Several seniors first to win a third state championship

NEW HAVEN — These graduating seniors were the first to have a state girls wrestling invitational championship meet of their own. A couple of them won as many of them as they could.

Stamford’s Samantha Yap won her third individual title, pinning Montville’s Karla Flores at 1:54 in the 107-pound weight class Saturday at Floyd Little Athletic Center.

Four bouts later, Amity’s Camryn Brown won her third, at 138, pinning Fairfield Ludlowe’s Kanyah McCarthy in 62 seconds.

They’ve seen the sport grow quickly.

“(There would be) one girl here and there,” Brown said. “All the teams have more girls who spend a lot more training for the sport. It’s awesome to see.”

These seniors lost their sophomore years of wrestling to the COVID-19 pandemic, so the first fourtime champion will have to wait a couple of years.

“I’ll take three,” said Yap, bound for Sacred Heart next year.

“It feels great. My freshman year, there were not this many girls. To see the growth, it’s so cool.”

Another senior won for the first time, Pomperaug senior Julianna Morris, up 10-0 on defending 126pound champ Rylee Donohue of Norwalk when she earned the fall 3:04 in.

Morris was named the meet’s outstanding wrestler.

“It’s fantastic” to see the tournament’s growth, said Morris, who had placed third in two different weight classes in previous championships. “It’s great to see the turnout, so many girls. We just had our first girls in-season tournament, Queen of the Mat, that was great, too.

“It’s good to see the sport grow. There are some badass female wrestlers here who deserve something like this.”

OUT OF NOWHERE

The 12 classes’ champions included seven No. 1 seeds, three second seeds and a No. 4.

And then there was Marangelie Teixeira of Trumbull, unseeded freshman. She pinned the second seed at 165 on Friday, then, down 9-2 in the semifinals, pinned the third seed.

She capped it with a pin early in the second round against top-seeded Kaydence Atkinson of New Britain.

“It’s my first year,” Teixeira said, who came to Trumbull from Bridgeport in 2019.

“Wrestling was always in my mind since I was little. I decided going into freshman year to prove everyone wrong and see what I could do. I came here, and I’m proud of myself.”

She had played softball but said she hadn’t taken part in anything similar to wrestling. Starting was hard, but she said the boys on the team had been like brothers to her.

Was there a point when she thought she might have a chance to do something here? She said no. How about yesterday, coming into this tournament? No, again.

Well, when did she think maybe she had a chance? “Wellllll,” she drew out.

Maybe when the ref raised her arm? “Maybe, yeah.”

BRING IT BACK

Other repeat champions including McMahon sophomore Calli Gilchrist at 114, who could become that first four-time champ; she won last year at 113. Foran’s Kelly Aspras won at 138 last year and 145 this year. Brianna Seixas of Guilford, last year’s winner at 170, won at 152.

Ledyard’s Linda Holeman, who won at 126 pounds in 2020 and was second to Brown last year at 132, won at 132 this time around.

OTHER WINNERS

Addisyn Herdic of Ellis Tech was the fourth-seeded winner, earning a technical fall late in her bout with Abby Paliotto at 100 pounds.

Valerie Turgeon of South Windsor won at 120. Maloney’s Arianna Bellamy won at 185, and Kayli Morris of Platt won at 235.