New Britain’s Kaydence Atkinson puts Berlin’s Julia Arcila on her back in the finals at 165 pounds at the Queen of the Mat tournament, the first-ever, high school girls wrestling tournament Sunday at Foran in Milford. Atkinson won by pin and helped New Britain win the tournament.
MILFORD, January 29, 2023 – More than 120 wrestlers from 46 teams competed in the first girls-only high school wrestling tournament on Sunday at Foran High with five defending State Open champions winning individual championships at Queen of the Mat.
Girls in Connecticut are all part of boys teams and many compete on the varsity level in dual meets and tournaments. But few get the chance to compete against their peers.
Coaches at Foran and athletic director Anthony Vitelli petitioned the CIAC for permission to hold the tournament. Because the girls wrestle on boys teams, Sunday was the best day to hold the event but organizers needed approval from the CIAC Board of Control to compete on Sunday, according to the CIAC’s Dan Scavone, the liaison to the wrestling committee.
There has been a girls-only State Open tournament in 2022 and 2020 but never an in-season event for just the girls.
“I am very excited,” Pomperaug’s Julianna Morris said. “It’s been a really fun day. It’s a pretty unique opportunity, the very first of its kind. It’s nice to go to a tournament where you will see similar strength and speed (from your opponents).
On Saturday, Morris wrestled for Pomperaug at the Brookfield Invitational, where she finished fourth at 132 pounds. On Sunday, Morris, who is nationally ranked (20th at 127) by USA Wrestling, FloWrestling and the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, won the tournament at 132 pounds with two pins and a major decision.
“A lot of these girls (here are on junior varsity) and don’t get a lot of time on the mat,” Morris said. “This is really a good opportunity to get in a lot of matches.”
Hall of Fame coach Buster Jadach has five girls on his Derby/Oxford/Holy Cross co-op team. All five played soccer in the fall and came out for wrestling this winter.
“They’re all excited,” he said. “It’s a big opportunity. They don’t care if they win or lose. They couldn’t wait to get here. And now they see what it is like. They love it. They come back every day. They want to do more. They want to learn.”
Pomperaug’s Julianna Morris tries to turn Bethel’s Esther Ribeiro to her back in the finals at 132 pounds in Sunday’s Queen of the Mat tournament in Milford. Morris won the match.
Amity’s Camryn Brown, who won state titles in 2020 and 2022, had a pair of pins to win on Sunday at 138 pounds. “It’s awesome. I think it is great to have something for girls outside of states and it’s really cool that this happening,” she said.
Brown is one of four high school girls from Connecticut who are currently nationally ranked. She is ranked No. 23 at 138 pounds. Brien McMahon’s Calli Gilchrist is ranked 12th at 119 pounds and Southbury’s Sarah Henckel of Blair Academy in New Jersey, who didn’t attend the event, is ranked 11th at 152 pounds.
The tournament was open to just Connecticut wrestlers, according to tournament coordinator Sarah Jadach.
Gilchrist had three pins, including a pair of first period pins, as she won at 113 pounds. Two-time state champion Samantha Yap of Stamford won at 107 pounds while defending state champion Brianna Seixas of Guilford won at 152 pounds.
Platt’s Daylianette Sanchez-Cardona pinned cross-town rival Gabriella Parris-Dwyer of Maloney to win at 107 pounds with Amity’s Emily DeSouza (120), Norwalk’s Rylee Donohue (126), Foran’s Kelly Aspras (145) and New Britain’s Kaydence Atkinson (165) each winning tournament championships.
Donohue got a takedown early in the third period to turn a one-point lead into a three-point lead in her 6-3 win over Stratford’s Lindsey Rywolt.
At 185 and 285 pounds, there were just two wrestlers entered in each weight class. The wrestlers had a best-of-3 series with Maloney’s Arianna Bellamy pinning Foran’s Nicki Manville in match three to win the series, 2-1. At 285, Platt’s Kayli Morris swept the best-of-3 series with a pair of wins.
Coaches and fans of Maloney’s Arianna Bellamy celebrate after she won the 185 pound weight class Sunday with a pin over Foran’s Nicki Manville.
With nine wrestlers and four girls earning medals, New Britain won the tournament with an 89-76 win over Amity (five girls). Berlin was third with 58 points.
“More kids on the mat is good for everybody,” Canton coach Josh Bristol said. He had one girl in the tournament, Maela Sosa, who finished fourth. But her presence on the team is inspiring other girls in the school to try out wrestling.
The matches will count toward the girls seeding in the boys state tournament and the girls State Open event in February.
Queen of the Mat
At Milford (Foran)
Team results – 1. New Britain 89, 2. Amity 76, 3. Berlin 58, 4. Platt High 51½, 5. Foran 49, 6. East Haven 46, 7. Brien McMahon 45, 7. Maloney 45, 9. South Windsor 40½, 10. Stratford 39,. 11. Shelton 33, 12. Stamford 31, 13. Griswold/Wheeler 26, 14. Pomperaug 25, 15. Norwalk 24, 16. Guilford and Rocky Hill 22, 18. Bethel and Platt Tech 19, 20. Old Lyme 18½, 21. Conard 17, 22. Ellis Tech and Fairfield Ludlowe 16, 24. Jonathan Law 15, 25. Notre Dame-Fairfield 14, 26. Canton 13, 27. Gilbert 12, 28, NFA 11, 29. Bristol Central 10. 30. Morgan, New Haven, Plainville 8. 34. Westhill and Wilton 5, 36. Derby/Oxford/Holy Cross and Southington 4, 38. Branford, Farmington, North Haven and Trumbull 0
Championship matches
100 Daylianette Sanchez Cardona (Platt) pin Gabriella Parris-Dwyer (Maloney), 2:23
107 Samantha Yap (Stamford) pin Sybella Landrie (Berlin), 1:54
114 Calli Gilchrist (Brien McMahon) pin Hoshena Gemme (Old Lyme), 2:49
120 Emily DeSouza (Amity) dec. Valerie Turgeon (South Windsor), 12-8
126 Rylee Donohue (Norwalk) dec. Lindsey Rywolt (Stratford), 6-3
132 Julianna Morris (Pomperaug) major dec. Esther Ribeiro (Bethel), 13-0
138 Camryn Brown (Amity) pin Olianis Alicea (New Britain), 1:00
145 Kelly Aspras (Foran) pin Rachel Camiglio (Shelton), 3:23
152 Brianna Seixas (Guilford) pin Victoria Maillard (Notre Dame-Fairfield), 1:19
165 Kaydence Atkinson (New Britain) pin Julia Arcila (Berlin), 3:41
185: Arianna Bellamy (Maloney) pin Nicki Manville (Foran), 2:35. Win best of 3 series, 2-1
285: Kayli Morris (Platt) pin Kayla Navarro (Griswold/Wheeler), 4:47. Win best of 3 series, 2-0
Third place bouts
100 Abby Pallotto (Amity) pin Sofia Milano (East Haven), 4:47
107 Anna Cole (Brien McMahon) pin Madison Arthur (Gilbert), 2:36
114 Lilliana Fraize (South Windsor) pin Maela Sosa (Canton), 4:38
120 Amara Santulli (Amity) pin Evangeline Moran (Ellis Tech), 3:51
126 Shyna Rolle (Stratford) and Gonul Celik (East Haven) tie for third (5-match rule)
132 Madison Atkison (New Britain) pin Maddie Cooper (East Haven), 4:20
138 Kan-yah McCarthy (Fairfield Ludlowe) pin Serafina Pavlat (Foran)
145 Alyana Martinez New Britain) pin Lilya Akande (Shelton), 4:54
152 Olivia Wojtusik (Berlin) pin Angelique Cartagena (Maloney), 1:29
165 Jelene Lainez (Platt Tech) pin Adalynn Southworth (Conard), 0:58
Outstanding wrestler: none
