Nassau County held its first-ever Girls Wrestling Championship Sunday.
Close to 100 girls from 16 schools throughout the county competed for the championship at Bethpage High School. A total of 13 women’s wrestlers won first place at different weight classes, ranging from 94 pounds to 235 pounds.
“A great deal of time and effort went into making this day a reality for the girls,” Section VIII Girls Wrestling Coordinator Sean Severin said.
Section VIII incorporates all of Nassau County and it is one of 11 regions for sports competition in the state.
The sport’s State Championships will take place on Feb. 27 at the MVP Arena in Albany. The 13 champions and six second-place finishers across 10 different school districts will participate in the first-ever New York State Public High School Athletic Association Girls Wrestling Championships.
“This doesn’t happen overnight, but to see all of the girls’ faces as they walked into the gym and know that we were all part of the group that helped make this a memorable event for them is an incredible feeling,” Severin said.
Women’s fully freestyle wrestling was approved for New York State High School Athletics back in October 2024. Women’s wrestling has vastly grown in popularity among high school athletes. The National Federation of State High School Associations reports that participation in the more than doubled from 2023-23 to 2023-24, with over 64,000 girls wrestling last year. Male participation jumped to 291,874 students in 2023-24, making it the sixth-highest played high school sport. Wrestling did not make the top 10 for high school women’s sports.
The National Federation of State High School Associations also shows a 53% increase in women wrestlers in Nassau County from the 2023-2024 season.
MacArthur High School had the most champions with four along with another two athletes who also qualified for the state championship. MacArthur Coach Nick Rausenberger previously said that the team, made up of 15 members from six different school districts, has worked together to reach their goals this season.
“It has become bigger than all of us,” Rausenberger said. “These girls have grown. They are officially a team. They have bonded very organically without any kind of force from myself or any other coaches for that matter.”
The 13 winners and six other state-qualified wrestlers from the Section VIII championship can be found below:
The Inaugural Nassau County Girls Wrestling Champions:
94 lbs. – Tyasia Buxton, Valley Stream Central
100 lbs. – Harley Eidens, Long Beach
107 lbs. – Presley Eidens, Long Beach
114 lbs. – Gabrielle Severin, Bethpage
120 lbs. – Haley Gonzales, Hicksville
126 lbs. – Olivia Rausenberger, MacArthur
132 lbs. – Taylor Brock, Grand Ave MS/MacArthur*
138 lbs. – Jessica Marzano, Bethpage
145 lbs. – Gabriella Schechtman, Bellmore-JFK/MacArthur*
152 lbs. – Keishara Tulloch, Uniondale
165 lbs. – Isabella Steffa, Seaford/MacArthur*
185 lbs. – Eyslin Turcios, Valley Stream North
235 lbs. – Naomi Gonzalez, Valley Stream North
* – denotes girls that attend a school other than where they wrestle
Second Place Automatic State Qualifiers:
100 lbs. – Sofia Lombardo, Farmingdale/MacArthur*
107 lbs. – Brianna Marquez, Uniondale
114 lbs. – Mo Chen, Jericho
120 lbs. – Emma Palencia, Roslyn
126 lbs. – Pavithra Eswar, Wheatley
235 lbs. – Mia Flores, MacArthur
* – denotes girls that attend a school other than where they wrestle