Three Homer and three Groton girls wrestlers will vie for a state championship Thursday at MVP Arena in Albany. Homer’s Brielle Nels, Gracie Newman and Molly Sorenson and Groton’s Phoebe Bishop, Carmen Bishop and Leontine Evans are all four wins away from a state title.
The tournament will be started and completed Thursday, with wrestling beginning at 10 a.m. and the finals scheduled for 4 p.m.
Nels is making her first trip to the state tournament in her first varsity season. The eighth grader has come on strong of late, winning her final 16 matches and claiming a Homer Lady Legacy Tournament title and a Section III championship. She is sporting a 31-7 record with 12 pins and 10 tech falls.
Nels is the No. 5 seed in the 132-pound bracket and will face No. 12 Rilee Kinsley (19-8), from Valley Central. The winner will face either No. 4 Sofia Guadagna (29-7), from Sweet Home, or No. 13 Jada Lee (11-6), from Monroe Woodbury.
Newman and Sorenson are both returning to states for the second time.
Newman is a fast-paced wrestler, with 26 of the 27 matches she competed in ending in a pin, with the other finishing by medical forfeit. She has a 25-5 record with 21 pins. Newman came in second at the Section III tournament.
The senior is the No. 9 seed in the 138-pound bracket, with a matchup with No. 8 Emma Pinzi (28-8), from Niagara Wheatfield, up first. The winner will face either No. 1 Isabella Satalino (38-0), from Columbia, or No. 16 Kalyani Ramikisoon (13-13), from Middletown.
Sorenson has been a top wrestler for two years, boasting a 42-12 record for her career. The sophomore is 27-5 in the 2024-25 season with 17 pins and three tech falls. Sorenson placed second in the Section III championships.
Sorenson is the No. 7 seed at 152 pounds and will start the state tournament with a match against No. 10 Kiara Richard (24-10), from Shaker. The winner will take on either No. 2 Lily Hyde (33-1), from Chautauqua Lake, or No. 15 Melina Georgas (6-1), from Suffern.
Phoebe Bishop made states in her first varsity season as a seventh grader. She has gone 25-3 with 15 pins and eight tech falls and also claimed a Section IV championship.
Phoebe Bishop is the No. 3 seed at 94 pounds and will take on No. 14 Tyasia Buxton (3-2), from Valley Stream, in the opening round. The winner will face either No. 6 Julia Duro (14-1), from Shaker, or No. 11 Zoey Hernandez (17-5), from Rocky Point.
Carmen Bishop, an eighth grader, is also making her first appearance on the state stage. She went 41-4 this season with 34 pins and six tech falls, and now has a 58-10 record in two years. The eighth grader also won a Section IV championship.
Carmen Bishop’s first match as the No. 3 seed at 126 pounds is against No. 14 Pavithra Eswar (8-3), from Wheatley. The winner will take on either No. 6 Haley Proulx (28-6), from Burnt Hills/Scotia/Ballston Spa, or No. 11 Kaegan Rhodes (20-11), from Corning.
Leontine Evans is enjoying a breakout senior season. She is 28-7 with 22 pins and four tech falls as a senior after going 7-10 as a junior. Evans finished second at the Section IV championships.
Evans is the No. 12 seed at 235 pounds and will face No. 5 Naomi Gonzalez (11-1), from Valley Stream North, in the opening round. The winner will face either No. 4 Jaslieen Salgado (24-11, from Dunkirk, or No. 13 Grace Bishop (15-8), from East Rochester.
