WHITE PLAINS – Genesis Garcia insisted she was the better wrestler, but the results didn’t bear that out.
She struggled mightily and seemed overwhelmed, unable to do much more than cling to her opponent’s leg.
Well, to be fair, she gave up about 60 pounds and several years of experience. Those were the sparring matches the White Plains star used to have with Lauren Garcia, when she first decided to pursue this sport and follow in her older sister’s footsteps.
“There’s a lot of pride in our family about this,” Genesis said on Feb. 8. “She paved the way for me, and I’ve always wanted to replicate what she did.”
Lauren placed third in the state folkstyle invitational four years ago, and Genesis brought herself a bit closer to another brass ring, winning the 100-pound title at the Section 1 girls freestyle wrestling championships.
Continuing a stellar season, Genesis dominated the final and secured a 28-second pin of Arlington’s Nicole Shneyder. Having her hand raised before a roaring crowd at the Westchester County Center, she said, “was probably my biggest personal achievement.”
The junior is among a slew of local girls who emerged from a field of 85 standouts — more than doubling last year’s participation — and advanced to the state tournament Feb. 26 at MVP Arena in Albany.
“This whole event is great and there are so many more girls this year,” said Kelly Mahecha, an Arlington senior who was voted Champion of Champions and won the 132-pound title. “So many girls are getting into the sport, and the skill level is developing, and that’s awesome.”
Putnam Valley captured the Section 1 team championship, totaling 99.5 points to finish ahead of Scarsdale (90) and Port Chester (80).
“Winning two section titles in the same school year is incredible,” said Julia DiMichele, the 145-pound champion who also helped Putnam Valley win a volleyball title in this venue last November. “It feels so good to see our hard work pay off.”
The Most Outstanding Lightweight was awarded to Laila Builes of Port Chester, and Putnam Valley’s Maddie Keeler earned that distinction as a heavyweight.
“There’s gonna be a lot of good, tough girls up there, and I’m looking to get all-state,” Genesis said. “I’m gonna stay disciplined, but I do want to celebrate with a nice big crepe.”
It pays to be persistent
Who says it doesn’t pay sometimes for kids to nag their parents?
Solese Jovine joined the Arlington wrestling team last winter and within a week, coach Dave Grafmuller said, her potential was obvious. But, given the demanding nature of the sport and its time commitments, her mother decided then it wasn’t for the eighth-grader.
“I wanted to do it so bad last year,” Jovine said. “It went on for months and it took a lot of trying to convince her to let me go back to the team. I’m so glad she let me do it this year.”
And that might’ve been her second biggest comeback. Because the freshman trailed throughout her 126-pound final, but continued pushing and wearing on her opponent, before scoring an improbable pin in 5:44 over Scarsdale’s Daisy Bennett.
“I was nervous,” said Jovine, who was down 18-13 in the match, “but I think one of my strengths is being able to focus in the moment and not think about anything else.”
This was her first full season of wrestling, but it helps that she has a background in Jiu-Jitsu and “dogged” competitive spirit, Grafmuller said. It also was a benefit having Mahecha as a training partner and mentor.
“If I hadn’t won, I would’ve put Solese on my mantel,” joked Mahecha, repeated as a section champion. “It’s incredible seeing her accomplish this and we take a lot of pride in her.”
‘Back and better than ever’
It’s been a painful and frustrating winter for Laila Builes, a star for whom expectations were high and her own aspirations even greater. But an injury limited the Port Chester sophomore to three matches in the regular season.
It seems, however, that she recovered just in time to still make something special of another campaign.
“I’m healthy now and I feel good,” insisted Builes, a defending state champion. “I’m back and better than ever.”
She left little room for debate there after rolling through the 114-pound bracket to capture a second consecutive Section 1 championship. Builes defeated Suffern’s Lesly Chivalan Real, 12-1, to score a technical fall in the final.
“I was the first section champion at my school in girls wrestling, so to do it again means a lot to me,” said Builes, who recorded quick pins in the quarter and semifinal rounds. “I’m proud of myself, especially because I just got back from the injury.”
The anticipated final rematch between her and Ursuline’s Gianna Cruz wasn’t as the defending state runner-up withdrew from sectionals to compete in a national Jiu-Jitsu tournament in the Philippines.
“I’ve improved a lot and I’ve fixed things in my technique, so it would’ve been great to match up with her,” said Builes, who is also an accomplished martial artist. “But we’re really good friends and training partners, so I’m not disappointed at all. I’m just excited for states.”
Section 1 girls wrestling finals
94: Tatiana Alexander (Eastchester) tech fall over Iliana Barrientos (Port Chester), 12-2
100: Genesis Garcia (White Plains) pinned Nicole Shneyder (Arlington), 0:28
107: Lei Guarin (Lakeland-Panas) tech fall over Ava Corbin (Yonkers City Schools), 14-3
114: Laila Builes (Port Chester) tech fall over Lesly Chivalan Real (Suffern), 12-1
120: Iman Maroof (Scarsdale) tech fall over Gabrielle Jones (Yonkers City Schools), 10-0
126: Solese Jovine (Arlington) pinned Daisy Bennett (Scarsdale), 5:44
132: Kelly Mahecha (Arlington) pinned Jacqueline Goldberg (Scarsdale), 1:24
138: Maddie Keeler (Putnam Valley) tech fall over Kayleigh Sharp (Ketcham), 11-0
145: Julia DiMichele (Putnam Valley) pinned Anya Torres (Suffern), 1:18
152: Celeste Minardi (Scarsdale) pinned Cecilia DeMattia (Croton), 5:38
165: Gwenyth Browne (Ketcham) pinned Leila Garguilo (Eastchester), 1:57
185: Delina Gritz (Putnam Valley) pinned Isabelle Sabelja (Eastchester), 0:28
235: Alexis Keeler (Putnam Valley) tech fall over Emani Jones (Ketcham), 8-0
Stephen Haynes covers sports for The Journal News/lohud.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Garcia follows sister’s footsteps on way to Section 1 wrestling title
Reporting by Stephen Haynes, Rockland/Westchester Journal News / Rockland/Westchester Journal News
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