Making History in Girls Wrestling

Photos by Darrin Phegley

The sport of wrestling continues to grow across the nation, and Henderson County senior, Naomi Santiago, is no stranger to it. Naomi’s family moved from Miami, Florida but her parents are originally from Puerto Rico and Nicaragua. Growing up, Naomi participated in dance until the age of 13 when she injured her knee and had to take a break watching from the sidelines. But – this time away is when wrestling was introduced to Naomi, and she had no idea how much this sport would forever change her life. 

The Road to Wrestling 

During Naomi’s time away from dance, her uncle showed her a video of WWE. She thought, “Oh, that looks pretty cool.” It sparked her interest, so when she heard the announcement at North Middle soon after for those wanting to join the wrestling team to head down, she didn’t hesitate. Naomi laughed explaining she headed down thinking it was WWE. She recalls showing up to practice and asking where the ring was. Coach Poynter said, “This isn’t WWE.” However, this surprise didn’t stop Naomi from giving wrestling a try. 

“I was very nervous. I was the only girl on the team then. I was with a bunch of boys.” Evan Henshaw, Latravion “Tink” Johnson, Vinson Embry and Jaxson Wallace are some of the boys she originally started wrestling with on the team. Naomi wrestled a little bit her freshman year but didn’t compete because of COVID-19. Her mom had just had her youngest little brother, and they wanted to keep him safe and healthy and chose not to fully compete during that time. Instead, she danced her freshman and sophomore year on the HCHS dance team but decided to go back to wrestling full-time her junior year. 

“It was more of the family aspect wrestling had at county. Coach Poynter is the best coach I’ve ever had in any sport. It’s something I missed and needed. It got to the point that I was just like I need to go back to wrestling. It’s where my heart is,” Naomi expressed.

Making History

“Last year, they sanctioned Kentucky girls wrestling right after state,” Naomi said. “This year is the first year we’ve ever had regionals. The first regional tournament ever for the girls they had four different regions and combined two in each region. Everybody that placed first at that tournament was the first ever region champ in history,” the excited wrestler stated. Most tournaments are individual tournaments. However, teams earn points at the end of the tournament, and they announce what team won based on points. On February 17, the 2024 KHSAA Girls Wrestling State Tournament was held at the AllTech Arena in Lexington, KY at the Kentucky Horse Park. Naomi placed 1st place in the 152lb weight class. The tournament was the first sanctioned girls state wrestling tournament in Kentucky. Naomi and every wrestler that participated made history.

Naomi and the entire wrestling team have worked very hard this year. They practice every day from 4 – 6pm after school and it’s co-ed practice with the boys. This year has been a positive difference for the team compared to last year. “We had our own girls wrestling team but weren’t considered a girl’s team because we weren’t sanctioned yet. It wasn’t a sport in Kentucky. Some of the girls would go to the boys tournaments,” she said. She explained how they did a lot of co-ed tournaments last year. 

Their schedule this year has been very busy because the sport has grown – so many schools held their first tournaments. Last year, Henderson County held their first Lady Colonels Invitational. This year, this invitational brought in more numbers with a total of 24 teams. They usually have tournaments every other weekend. 

Naomi expressed, “Every win feels different. There were times when I got my tail beat terribly but every win felt different. Now every little win you think about it and you’re grateful for it because you see the growth you’ve made throughout the years and stuff. This past weekend when I won regionals, it was something we worked really hard for. We went to overtime during that match. I just started crying because it’s history we are making. Every win feels different. It has a different meaning to it for sure.”

What’s next?

Naomi just made history by signing with Campbellsville University making her the first female from Henderson County to receive a college scholarship for wrestling. Naomi went to visit Campbellsville in late February 2023. She practiced with the girls and talked with the coaches. Her second visit was in October 2023 and that’s when she knew this was where she was meant to be. “I was practicing with people that were better than me, so it made me want to be better. I needed that and I wanted it so it just felt like it was the best place for me to go.”

“Campbellsville University, they have one of the best programs in the country. Kayla Miracle is Coach Miracle’s daughter, and she is an olympian. Their girls program is very well developed. They’ve had a girls program for years,” Naomi expressed.  

Naomi has so many emotions as she heads off to Campbellsville University in the fall to pursue her love for wrestling. “I’m nervous for going up there and being able to keep up and being able to do what all those other girls are doing. There is a girl up there, and she is a beast. When I went up there I was like ‘I want my arms to look like that.’ I’m really excited to go up there but praying everything goes good, and it’s all I hoped for.” 

Currently, Naomi is looking at two totally different pathways in regards to her education at Campbellsville. She either wants to major in exercise science or Spanish education. Regardless which path she chooses, there is one area she knows she wants after college and that is to keep wrestling in her life after she graduates. 

“Jermaine Poynter is literally hands down the best coach I’ve ever had. I want to coach in the future, and it’s mostly because of the fact that if I can make the impact on a kid like he has made in my life I would feel like I did something for the sport. I owe wrestling a lot. It’s done a lot for me. I know I might want to come back to Henderson and be the girls coach here, but I 100% want wrestling in my life after college,” said Naomi. 

Naomi’s parents have always been very supportive of Naomi and her siblings. She is the oldest of 5, and all of her siblings wrestle except for her little brother who is still a toddler. However, it wouldn’t be surprising if he takes up wrestling like his siblings. It’s a sport they all enjoy!

Naomi took a leap of faith and stepped outside her comfort zone when she decided to try wrestling in middle school, but this sport has opened so many doors for her that she otherwise wouldn’t have been given if she hadn’t tried. 

Coach Poynter is very proud of the hard work Naomi has put into this sport and the inspiration she has been to so many other students and athletes here in Henderson County. He said, “Naomi has been a joy to coach. She is dedicated and determined to succeed and has been a great role model for young girls who are interested in becoming a wrestler. In 2023, Naomi finished 6th in the state and that fueled her drive to get better as she trained all summer and competed in several off-season tournaments with USA Kentucky Team. Naomi finished 6th at Adidas Nationals and earned All-American Status. This wrestling season Kentucky officially sanctioned girls wrestling, and Naomi is currently ranked in the top 3 in the state of Kentucky for the 152lb weight class. Naomi took first place at the first ever KHSAA Region 1 Girls tournament to become 152lb Regional Champion, which was quite an accomplishment as she will forever be in the history books. I am proud to be Naomi’s coach, and it has been my honor to be by her side during this journey, as she has worked really hard to have the success she earned. Recently, Naomi became the first girl from our school to commit to wrestling at the collegiate level, so I am excited to watch her journey as she goes on to Campbellsville to continue her academic and athletic career! Naomi teases all the time that she is going to come back and take over as the head coach for the Lady Colonel so she can continue what I started, and I can be her assistant! As a coach, that makes me proud to hear as it means I was able to make an impact in a student’s life.”  

Naomi encourages others to get out there and try something new. “You don’t have to stop being yourself to try something new,” she said. She laughed stating, “I am very girly—so I wear pink and I wear makeup when I wrestle.” The inspiring young wrestler said, “You can stick to what you believe in and how you carry yourself, and you don’t have to change yourself to go and try something new. You don’t know what you are good at unless you go out there and try it. I would say give everything a shot because what do you have to lose? Life is short—so I would say go out there and try it and see if it works!”

Naomi said girls wrestling is the fastest growing sport in America right now. Whether a student is interested in wrestling, music, basketball, or art—Henderson County has so many opportunities for students to get plugged into their interests. Like Naomi, doors might open that they otherwise may have never known existed.