Two years ago, New York’s Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) made the decision to change the format of their Girls’ Wrestling State Championships, and seasons, to reflect the college and beyond landscape, adopting Freestyle as their modus operandi.
Freestyle Era Produces Parity: 13 Weights, 13 Champions
The MVP Arena in Albany, New York was the scene of Thursday’s one-day affair, which culminated in Shenendehowa being crowned team champs over Bellport (102-81) and no team having multiple champions. There were 13 champs from 13 different schools.
Major Upsets Rock the Finals
Two of the biggest surprises came when defending champions fell in the finals at 145 and 235 pounds. Warwick Valley’s Victoria Alvarado is ranked 7th in the nation at 145 by High School on SI. Alvardo was looking to take home title number two over unranked nationally, Delaney Dixon (Windsor), who was a two-time runner-up.
This encounter was all Dixon as she started attacking early on and never relented, picking up multiple sets of exposure points in the opening period (two, 3-minute period in FS). Another set of exposure points led to Dixon keeping Alvarado on her back and picking up the fall with six seconds left, 2:54.
At 235 pounds, it is our understanding that many in attendance believed that No. 26 Peyton Mullin (Dundee) had not allowed a point to be scored on her all season. Valley State’s unranked Naomi Gonzalez changed that narrative in the first round. Mullin, a returning champion, was denied a second title when after building a 4-0 lead, she attempted to Bear Hug Gonzalez, who countered that with a headlock and the stick at the 1:22 mark…