From Saturday, June 3 to Sunday, June 4, 17 BTSNY girls traveled to Troy, New York to train and compete in "Headlocks on the Hudson." Jacque Davis, Head Girls Coach, "had a blast with all of our girls this weekend." Davis described an idyllic weekend of training hard, eating s'mores by the fire, and getting to finish the weekend with wrestling outside by the water.
Between the hospitable Curby coaches, training, and competition, Ted Cook, Head Coach at Truman High School, also enjoyed the weekend. "Both the girls and I learned new drills and had a great time," said Cook. "Exposing the girls to Greco will pay dividends in the long run."
The weekend began on Saturday, a full day earlier than the tournament. The BTS cohort was able to do a few practice sessions in the Curby 3-Style Wrestling Club. This allowed the group to learn some new Greco and Freestyle techniques as a team. As soon as the training portion of the day was done, the BTSNY girls went camping.
Fortunately, a tournament director and a family from his club helped host the group at a local camp site. The hosts prepared everything necessary for an enjoyable camping experience—BBQ, tents, and all the supplies necessary to make s'mores. Ghost stories were told around the fire as the girls enjoyed hamburgers and s'mores. Davis noted that this was the first camping experience ever for some of the girls. The group began Sunday with breakfast sandwiches, French toast, and orange juice before driving out to the competition. BTS is grateful for all the hospitality offered to the group.
Something relatively unique about this competition was how it was held outdoors along the Hudson waterfront. The mats were laid out in a large parking lot under tents, with music playing in the background and food and gear stands on the side.
Notable for BTSNY, this was the first time any of the girls got to wrestle an official Greco match. "Some of them were not happy that I was having them try it, and some of them were excited to hit their throws," said Davis.
Davis was proud to see every girl go outside of her comfort zone and wrestle Greco, a division that is hardly offered to female wrestlers. Though Davis noted that some girls were uncomfortable trying Greco, she was happy with the results and thought it was "awesome especially for it being their first time."
Davis is consistently impressed with the performances given by the middle school girls, and this weekend was no exception. Davis is excited for the future of New York wrestling, especially with rising stars such as Beautiful Robinson and Alessandra Elliott. Robinson hit three suplexes in her first match, an impressive feat for the 6th grader. Based on the results that can be found below, Davis accurately described this weekend's cohort: "They tore up the competition!"
We're glad that the BTSNY girls got to have such an enriching weekend that was full of fun, training, and competition. We hope many more such weekends are ahead of them!
Nia Crosdale, 1st in Greco & 1st in Freestyle: 11th grade, Truman High School
Ashly Gomez, 1st in Greco & 1st in Freestyle: 11th grade, Sunset Park
Beautiful Robinson, 1st in Greco & 1st in Freestyle: 6th grade, M.S. 129
Alessandra Elliott, 1st in Greco & 1st in Frestyle: 6th grade, P.S. 861
Cheyanne Villamil, 1st in Greco & 2nd in Freestyle: 10th grade, Truman High School
Chloe Cabrera, 2nd in Greco & 2nd in Freestyle: 9th Grade, Truman High School
Khadeja Ayers, 2nd in Greco & 2nd in Freestyle: 12th grade, Truman High School
Tays Pascual, 2nd in Greco & 3rd in Freestyle: 8th grade, Inwood Academy
Ominakhan Nazarzoda, 3rd in Greco & 2nd in Freestyle: 12th grade, James Madison
Mahrafruz Bobojonova, 2nd in Greco & 3rd in Freestyle: 10th grade, James Madison
Shola Cascen, 3rd in Greco & 3rd in Freestyle: 11th grade, Truman High School
Jacqueline Tlaczani, 3rd in Greco & 3rd in Freestyle: 11th Grade, Edward R. Murrow
Nighyar Calliste, 3rd in Greco & 3rd in Freestyle: 11th grade, Edward R. Murrow
Caryssa Perez, 3rd in Greco & 3rd in Freestyle: 12th grade, James Madison
Ashley Arevalo, DNP: 11th grade, Bronx Studios
Sabrina Mena, DNP: 11th grade, Bronx Studios
Fatoumata Waggeh, DNP: 11th grade, Bronx Studios
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