Chautauqua Lake freshman Noli Paddock and Dunkirk junior Jaslieen Salgado made the trip even more special by reaching the podium in the inaugural event.

“It’s really exciting,” Paddock said. “I have prepped a lot for this, it’s been a long journey. Had a hard loss throughout the season, just kind of came back and gave my best here.”

“We talk a lot about history in our room,” Chautauqua Lake head coach Pete Dorman added. “Her being able to be on the podium is historic, especially for our program being one of the first ones in the entire state, to be able to have someone on the podium for the first one is awesome.”

Starting the event with a pair of wins, both Paddock and Salgado reached the semifinals and with that a guarantee of wrestling for a spot on the podium.

Photo courtesy of Michelle Gilbert Dunkirk's Jaslieen Salgado finished sixth at 235 pounds in Albany.

“Anything is possible and I just try to keep that in mind,” Paddock added. “You’ve got to stay strong.”

Both wrestlers were upended in their semifinal bouts, but it was the second-seeded Paddock who was able to bounce back in the 132-pound consolation bracket after a heartbreaking 16-15 semifinal loss to No. 3 Taylor Aiello of Section XI Huntington. Falling down 16-9 to Aiello, Paddock was able to rally back six straight points, but the time just ran out for her shot at No. 1.

“We’re proud of Noli,” Dorman said. “She climbed up a spot from where she was at last year at the invitational. She lost a tough one in the semis by one point; to be able to battle back and show the mental toughness and climb to third place says a lot about her hard work and dedication.”

That momentum in the end of her semifinal bout carried over to wrestlebacks as she defeated Brielle Nels of Section III Homer with a 13-2 technical fall to reach the third-place match. Paddock was just as dominant in her final match of the season with another technical fall defeating Jada Lee of Monroe Section IX Woodbury 11-1 to reach the podium.

“Thank you to my coaches,” Paddock said about her performance. “I wouldn’t be able to do it without everyone and it was just a good learning experience.”

The 132-pound state title was eventually won by Mia Collins of Section II Burnt Hills/Scotia/Ballston Spa with an 8-0 win over Aiello.

While Paddock missed her ultimate goal of winning a championship she will have three more chances to get back and get the job done.

“It’s exciting,” Paddock said about her future and hopes to improve. “Every year I’m going to try and climb to the top as everyone does. It’s just a good opportunity. It was new, but as far as learning went, I think I learned a lot.”

Paddock’s first two victories were very dominant decisions, pinning Melania Turano of Section XI Bay Shore in 1:20 and then posting a 13-1 technical fall over Josie Lamb of Section V Canandaigua. She finished the season with a 46-2 record at 132 pounds and third place in the state.

That was not the case for Salgado, who had to defy a deficit with a pin to secure a victory and her trip to the 235-pound semifinal. In her first bout, fifth-seeded Salgado defeated No. 13 Grace Bishop of Section V East Rochester in the first round at 1:31, but in the quarterfinals she was pushed to the limit by Naomi Gonzalez of Section VIII Valley Stream North.

“She is a mentally tough kid,” Dunkirk head coach Connor Aitcheson said about Salgado. “When the chips are on the table she is able to pull through and make it happen for herself. She’s got that determination and that drive to push through and see success.”

Salgado was down 6-1 before she was able to finally take down Gonzalez scoring 4 points before securing a pin at 2:42.

“We’re very proud of her,” Aitcheson said about Salgado’s season. “This is her second year of wrestling and first in freestyle. We’re extremely proud of the progress we’ve seen in her and that’s a testament to her effort and determination. Her teammates push her constantly. We have a good group of girls and it’s very rewarding as a coach to sit back and see their efforts be put on display.”

Looming in the semifinals for the Dunkirk junior was the top-seeded and eventual state champion Peyton Mullin of Section V Dundee. She showed why her record was perfect with a quick pin in 12 seconds. Mullin went on to defeat Mia Flores of Section VIII MacArthur in the final by pinfall in 25 seconds.

Salgado then suffered two more pins from Ava Gregg of Section II Shaker in 28 seconds and then to Section VI champion Khamya’J Maxwell of Lockport in 1:26 for sixth place. She finished the season with a 26-14 record at 235 pounds and finished sixth in the state.

“It’s definitely a testament to the people who put the work in to make this happen at the section level and state level,” Aitcheson said. “To have this opportunity for our girls is incredible, we’re happy to be a part of it and very proud of the pretty notable numbers we had this year. We just hope to see it grow.”

While no local girls reached the state final, Section VI did have one champion as Michaela Thomas of Iroquois grinded out an 11-6 win at 165 pounds against top-seed Teagan McGuiness of Section IV Union-Endicott.

Paddock and Salgado were ultimately the only local girls to reach the podium, but several of the 10 representatives found themselves in the hunt after a few matches.

Both Fredonia’s Kim Bauer and McKella Hodkin secured prequarterfinal victories, but second-round losses sent both girls into the consolation bracket with a tougher road to the podium.

Bauer, the Silver Creek junior, entered as the No. 2 seed at 185 pounds and picked up a technical fall over Section XI Bellport’s Miiko Foster 14-4 before her first loss to Section I Nyack’s Emily Rodriguez in 40 seconds while she was looking to roll Rodriguez for points and found herself on her back. She responded with a pin over Kyleigh Kershner of Section XI Bellport in 1:38 in wrestlebacks, but missed the podium because of a pin from Marissa Crofoot of Section III Fulton in 4:08.

Hodkin, the Fredonia eighth-grader, picked up prequarterfinal pin over Gianni King of Section IX Middletown in 1:53, but she lost her Section VI 145-pound final rematch to Frontier’s Avery White by another 10-0 technical fall. She posted another victory in the wrestlebacks as she pinned Ja’Niyah Simmons of Section V Canandaigua in 5:20, however, her podium bid was cut short with a 10-0 technical fall loss to Gabriella Schectman of Section VIII MacArthur.

Chautauqua Lake picked up another first-round win with Panama freshman Lilly Hyde, but she certainly had to work hard for it. The 152-pound No. 2 seed found herself in trouble against No. 15 Melina Georgas of Section I Suffern as she trailed 12-8 with 15 seconds left, but Hyde took down Georgas and managed to pull out a pin with 4 seconds left.

Hyde was unable to find that magic again in the quarterfinals when she fell to No. 10 Kiara Richard of Section II Shaker in a 9-0 loss. Then, in wrestlebacks she could not rally back from down 4-0 to Keishara Tulloch of Section VIII Uniondale, falling 4-2, finishing her season with a 34-3 record.

Gowanda’s Kiernan Quinn came out of the same bracket as Hyde, but even with a first-round loss she clawed at hopes of a spot on the podium.

After being pinned by Gabriella Gonzales of Section III Phoenix in 2:45, Quinn responded with a win over Asana Barham of Section IX Monroe-Woodbury by pinfall in 1:04 in wrestlebacks. She then posted an even quicker pin against Kiara Davidson of Section IV Johnson City in 41 seconds, but the road ended right after that with a 13-3 technical fall against Tulloch.

Quinn finished the season with a 19-7 record.

Just like Quinn, another four local girls lost their opening matches, but had the grit to not leave the MVP Arena empty handed securing at least one win apiece.

“For Chautauqua Lake, we brought a good group of girls,” Dorman said about the local wrestlers. “Everybody we brought won at least one match; Noli ended up third, the other girls went 1-2. As a section we brought a fantastic team, we’ve got seven wrestling for third place, Michaela (Thomas) in the finals, but as a section we’ve brought a great team.”

At 94 pounds, Falconer/Cassadaga Valley’s Anastazia Hale lost her opening match against Olivia Anello of Section XI Bellport via pin, but rallied back with a 10-0 technical fall over Kolbie Furman of Section IX Minisink Valley and then a pin over Madeline Palulis of Section II Salem-Cambridge in 2:14.

Chautauqua Lake’s Kassidy Benedetto first lost to Palulis, but then managed a pin over Section VIII Uniondale’s Giselle Espinoza. Benedetto’s tournament ended the following match with a pin by Anello. Benedetto wrapped up the year with one win at states and a 28-9 record.

Hale’s chance at the podium for Cassadaga Valley came to an end with a 12-2 technical fall by Tatiana Alexander of Section I Eastchester. She finished the day 2-2 and with an 11-4 record on the season.

Chautauqua Lake’s Kortlyn Fairbank was pinned by Fairport’s-V Brooke Agnone to begin her day at 100 pounds, but responded with a 10-0 technical fall over Genesis Garcia of Section I White Plains. Fairbank’s season ended with a pin by Alianna Lyon of Section II Mechanicville/Stillwater in 58 seconds. Fairbank ended with a win at states and a 27-15 record.

At 126 pounds, Fredonia eighth-grader Braelynn Wicks suffered an opening loss to Caitlin Maragioglio of Section XI Bellport by 10-0 technical fall. Wicks answered with a pin over Kelly Mahecha of Section I Arlington in 2:42, but her season was ended by Alivia Cartwright of Section V Keshequa in 2:53. Wicks picked up one win at states and a 23-14 record on the season.

The first-ever state champions in girls wrestling in New York are Samantha Massey of Section III Mount Markham at 94 pounds, Laila Builes of Section I Port Chester at 100 pounds, Charlie Wylie of Section IX Port Jervis at 107 pounds, Teegan Sibble of Section V Bolivar-Richburg at 114 pounds, Haley Gonzales of Section VIII Hicksville at 120 pounds, Julianna Hernandez of Section XI Rocky Point at 126 pounds, Mia Collins of Section II Burnt Hills/Scotia/Ballston Spa at 132 pounds, Isabella Satalino of Section II Columbia at 138 pounds, Ava Guilmette of Section II Shenendehowa at 145 pounds, Victoria Alvarado of Section IX Warwick Valley at 152 pounds, Michaela Thomas of Iroquois at 165 pounds, Emily Rodriguez of Section I Nyack at 185 pounds and Peyton Mullin of Section V Dundee at 235 pounds.

“The future for girls wrestling is unlimited,” Dorman said. “It’s the fastest growing sport in the country. For us specifically, for Chautauqua Lake our entire team is mostly 10th grade and younger. Two or three years from now we’re going to have a bunch of girls here.”