Despite winning the Section VI title, Cassadaga Valley freshman Anastazia Hale is the No. 9 seed at 94 pounds. Photo courtesy of Michelle Gilbert

ALBANY — Ten local girls will make history Thursday morning when they compete in the first-ever New York State Public High School Athletic Association girls wrestling championships at MVP Arena in Albany.

While many of the athletes have competed in state tournaments at the club level, this will be the first time the state crowns its top wrestlers in a girls tournament on the same stage the boys will be on the following two days.

“This is a big deal,” Chautauqua Lake head coach Pete Dorman said. “It is the first one and something we’ve been building for a long time; it’s pretty awesome to finally have it here. Our girls have worked really hard for this. … It’s kind of cool to see it come to fruition.”

Two years ago, Chautauqua Lake’s Noli Paddock ascended to the top of the podium at the New York Wrestling Association for Youth Open State Championship. Nearly two weeks ago, Paddock was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler at the NYSPHSAA Section VI Championships and state qualifier while claiming the 132-pound title.

“Noli, she is a known talent,” Dorman said. “She’s done well the last few years, she took fourth at the state invite last year. This is kind of where we expected Noli to be.”

Paddock is one of three local No. 2 seeds at the inaugural girls championship, only below top-seed Mia Collins (23-1) of Section II Burnt Hills/Scotia/Ballston Lake. Paddock (42-1) is set to wrestle No. 15 Melania Turano (19-9) of Section XI Bay Shore in the quarterfinals and needs four wins to reach the ultimate goal of state champion.

“Me and my staff have done a lot of that for our girls,” Dorman said about researching opponents. “We’re really happy with all of our girls’ first-round matches.”

Fellow Chautauqua Lake teammate, Panama freshman Lilly Hyde, also earned a No. 2 seed with a similar dominant run to a sectional title securing a technical fall and two pins at 152 pounds. Hyde is only below No. 1 Victoria Alvarado (18-0) of Section IX Warwick Valley and is set to wrestle No. 15 Melina Georgas (6-1) of Section I Suffern in the quarterfinals.

“We also have Lilly Hyde and she’s an exceptional athlete,” Dorman said. “She’s won every tournament she’s been in this year. Our whole team is young, we’re sending two freshmen, an eighth-grader and a seventh-grader. Where they’re at right now is a testament to the hard work and dedication they’ve put in.”

On the other side of Hyde’s bracket is Gowanda’s Kiernan Quinn, who will have to knock off a pair of undefeated wrestlers to get into the final. No. 12 Quinn (17-5) is set to first wrestle No. 5 Gabriella Gonzales (30-0) of Section III Phoenix.

Fredonia’s No. 2 seed made quick work for her sectional title as Silver Creek junior Kimberly Bauer secured four first-round pins at 185 pounds during the state qualifier.

Bauer (31-1) begins her day against Miiko Foster (14-9) of Section XI Bellport and on the other side of the bracket is undefeated No. 1 Brynn Shepardson (17-0) of Section III Little Falls.

Section VI also has the No. 2 seed at 235 pounds in Lockport’s Khamya’J Maxwell, but right behind the sectional champion is Dunkirk’s Jaslieen Salgado who enters as the No. 4 seed. Salgado needed just one win to punch her ticket to states, but the road to the podium will be harder at MVP Arena.

Salgado (24-11) begins with a bout against No. 13 Grace Bishop (15-8) of Section V East Rochester and if she hopes to reach the final she may have to upend undefeated top-seed Peyton Mullin (23-0) of Section V Dundee in a potential semifinal.

Fredonia eighth-grader McKella Hodkin also earned a high seed as the No. 5 at 145 pounds, while Section VI champion Avery White of Frontier is the No. 4 seed. With a first-round victory, Hodkin and White would meet in a rematch of the sectional final, which White won by technical fall 10-0.

Progressing, the winner could find themselves squaring off against No. 1 Ava Guilmette (22-1) of Section II Shenendehowa. However, before that Hodkin (27-9) wrestles No. 12 Gianni King (17-8) of Section IX Middletown.

Hodkin rounds out the five local wrestlers seeded for a podium spot, while the remaining five must outplay their seed for hardware.

Despite winning the sectional title, Falconer/Cassadaga Valley’s Anastazia Hale is only the No. 9 seed at 94 pounds. The Cassadaga Valley freshman is seeded one spot higher than Chautauqua Lake’s Kassidy Benedetto, who she defeated in Section VI final by technical fall.

Hale (9-2) is set to first wrestle Olivia Anello (24-4) of Section XI Bellport and the winner will likely wrestle top-seed Samantha Massey (9-0) of Section III Mount Markham.

Benedetto (27-7) is on the other side of the bracket against No. 7 Madeline Palulis (26-6) of Section II Salem/Cambridge and a victory probably results in a bout with No. 2 Fern Jewett (34-1) of Section III General Brown.

Chautauqua Lake’s Kortlyn Fairbank is also a No. 9 seed after placing third at the Section VI championships at 100 pounds, filling in for Dunkirk’s Damarielys Cruz, who was injured at the first states practice. Fairbank (26-13) finds herself against No. 8 Brooke Agnone (22-11) of Section V Fairport and the winner likely faces top-seed Zoey Jewett (26-1) of Section III General Brown.

Fredonia eighth-grader Braelynn Wicks also enters as a No. 10 seed, avoiding the top-seed half of the bracket. Wicks (22-12) will first wrestle No. 7 Caitlin Maragioglio (25-5) of Section XI Bellport, with the winner likely battling No. 2 Sara Pauls of Section IX Minisink Valley next.

Regardless of the results Thursday all of the athletes will be a part of something special, the inaugural girls wrestling state championship.

“Section VI is sending a great team,” Dorman said. “The Niagara area is sending a lot of tough girls. I expect us to have a lot of people on the podium.”

The tournament will start and finish Thursday, with weigh-ins at 7:30 a.m., preliminary rounds beginning at 10 and then finals scheduled for 4 p.m. The competition can be streamed on NFHS Network. If attending in Albany, tickets can be purchased for $12.50 at the box office or $18.75 on Ticketmaster.

You can also follow along for live updates on local wrestlers via x.com @Chris__Storms.