the girls who we would have asked were just in Russia, and may still be in Russia—I think they’re doing a camp. A lot of them couldn’t have even gone [to Who’s #1] and then some of the ones that kind of emerged in previous years—Alexys Zepeda, she dominates Fargo and then we don’t see her this summer and then Mia Polumbo, who dominates Fargo—she’s hurt too. So between injuries and the Russia trip and then Super 32 is right after—a lot of those girls do that—the competition schedule and injuries [it] just didn’t really fall into place.”

“Tough timing,” added Spey.

Responses to this year’s absence of a girls match have been critical. “Being the women’s director in PA,” wrote Chris Atkinson in response to a Twitter post by FloWrestling on the event, “I’m aware the sem girls are in Russia as are a few others…Kennedy isn’t the only solid girl in the country. Try harder.”

“Sometimes it just doesn’t work out,” responded The Wrestling Nomad, concluding his explanation.

The event will take place this Saturday, October 5th in the Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, IA.