Girls wrestling to take center stage in Eastern States Classic
Gabrielle Severin of Bethpage, left, wrestles Mia Severino of Copiague in a 114-pound semifinal match at the 2025 state girls wrestling individual championships on Feb. 27, 2025 in Albany. Credit: Newsday/J. Conrad Williams Jr.
As girls wrestling on Long Island has continued its exponential growth in the last few years with several tournaments being held on Sundays, the phrase, “Sundays are for the girls,” has become increasingly popular in the wrestling community.
This Sunday marks another massive milestone for the sport. The girls wrestling portion of the Eastern States Classic, widely regarded as the most prestigious wrestling tournament in the Northeast, will be held on Sunday at Impact Athletic Center in Clifton Park, separate from the two-day boys tournament.
In previous years, the girls tournament was held on the second day of the boys tournament. Last year, the tournament hosted 100 girls from the region. With the entire facility dedicated to the girls on Sunday, 225 girls from five states are expected to compete in this year’s tournament.
“They used to limit the brackets to eight girls per weight class because they only had so much space and mats to run it,” said Bethpage coach and Section VIII girls wrestling coordinator Sean Severin. “I think most of the brackets are going to have over 16 girls this year and they’re going to have at least six mats going.”
“It’s growing leaps and bounds every year,” said East Islip coach and Section XI girls wrestling assistant chairman Ken Corcoran. “If these types of tournaments continue to grow, then it’s finally moving in the right direction.”
46 Long Islanders will take the mats along with several other wrestlers from New York, and a handful from Connecticut, Maine, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
“There are a bunch of schools that are outside of New York that have some top-level prep school girls, most of whom are probably ranked in the top 10 in the country in their weight class. That’s where it really levels up,” Severin said.
The girls tournament, previously held by Section IX, will be run by Journeymen Wrestling, which holds several high-level tournaments year-round, including last weekend’s the Dames of the Thrones girls tournament.
Severin’s daughter, Gabrielle, took second at 120 pounds at last weekend’s tournament. She lost in the final by technical fall to Marie Sharp of Blair Academy (NJ). Sharp is ranked third in the country at her weight by Sports Illustrated. Severin enters the Eastern States Classic as the No. 3 seed at 120 pounds, behind Sharp and No. 2 Madelyn Little of Wyoming Seminary (PA). Westhampton’s Lily Blenk is the No. 6 seed. Severin won an 8-2 decision over Blenk last weekend.
“Marie Sharp will be there this weekend. I’m hoping they get to meet up again,” Sean Severin said. “One of the girls from Connecticut in her weight class is really good. (Little) is phenomenal. The big match that everybody wanted to see last weekend was when Gabrielle wrestled Lily Blenk in the semifinals. It’s definitely possible that they run into each other again on Sunday.”
Hicksville’s Haley Gonzales and Rocky Point’s Julianna Hernandez will compete in a star-studded 126-pound bracket. Gonzales is the reigning state champion at 120 pounds and Hernandez defeated Minisink Valley’s Sara Pauls in last year’s 126-pound state title. Gonzales (No. 2), Hernandez (No. 3) and Pauls (No. 4) will look to knock off top-seeded Sara McLaughlin of Choate Rosemary Hall (CT).
Gonzales defeated Hernandez, 12-2, by technical fall in November’s Lady Knights Classic at Uniondale.
“There’s a lot of really high-end talent, just like on the boys side,” Corcoran said. “Not anybody can just get in the tournament. You have to have credentials. Usually, the guys and girls that make the podium at Eastern States are in the mix at the state tournament, as well.”
Matt Lindsay is a high school sports reporter who joined Newsday in 2022 after graduating from Stony Brook University.
