Calhoun senior Reese Adams wins girls wrestling county title by pin
Reese Adams of Calhoun defends Olivia Rausenberger of MacArthur during the Nassau individual championships on Sunday. Credit: Sam Johnston
It was the moment Reese Adams had been chasing for more than a year.
There was no chance she would let it slip.
Adams suffered a torn ACL at the beginning of last season and was off the mat for a year. She returned on the first day of this season, Nov. 17, 2025, with her sights set on winning a county title.
The Calhoun senior pinned MacArthur’s Olivia Rausenberger in 1:52 in the 126-pound final of the Nassau girls wrestling championships Sunday at Long Beach. Adams was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler.
“This past year was not what it was supposed to be and I had three months to get my head straight and get my technique back to where it needs to be,” Adams said. “I feel like these past few weeks have just shown me that everything happens for a reason and that that was just meant to happen.”
Adams trailed 5-0 early in the first period before earning a takedown on a cow catcher and working for the pin. Once the referee’s hand hit the mat, Adams stood up and clapped before running to her corner and jumping into her coaches’ arms.
Adams said that missing last year’s inaugural county tournament took a toll on her.
“I cried so much that I couldn’t be in that tournament,” Adams said. “It was the first girls state tournament, too and I felt like I was ready to go out and win it.”
“As a father, it crushed me seeing her like that last year,” said Long Beach wrestling coach and Adams’ father, Ray. “It’s been a long road back. I’m just so happy for her and so proud of her.”
Now, Adams has family bragging rights over her dad and her brother, Raymond, who is a junior on the Duke University wrestling team.
“My dad was in the county finals. My brother was in it twice and they never won it,” Adams said. “It feels good to break the curse. I’m excited to keep training and get ready to go win a state title.”
Adams will have the chance to add a state title to the family legacy on Feb. 26 at MVP Arena in Albany.
Sunday afternoon was filled with plenty of emotional moments. Naomi Gonzalez’s title win to cap the finals was no exception.
The Valley Stream North senior pinned MacArthur’s Mia Flores in 2:30 to claim her second straight county title at 235 pounds. She knelt on the mat, sobbing, before standing up and pointing to her teammates.
“I got my hand raised, I saw my teammates and then it all hit me,” Gonzalez said. “It’s my senior year. This is the last tournament I’m going to have in Nassau. It’s surreal.”
Gonzalez, who has been wrestling since she was 3 years old, joined the Valley Stream North boys wrestling team as an eighth-grader. Six VSN boys wrestlers stood atop the bleachers shirtless, with “N-A-O-M-I-!” painted across their chests.
“Being a girl on a boys team, as much as they like me and I like them, it felt like I didn’t fit in,” Gonzalez said. “They told me they were going to do this today and it was the most heartwarming thing to see them open up like that and support me.”
Led by Angeline Bonilla (94 pounds), Brianna Marquez (100) and Keishara Tulloch (152), Uniondale won the team competition for the second straight year with 288 points. MacArthur took second with 235 points and Long Beach finished third (227.5).
More than 160 girls competed in this year’s tournament, as the sport continues to grow. Gonzalez said that her boys teammates showing support is a sign that big things are on the horizon for girls wrestling.
“It shows me that this going to go further than just me and Valley Stream,” Gonzalez said. “This is going to happen for MacArthur and Uniondale and sooner or later, there are going to be guys from all over supporting their friends.”
Matt Lindsay is a high school sports reporter who joined Newsday in 2022 after graduating from Stony Brook University.
