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    Pride ’25: Gatten honored as first recipient of award named after her late wife

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    Tyson to invest $23.5 million in Robards complex

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    Summer blockbusters finally arrive in June

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    A former Japanese tennis star champions Henderson County athletes

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    Stanley hopes his exhibition is a reminder ‘to be open to joyfulness…from whatever ridiculous source it may come’

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    Regional collaborative assists those suffering from mental health challenges with online resources

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    Plenty of baseball to watch without stepping into a big league stadium

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    Matthew 25 cuts the ribbon on new mobile sexual health unit

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    Pride ’25: Gatten honored as first recipient of award named after her late wife

    Pride ’25: Gatten honored as first recipient of award named after her late wife

    Briefs: Floyd wins insurance award; Lawson ‘exemplary;’ ‘A Fresh Perspective’ at Audubon; Todd up for young professional of the year

    City commission briefs: Honoring Taylor; Joint resolution and a tolling authority for the new bridge

    City commission briefs: Honoring Taylor; Joint resolution and a tolling authority for the new bridge

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    Tyson to invest $23.5 million in Robards complex

    Mills wins majority caucus chair

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    Blazing-fast broadband services now available to the majority of homes in the city and county

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    HMP&L signs initial agreement to build a battery energy storage system on South Green Street

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    Gritty Lady Cols advance to Final 4

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    Summer blockbusters finally arrive in June

    A former Japanese tennis star champions Henderson County athletes

    A former Japanese tennis star champions Henderson County athletes

    Stanley hopes his exhibition is a reminder ‘to be open to joyfulness…from whatever ridiculous source it may come’

    Stanley hopes his exhibition is a reminder ‘to be open to joyfulness…from whatever ridiculous source it may come’

    Henderson joins West Kentucky Film Commission with hopes of luring movie makers here

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    Regional collaborative assists those suffering from mental health challenges with online resources

    Plenty of baseball to watch without stepping into a big league stadium

    Plenty of baseball to watch without stepping into a big league stadium

    Matthew 25 cuts the ribbon on new mobile sexual health unit

    Matthew 25 cuts the ribbon on new mobile sexual health unit

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Home Entertainment Sports

Naomi Santiago, first HCHS female to sign to wrestle collegiately, is a “trailblazer”

Donna B. Stinnett by Donna B. Stinnett
January 20, 2024
in Sports
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After a match earlier in the season, Naomi Santiago poses with HCHS Wrestling Coach Jermaine Poynter. (Photo courtesy of Santiago's Facebook page)

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A few falls ago when the call went out announcing the start of practice for the Henderson County wrestling team, Naomi Santiago immediately thought of WWE videos she’d watched while recuperating from a dance team injury.

She said she’d always been drawn to the energy and presentation of WWE competitions while watching with her family, so she showed up for the first practice taking place in the HCHS auxiliary gym.

It didn’t take long for her to reach a conclusion, though.

This was not the WWE.

But in the end that didn’t really matter. Undaunted, Naomi became the first female to wrestle for HCHS, and five years later is the first HCHS female signed to wrestle collegiately, which she will do next year at Campbellsville University.

Leaving competitive dancing behind, Naomi made wrestling a year-round focus with disciplined work, even in the off-season. That paid off not only with a chance to compete at the next level but with a No. 2 statewide ranking in her weight class leading into the regional and state competitions in early February.

Surrounded by family and coaches, Naomi Santiago signs a letter of intent to wrestle at Campbellsville University on Jan. 8. (Courtesy Santiago’s Facebook page)

“It’s exciting to have the first female wrestler at the college level,” said Head Wrestling Coach Jermaine Poynter. “She is a trailblazer, a pioneer.”

Just this year, girls wrestling became a Kentucky High School Athletic Association-sanctioned sport, but Poynter said the HCHS program knew sanctioning was on the way and got a head start by forming a team one year early.

Because the 2022-23 season was the first time HCHS had a girls wrestling team, Naomi started her journey competing against boys in a co-ed environment.

In the first year for the HCHS team, 10 girls from grade 7 (allowed to compete at the varsity level) through grade 12 came out for the sport. This year there are 18 competitors spread across various weight classes. With only two seniors on the team (Naomi and Claudia Mendez), 16 experienced wrestlers will return for the 2024-25 wrestling season.

“Girls wrestling is the fastest-growing sport in the state,” Poynter said. He said HCHS is in a tough region against schools that put wrestling programs in place early. He cited competition against such schools as Union County, Madisonville Central, Apollo, Fort Campbell and southern Indiana schools as opportunities to make HCHS stronger.

“We’ve done a lot to grow the wrestling program and we’ve done really well (at tournaments this year) to put Henderson County out there as a wrestling school,” Poynter said.

Naomi said forming a girls team has been “a game-changer” though competing against boys has benefits.

“Getting pinned by a boy makes you feel weak, but you learn,” she said, noting that it’s a sport in which an athlete can discover a lot about themselves and how to control emotions. “Wrestling is more mental than physical.”

Naomi said wrestling also has given her a purpose for hard work. “It’s helped me become a better person and helped me grow,” she said.

Poynter noted that the HCHS program “preaches” wrestling as a total discipline, not only on the mat but in life as a whole. He said he’d rather see youth development through the sport rather than win all the trophies, though he noted with a grin that winning titles is also nice.

He said Naomi has been successful because she has demonstrated the “heart, discipline and the will to succeed.”

The coach said that, unlike some other sports, wrestling offers an opportunity for any and every young person. There have been successful wrestlers who possess physical challenges including limited size and loss of limbs.

“It’s a great sport for building confidence and self-esteem,” he added.

Some of that comes from strong coaching and family support.

Naomi said her mom, Marcela, has been a big supporter. “I can always hear her at tournaments yelling in the background.”

The coach said that Naomi has been an important leader by helping middle school and youth wrestlers and as a role model for those coming along behind her.

“They look up to her,” he said.

That includes within her own family. She has four younger siblings, and all but the youngest are already wrestling competitively in their age groups.

At her signing as a Campbellsville University Tiger, Naomi reflected publicly on how the program has grown.

“You know, whenever I started, I was the only girl. We had three girls that came to the first practice and then never came back. To see … that we have so many girls now, it really just shows how much the sport has grown,” she said.

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Recent News

Pride ’25: Gatten honored as first recipient of award named after her late wife

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