It’s one thing to win the Midlands Championships. It’s another to do it as a high school freshman.

That’s what prep stars Kayla Batres and Taina Fernadez did in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, on Saturday.

Batres won the 109-pound bracket with a 7-2 win over McKendree NCWWC (NCAA) champion Pauline Granados, a 10-4 win over prep star Rianne Murphy in the semis before securing a 4-2 win over Lock Haven's Kaelani Shufeldt in the finals. Shufeldt is a returning All-American who recently placed fourth at US Nationals to qualify for the 2024 Olympic Trials. 

Fernandez blitzed through the 130-pound bracket with 10-0 techs over Jimena Serna of Morton and Nichole Moore of McKendree. Moore is a 2022 U23 National champion, a 2023 U23 World teamer, and a two-time NAIA All-American for Baker. 

The Bowie, Maryland, native notched a 12-1 tech over Aurora’s top-seeded Lexi Janiak, a 2023 U20 World bronze medalist and 2023 NCWWC (NCAA) finalist, before defeating North Central All-American Salome Walker, 10-0, in the finals. 

High School sophomore Madison Nieuwenhuis won the 101-pound division with a fall in the finals over 2023 NCWWC (NCAA champion) Maddie Avila of North Central. 

Ten high school girls finished in the top five.

Click here for full results of the women’s freestyle division at the Midlands Championships

Top-five finishes by high schoolers
101: Madison Nieuwenhuis, 1st, sophomore, Plainwell, Mich., Plainwell High School
101: Lisa Pastoriza, 5th, junior, Phoenix, Ariz., Wyoming Seminary (PA)
109: Kayla Batres, 1st, freshman, Millford, Conn., Greens Farms Academy
109: Rianne Murphy, 3rd, senior, Valparaiso, Ind., Wyoming Seminary
109: Taylor Whiting, 4th, sophomore, Oconto, Wis., Oconto Falls High School
116: Clare Booe, 2nd, Tarpon Springs, Fla., Wyoming Seminary (PA)
123: Emma Bacon, 5th, freshman, Dallas, Pa., Wyoming Seminary (PA)
130: Taina Fernandez, 1st, freshman, Bowie, Md., Archbishop Spalding High School
155: Maddie Hayden, 3rd, sophomore, Caledonia, Mich., Caledonia High School
191: Brooke Huffman, 4th, freshman, Wittenburg, Wis., Wittenbert-Birnamwood Middle School