Girls high school wrestling takes root in Riverhead
After years of girls competing in boys wrestling at the varsity level, Section XI unveiled a new, fully sanctioned girls wrestling league this year with five separate teams, with each including members from multiple schools to ensure sufficient enrollment to participate.
Riverhead, which has nine girls competing on varsity, is part of a team that also includes wrestlers from Bellport, Longwood, William Floyd, Bayport and Sayville. The scheduling has been hectic but head coach Edwin Perry loves that there is finally a stage for all these girls to compete against one another in a sport he’s always admired.
“We have different school schedules, different bus schedules; it’s a lot,” Perry said. “But once we’re all in that gym together, they’re really committed and work hard. I’m really proud of the way our girls have wrestled this year.”
With the 42-25 win on Monday at Riverhead High School over a combined seven-school team based in Bay Shore, the Riverhead squad is now 5-0 on the season. Miiko Foster was the sole Blue Wave competing in Monday’s match with the other Riverhead wrestlers either winning by forfeit or out of the starting lineup. Foster, a freshman, was up 8-6 before losing to a pin. She recently finished second in the inaugural Lady Knights Classic tournament and is currently ranked fifth in her weight class by the Long Island Wrestling Association.
“My brother got me into wrestling,” Foster said. “I’m just trying to learn as much as I can and be the best I can be. I love the sport and I’m super happy that there’s a place for it in high school girls sports. It’s new to everyone but we all love it.”
There are some different rules in girls wrestling, which features a freestyle format as opposed to the folk style the boys compete in.
“It’s more on-the-feet type of wrestling,” Perry said. “More throws — and it’s a completely different scoring system. There’s only two periods of three minutes each and there’s a 30-second break in between. Every time your back is exposed — meaning it goes past 90 degrees — you get two points. So it’s a quicker paced match, and if you get up 10 points it’s an automatic win.”
Before this opportunity came about, Perry coached Riverhead’s middle-school wrestling teams the last six years. He coached Katie Moore, who in 2017 became the first girl to ever compete on a Riverhead boys varsity wrestling team. Moore found success on the mat against the boys and later became a national women’s wrestling champion while studying at Stony Brook University.
“It’s crazy to see how far girls wrestling has come from Katie being the one girl out there against the boys to having a full league of girls wrestling,” Perry said. “I am doing everything I can to continue to grow the sport. It’s exciting. It’s something new. You’re seeing it on the college level as well.”
Alongside Foster, Makenzie Roche, Arianna Solorzano, Hilda Espana, Graciela Franco, Nasley Najera, Allison Solorzano, Delilah Evans and Evelyn Reyes-Torres round out the Riverhead roster on the multi-school team. Reyes-Torres, a junior, was competing against the boys in middle school and couldn’t wait to get a chance to compete in this league. She is currently ranked fifth in Suffolk County for her weight division.
“Before this league it was about trying to beat the boys for me,” Reyes-Torres said. “That’s what made me want to do this. I loved beating boys when they thought they were much better. But now this league has changed everything. We’re more focused on building our skill sets and trying to compete at the highest level.”
Reyes-Torres thinks it’s just a matter of time before more girls get involved in the sport.
“I think there’s girls that would be good at wrestling but they’re just scared to try,” Reyes-Torres said. “I’m telling all my friends to come and give it a try. Yes, it can be dangerous at times, but when you get your hand raised, it’s an unbelievable feeling.”
