New Milford wins Queen of the Mat; Choate RH hosts historic girls quad

With two individual champions and three finalists, New Milford earned a tournament record 131½ points to win the fourth annual Queen of the Mat girls wrestling tournament Sunday at Foran High in Milford.

With 285 girls from 61 teams, it was the largest high school girls wrestling tournament in state history. It was open just to Connecticut girls from CIAC member schools. Just four years ago, there were 120 wrestlers from 46 teams at the first Queen of the Mat in 2023.

Platt’s Kayli Morris, a two-time New England champion, won her fourth Queen of the Mat tournament Sunday with a pin of Stamford’s Esther Faith Albert at 185 pounds. Morris had three pins in the tournament.

Trumbull’s Marangelie Teixeira (165) won her third consecutive Queen of the Mat title with a victory at 165 pounds. Teixeira beat Stamford’s Gabriella Mighty, 2-1 in the final.

New Milford had six wrestlers finish in the top five of their respective weight class.

Josephina Piel got a reversal with 50 seconds remaining to beat Stratford’s Gabriella Kelly at 145 and win her second straight Queen of the Mat title. Teammate Clara Reynolds (105) got a pin in the finals to win her second straight Queen title, too.

Emme Lim (100) finished second for the Green Wave while Makayla Reiss (285) took third with a triple OT victory. Lucy Cherniske (140) and Ryan Ramery (150) each finished fifth.

Jonathan Law’s Selena Batres (110), Branford’s Ava Gamberdella (115), Trumbull’s Emma Riall (128), Amity’s Cristel Miguel (132) and Maloney’s Arianna Bellamy (285) each won their second Queen title. Batres, Gamberdella, Rial and Miguel each won in 2025 while Bellamy won her first Queen title in 2023.

Miguel (132) was named the tournament’s outstanding wrestler. She went 4-0 with three technical falls.

2026 Queen of the Mat
At Milford (Foran)
Team results – 1. New Milford 131½, 2. Trumbull 126½, 3. Stamford 122, 4. Foran 104, 5. Stratford 100, 6. Amity 82½, 7. Jonathan Law 78½, 8. Maloney and Platt 75, 10. Westhill 72, 11. Bristol Central 60, 12. Shelton 59, 13. NFA 54, 14. Bristol Eastern and Plainville 53, 16. Haddam-Killingworth 44½, 17. Somers 41, 18. South Windsor 40½, 19. Conard and Manchester 37½, 21. Greenwich 34½, 22. Bloomfield/Weaver/East Windsor 33, 23. Branford 31½, 24. West Haven 31, 25. Fairfield Warde, Suffield/Windsor Locks and Norwalk 30, 28. Ellis Tech 29½, 29. East Haven and Windham 29, 31. Guilford 28, 32. Hall 27, 33. Hand and North Branford 26, 35. Bunnell 23, 36. Cheshire and Darien 22, 38. Canton and Windsor 21, 40. Fairfield Ludlowe, New Britain and Rocky Hill 20, 43. Lyman Memorial/WT 18½, 44. RHAM 18, 45. Danbury and Lyman Hall 15, 47. Derby/Oxford/Holy Cross and Bridgeport co-op 14, 49. New London 12, 50. Ridgefield and Staples 10, 52. Griswold/Wheeler and St. Joseph 8, 54. East Granby and Rockville 7, 56. Wethersfield 6, 57. Crosby 5, 58. Gilbert/Torrington/Wolcott Tech, Nonnewaug and Platt Tech 4, 61. Fitch 2, 62. Berlin 0
Individual results
100 Sophia Gordon (South Windsor) tech fall Emme Lim (New Milford), 15-0 2:12
105 Clara Reynolds (New Milford) pin Mari Soares (Bunnell), 5:36
110 Selena Batres (Jonathan Law) tech fall Gabriella Parris-Dwyer (Maloney), 16-1 4:14
115 Ava Gamberdella (Branford) dec. Norah Reeps (Haddam-Killingworth), 10-2
120 Jillian Blake (Trumbull) pin Juliana Porcu (North Branford), 1:18
124 Monica Flores Romero (Fairfield Warde) pin Nina Smith (Darien), 3:05
128 Emma Rial (Trumbull) dec. Eliana Selerais (Amity), 5-1
132 Cristel Miguel (Amity) tech fall Evelyn Lavigne (Daniel Hand), 21-5 4:27
136 Winner Tshibombi (Stratford) dec. Gaby Aliaga (Greenwich), 11-5
140 Ava Cleary (Foran) pin Gianna Defelice (Cheshire), 0:59
145 Josephina Piel (New Milford) dec. Gabriella Kiely (Stratford), 2-1
150 Ella Piccirillo (Shelton) pin Vanessa Tshibombi (Stratford), 3:32
158 Moyao Sun (Hall) dec. Addison Powell (Somers), 17-4
165 Marangelie Teixeira (Trumbull) dec. Gabriella Mighty (Stamford), 2-1
175 (round robin): Shyann Bryan (Bristol Central) 3-0, Aniyah Salgado (Foran) 2-1, Leisa Astacio Pacheco (Windsor) 1-2. Key match: Bryan pin Salgado, 1:38
185 Kayli Morris (Platt) pin Esther faith Albert (Stamford), 1:42
215 Tiyana Taylor (NFA) dec. Jadaliz Acosta (Bloomfield/Weav/EW), 13-10
285 Arianna Bellamy (Maloney) pin Jeily Euceda (Norwalk), 1:30
Third place
100 Isha Khanna (Westhill) dec. Sienna Poirier (Bristol Central), 11-5
105 Freya Cooper (Westhill) dec. Jessica Smokes Amity), 17-9
110 Brooke Heffernan (RHAM) dec. Sophie Mraz (Derby/Oxford/Holy Cross), 5-2
115 Maleeah Rios (Bristol Central) pin Makenna Sanchez (Lyman Mem/Windham Tech), 3:20
120 Evie Day (Guilford) NC Harley Danton (Plainville)
124 Adriana Rodriguez (East Haven) dec. Sara Ospina (Stamford), 11-4
128 Ashlynn Cummings (Fairfield Ludlowe) pin Princesse Stessy Hyppolite (Stamford), 0:56
132 Adelina Tate (Ellis Tech) pin Narayah Rodriguez (Bristol Eastern), 1:13
136 Mackenzie Nichols (Jonathan Law) dec. Peyton Dixon (Haddam-Killingworth), 5-0
140 Tisiane Monteiro (Norwich Free Academy) dec. Mia Grandmaison (Jonathan Law), 6-0
145 Regan Murphy (Canton) dec. Anastasia Bazile (Shelton), 2-1, 2 OT
150 Emily Speringo (Foran) pin Olvia Ortiz (Platt), 1:02
158 Manasvi Madala (Trumbull) dec. Chole Daniele (Stamford), 1-0
165 Mayelin Disla (Westhill) dec. Bethany-grace Dean (Bristol Eastern), 4-2
185 Anlly Perez (Windham) pin Kam Robinson (Manchester), 2:40
215 Savannah Arocho (Plainville) pin Cielo Contreras (Stamford), 2:51
285 Makayla Reiss (New Milford) dec. Ivanelis Figueroa Rosario (Maloney), 3-2, 3 OT
Fifth Place
100 Victoria Freitas (Trumbull) pin Jacy Reyes (West Haven), 3:18
105 Jasmine Barnaby (Somers) dec. Divanie Cervantes (Norwalk), 6-5
110 Lila Poincelot (Lyman Hall) dec. Yailia Wilkes (New Britain), 11-3
115 Leah Negron (Stratford) dec. Zoey Thomas (Bloomfield/Weav/EW), 6-2
120 Domna Christakos (Foran) pin Evellyn Neiva (Trumbull), 2:57
124 Jocelyn Newberry (Amity) dec. Yandeh Njie (Shelton), 7-4
128 Liliana Diaz (Platt) pin Emilly Cabral (Trumbull), 3:20
132 Madelyn Morello Suffield/Windsor Locks) NC Isabella Dupree (Danbury)
136 Jazmin Cruz (Conard) dec. Taliya Greene (Stamford), 9-6 OT
140 Lucy Cherniske (New Milford) forfeit over Madilyn Meadows (Ridgefield)
145 Lydia Roberts (Manchester) dec. Sophia Ramos (Platt), 14-4
150 Ryann Ramery (New Milford) dec. Amelia Hosack (Suffield/Windsor Locks), 1-0
158 Isabella Blanco (Trumbull) pin Isobel Roche (West Haven), 1:26
165 Kaydence Atkinson (New Britain) dec. Jasmine Afrailova (Suffield/Windsor Locks), 9-2
185 Aaliyah Rice (Foran) forfeit over Avery McCarthy (Greenwich)
215 Adalynn Southworth (Conard) dec. Malia Melon (Stamford), 7-3
285 Gabriela Rivera (Bridgeport Co-op) pin Ailani Gray (Westhill), 1:45
Outstanding wrestler: Cristel Miguel, Amity (132)
2006 Queen of the Mat brackets and results (FloArena)
Printable brackets 2026 Queen of the Mat

First multi meet girls match held at Choate Rosemary Hall
WALLINGFORD, January 31, 2026 – What is believed to be the first multiple wrestling dual meet for girls in New England was held on Saturday at Choate Rosemary Hall.

It was certainly the first multiple dual meet for girls in New England Prep School Athletic Conference (NEPSAC) history, according to Choate Rosemary Hall head coach Ryan Roddy.

Defending New England champion Choate Rosemary Hall picked up three wins with victories over Phillips Andover Academy from Andover, Mass., 42-24, Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire, 60-6 and Northfield Mt. Hermon from Gill, Mass., 48-18.

The Wild Boards had six pins in the win over Phiilips Exeter and five pins in the win over Phillips Andover. It was the first girls dual meet for Northfield Mt. Hermon and the first time that Phillips Exeter secured a dual meet victory.

In January 2024, Phillips Academy hosted Choate in the first all girls dual meet ever in NEPSAC and in February 2025, Phillips Academy and Phillips Exeter staged the first dual in their storied rivalry.

The girls now head into the post-season, with the Class A Tournament at Hyde on Feb. 6, the Phillips Academy Tournament Feb. 8, the New England Prep School tournament at Greens Farms Academy on Feb. 14, and the national prep school tournament at Lehigh University on Feb. 20-21.

Choate 42, Phillips Andover Academy (MA) 24
Choate 48, Northfield Mt. Hermon (MA) 18
Choate 60, Phillips Exeter Academy (NH) 6
Phillips Andover 40, Northfield Mt. Hermon 12
Phillips Andover 34, Phillips Exeter 16
Phillips Exeter 34, Northfield Mt. Hermon 30

Choate RH 42, Phillips Andover 24
At Wallingford
138 Cindy Zhou (PA) pin Sofia Seymour, 3:00; 145 Chloe Ross (C) pin Mari Uchino-Garcia, 0:54; 152 Double forfeit; 165 Bella Shmuylovich (PA) pin Mikayla Grullon, 1:02; 185 Toni Elliott (PA) pin Eva Tumanyan, 1:32; 235 Rhema Woolcock (C) forfeit; 100 Annalise Gritzer (C) forfeit; 107 Serra Akyali (PA) pin Angel Soto, 0:32; 114 Tatianna Irizarry (C) pin Kierra Ong, 0:24; 120 Lily Runez (C) pin Gauri Bhakta, 1:53; 126 Leanne La (C) pin Ophelia Lee, 4:13; 132 Sara Mclaughlin (C) pin Tasha Bohorad, 3:10

Choate RH 60, Phillips Exeter 6
At Wallingford
100 Annalise Gritzer (C) pin Sophia Chen (PE); 107 Ting-Ting Hsieh (PE) pin Angel Soto (C); 114 Tatianna Irizarry (C) forfeit; 120 Lily Runez (C) forfeit; 126 Leanne La (C) pin Carmella Schoner (PE); 132 Sara Mclaughlin (C) pin Michelle Choo (PE); 138 Sofia Seymour (C) pin Chayyah Lewis (PE); 145 Chloe Ross (C) pin Urania Shi (PE); 152 Double Forfeit; 165 Mikayla Grullon (C) forfeit; 185 Eva Tumanyan (C) forfeit; 235 Rhema Woolcock (C) pin Avni Murarka (PE)