State champions share top honor
Kissimmee Osceola’s Fox Baldwin and Lake Highland’s Jake Spengler don’t like to lose at anything.
From sprints in practice to schoolwork, the Sentinel’s all-area Wrestlers of the Year strive to be first in everything they do.
That was best showcased on the mat this season as they combined to go 109-0 and capture state titles.
“I don’t want to lose a run, I don’t want to lose a sprint and I want to be the best student in my class,” Baldwin said.
Said Spengler: “If I am playing basketball, I’m usually on the winning team because I will make sure I win.”
Along with doing a lot of winning individually, Baldwin and Spengler played a huge role in their teams’ success.
Baldwin won every match he wrestled by pin while Spengler earned crucial team bonus points in all 56 of his victories.
Those points helped each wrestler’s team finish second in the state, with the Kowboys competing in Class 3A and the Highlanders in 1A.
“Not winning the team state title was disappointing,” Spengler said. “We really put the work in but came up just short.”
Spengler, who started wrestling in sixth grade, will graduate as Lake Highland’s most decorated wrestler.
“It’s a great feeling to be the most accomplished wrestler at Lake Highland,” Spengler said. “I know that Jake [Brindley] and Joey [Silva] will break my record in the future, but it feels great right now.”
Spengler, who won his third individual state title, and Baldwin wrestled together for two seasons at Lake Highland, with both placing at the 2009 state tournament.
“Having Fox as my partner for two years really put me on another l evel,” Spengler said. “We pushed each other every day, and neither of us ever wanted to lose to the other.”
Baldwin, a junior, has already won four state titles and will look to tie a state record with his fifth next season. Before then, Baldwin has other goals.
Baldwin left soon after the state tournament to begin training in Colorado Springs at the Olympic Training Center in freestyle wrestling, with the hope of making the junior world team for the World Championships or Pan Am Games.
“The best part of wrestling world and Olympic champs is that you get beat and are able to learn from your mistakes,” Baldwin said.
Before leaving for Colorado Springs, Baldwin wrote “2015 State Champions” on a board in the Kowboys’ wrestling room.
“I’ll be back after this to help my team get ready for next season so we can be even better,” Baldwin said.
Losing, at least for Baldwin, is not an option.