All-First Coast girls wrestling: Middleburg's Cheyenne Cruce unbeatable again

What's better than one perfect season on the wrestling mat?

Finishing up a historic state double.

That's what Cheyenne Cruce accomplished this year at Middleburg, and it's why the Broncos' junior wrestler is once again the Times-Union's All-First Coast athlete of the year for high school girls wrestling.

Cruce made it two championships in as many years in the Florida High School Athletic Association meet inside Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee. Even more impressive: Just as in her sophomore year, Cruce finished the 2023-24 season without a loss.

"They say the second one is always the hardest, because you have that expectation," Middleburg coach Coll Robertson said. "But she was able to go out there and have fun, and not let the pressure from other people get to her."

That's a lot to celebrate. But Cruce wasn't about to rest on her past accomplishments. She still isn't.

"I had to work my tail off even more than I did last year to defend that title," she said.

NO MORE ONE-DIMENSIONAL WRESTLING

Going back to her wrestling debut as an eighth-grader, Cruce had kept her approach simple, and that brought her a great deal of success: a fourth place finish at the inaugural FHSAA championship in 2022 and an undefeated state title in 2023.

But she knew that she couldn't count on the same techniques succeeding indefinitely.

"Last year, I had one or two moves, and that was about it," she said. "This year, I've stepped up and I have more confidence in those moves than I did last year."

Robertson said that Cruce spent much of the season working to add some more weapons to her repertoire, more ways to get the upper hand on opponents who thought they could anticipate what would be coming.

"She continued to develop her offensive skills," Robertson said. "It gets easier and easier to defend as you wrestle the same people over and over."

To test those skills, she competed in a more difficult schedule, including competitions both inside and outside Florida.

Cruce won nearly all of her Florida contests by fall this year — the semifinal and final of the Lady Rams Tournament of Champions were notable exceptions, going to decision or tiebreaker — and much of the time, her new techniques were enabling her to finish opponents inside two minutes or less.

"The biggest thing was being able to trust in my moves that I was learning, and not being a one-dimensional wrestler," she said.

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT

Perfection became a reality for Cruce. But that doesn't mean it was easy.

After three straightforward victories by fall in the state championships in Kissimmee, wins that took up fewer than 10 minutes on the clock, she encountered a stiffer challenge in the final against Apopka senior Jada Jones.

Cruce said she felt nervous in the early going, but then broke through to win 3-1 in the sudden-victory tiebreaker.

Another championship in the books, and some history for Middleburg.

"She got some of those new techniques under her belt this year, and that made the difference," Robertson said.

Is Cruce ready to do it again in 2025? A three-peat would be an all-time first for Northeast Florida girls wrestling, and a rarity for area wrestling at all levels.

"I feel like I need to keep going, and I need to win it again next year," she said. "That three-peat has to happen."

ALL-FIRST COAST GIRLS WRESTLER OF THE YEAR

Cheyenne Cruce

Junior, Middleburg

Age: 17

Resume: Repeated as FHSAA girls state champion for 190-pound division. … Finished season at 32-0. … First-ever back-to-back Middleburg wrestling champion. … Unbeaten against Florida opposition since freshman year.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: All-First Coast girls wrestling 2024: Cheyenne Cruce, Middleburg