Inaugural South Huntington Girls Wrestling Team Members Honored

SOUTH HUNTINGTON, NY — Walt Whitman High School’s female wrestlers finally got the opportunity to wrestle on their own all-girls team this year, against other all-girls teams, as New York state sanctioned girls wrestling on the high school level.

The inaugural Walt Whitman High School girls wrestling squad was honored by the South Huntington Board of Education for Women's History Month, the school district announced. The team is made up of athletes from Walt Whitman, Huntington, Harborfields and John Glenn High Schools.

Girls have been wrestling in high schools for years, but until now, it’s always been on the boys team, because that was the only option. Girls wrestling coach and Whitman PhysEd teacher Angela Biancamano calls the state’s decision to recognize girls wrestling as "a monumental moment for female sports."

There were 30 athletes on the Town of Huntington roster, with 11 of them from Walt Whitman High School. All the girls from Walt Whitman were first time wrestlers.

"I think this is another opportunity for girls who haven't participated in athletics in the past, another chance to participate," South Huntington Athletic Director Dave Barth said in a news release. "We saw that for a lot of the girls who joined the wrestling team, it was their first sport playing at Walt Whitman. We feel great to be on the ground level of this and give them that opportunity, and obviously it was successful. We haven't had a female wrestler in the district in over 20 years, and now we have 11."

The Town of Huntington team competed in three tournaments — Copiague Wrestling Tournament, Harborfields Tournament, and Rocky Point Tournament — with multiple athletes receiving medals in every tournament in all weight classes. The Town of Huntington team had additional "Dual Meets," which were matches against other schools, including Bay Shore, Ward Melville and Copiague.

"Girls wrestling will continue to grow as more schools and districts form all-female teams," the South Huntington School District wrote.

Barth said the Whitman girls will be back next season and continue to combine with the other schools as the Town of Huntington team. Plus, the district will be adding an all-girls bracket to its annual Andrew Peers Wrestling Tournament this December, a memorial tournament held in honor of 1988 Whitman graduate and accomplished athlete Andrew Peers, who was killed in a car crash in 1994.

The Board of Education recognized team members Evelyn Barrientos, Meckenzie Caldwell, Mariza Catalan Hernandez, Isabella Franco, Emma Galdamez, Emily Garcia Maldonado, Allison Hernandez Romero, Camila Hidalgo, Tamia Mc Kay, Melanie Rodriguez Valdez and Helena Anglade.