ORANGE — Some history went down at Mahar Regional School on Friday night.
The Senators hosted the first ever regular-season girls wrestling meet, inviting Chicopee Comp and Excel Academy of Boston to a competition on the mat.
Girls wrestling became sanctioned last season, which began the process of a state tournament.
“Never before have teams gone head to head,” Mahar coach John Speek said.
Everyone involved enjoyed being a part of the historic event, but the Senators wanted the victory against the Colts. Mahar lost the opening match to Chicopee Comp, 27-18.
“We are still raw,” Speek said. “There is some stuff we need to work on. In terms of being part of history, I would have liked to win. But all of us are here for the sport.”
Speek had a big part in scheduling the meet.
“I knew that Comp and Excel both had teams that carried big numbers,” Speek said. “So I reached out to them and asked if we could put this together. It is very important to me to demonstrate to the rest of the state that this is possible. If you could give girls a forum to wrestle, they will come.”
It’s expected that this will be the final all-girls regular season meet of the year.
“This is it basically,” Speek said. “I think there are enough girls out there to do it. The male coaches need to prioritize their teams. We need more male coaches to put it out there. Really make the commitment.”
Sophia Whitman and Carolyn Gilmore picked up wins against the Colts.
Gilmore made quick work of Lauryn Favreau at 182 pounds, winning by fall (:38) in the first period.
“It feels really good,” Gilmore said. “I didn’t do as much preseason as I would have liked this year. It was nice to actually get out there. It was a good kick off.”
Gilmore is playing a wrestler-coach role for the Senators, helping out Speek with the development with the younger grapplers on the team.
“It’s a role I want to fulfill after I graduate,” Gilmore said. “I get a sense of pride watching them. We put in a lot of work together. Sweat, tears and blood.”
The Senators recovered to pick up a win over Excel Academy, 30-12.
Gilmore won by forfeit against the Wolves.
In the first match of the evening, Ava Chiodo stepped into the circle against Chicopee Comp’s chiseled sophomore Janiah Baez in the 113-pound weight class.
Chiodo took the loss by fall (3:01) in the second period.
“She was really tough,” Chiodo said. “Really strong and fast. I just kept thinking don’t get pinned.”
Chiodo went on the offensive in her second match Excel Academy’s Jennifer Martinez, picking up a win by fall (1:51) in the first period.
“I could be the aggressor,” Chiodo said.
The home crowd got more and more fired up with each consecutive win by the Senators against Excel Academy.
Whitman’s first-ever win was at 132 pounds against Chicopee Comp’s Rachel Mora-Berly. Whitman took the win by fall (:36) in the first period.
“I was really nervous,” Whitman said. “But having everyone cheering me on was really nice. There were times where I wanted to give up. Hearing everyone and my team and coaches giving me tips really got me through it.”
Whitman is new to wrestling this season.
“I thought it would be really interesting to try,” Whitman said. “I like being a part of something physical.”
Brooke Mitchell picked up a win by fall (1:18) at 285 in the second period against Excel Academy’s Abby Castillo.
“I was able to lock in the head lock,” Mitchell said.
Anaray Yang impressed in both her matches. In the second match of the evening, Yang lost a tough match to Destiny Cruz of Chicopee Comp by a 8-6 decision.
Cruz scored with just seconds left to pull off the victory.
Against the Wolves, Yang won by fall (:59) in the first period against Roxana Lopez.
Mahar’s Anya Roberts also grabbed a win by fall against the Wolves, pinning Mireyda Perez Hernandez in the second period (2:39).
