New York USA Wrestling

In what may have been the upset of the season thus far in the women's freestyle discipline; it was the Eagle fab freshman, Hosier, breaking through with a career-defining victory at the 2026 Section VI Duals...

Squaring off during pool-play against former Nationally ranked Michaela Thomas (3x Girls State medalist/2x finalist/Defending NYS Queen), of Clarence, Hosier overcame an initial 5-0 deficit when she went head hunting and refused to relinquish her grip; eventually rolling her highly touted nemesis to her back and keeping her there until the joyous slap of the mat echoed at the 94-second mark!

Winless in three previous meetings against Thomas (finals of the CL Invitational,  semifinals at the Lockport Tournament, and finals of the The Revolution at Canandaigua) this season; the juxtaposition of going from the conquered to conquerer no doubt was a source of added jubilation for the emerging superstar! 

This shining/statement-making moment being the second of a pair of marquee triumphs that Hosier earned in comeback fashion...

One round earlier during her school's collision with Fredonia; Hosier battled back from a 10-2 hole to stick 2x State Blood Rounder,  McKella Hodkin, in the last 24 ticks of the opening period!!

All in all the owner of a 3-0 resume on January 30th; in her final outing of the event; Hosier tacked on a 13-0 TF shutout in the crossover finale over Keirstin Bazinet (Niagara Wheatfield) in a back-and-forth dual that narrowly went the way of the Falcons (32-30)!

Not overlooked would be the complementary 5:57 sticking of Falconer-Cassadaga Valley's Hannah Evans days prior as a precursor to her weekend heroics!

Raising her seasonal vitae to an impressive 25-8 (tourney win at the Morton/Salamanca); Hosier has proven herself dangerous....

She is not the same young woman that went 0-2 at the 2025 Sectional State Qualifier...

She is now the "BAD DRAW" in the postseason for anyone with Albany dreams!

Peaking at precisely the ideal time of the season; Plains(wo)men Junior 120-pounder, Madalyn Hill, just put worth some of, if not the finest wrestling of her varsity tenure this past week!!

Her candidacy the product of both individual glory and team triumph; the defending Section II Queen/NYSPHSAA Girls State Qualifier was the author of a perfect 9-0 record between a pair of high profile appearances!!!

On Sunday January 18th, Hill ascended to the top of a tournament podium for the first time in '25-'26 (3rd at the Goodrich, 3rd at the Iron Maiden, 6th at Eastern States) when she posted a 5-0 record on her way to the crown at the 2026 Dames & Devils on the campus of Columbia High School...

Squaring off against 2x Sectional placer (2024 Bronze)/2024 NYSPHSAA Qualifier, Breyana Montalvo (Amsterdam), in the finale; Hill just missed a technical fall, as she finished with an 11-2 decision!

Earlier in the event (quarterfinals), she recorded a 10-0 TF over 2x S2 Blood Rounder, Kenna Rolston, of Shaker!!

Remaining en fuego this past weekend; Hill proved invaluable in vaulting Shenendehowa to the overall team title at the 2026 Journeymen Girl State Duals!!!

Punishing and unscored upon (41-0 margin) from start to conclusion; Hill stockpiled technical falls in all four of her trips to the mat; highlighted by 10-0 shutouts in Round 1 off pool-play and the crossover finals over the likes of Horseheads' Lilly Gullo (2025 S4 runner-up; 2025 State Blood Rounder) & Amelia Patzelt (2024 Section 9 silver medalist; 2024 State Qualifier), of Minisink Valley! 

Sandwiched in-between the respective coronations (solo + collective) would be one additional dub, as she cruised to an 11-1 TF versus Aaliyah Pigeon as part of Shen's 40-22 dual victory over Niskayuna-Schenectady on the 21st!

Her current 11-match winning streak raising her seasonal resume to 26-6 (per CNYWrestling); Hill is emerging as a definitive podium threat next month in Albany!

To win either the Southern Tier Memorial or the Eastern States Classic would make you an automatic candidate for WOW honors....

To claim both crowns within a span of three days makes her selection a "no brainer"!!!

And this is exactly what River Hawk 8th grader, Lorilye Beardsley managed to achieve last week as she boasted an immaculate 9-0 record (5 TFs, 3 pins) between the two events to emerge as a double 94-pound gold medalist!!!

Her weekend commencing with a two-day stay in Section IV territory [Elmira]; Beardsley amassed a 34-2 margin en route to racking up a pin hat trick to go along with a pair of identical 10-0 superiority triumphs!

The only adversity faced being an early 2-0 deficit in the semifinals to Newark Valley's Hadley Merrill; the Avon-Geneseo student-athlete responded in quick fashion, hitting a 4pt move as a precursor to a :28 fall!!

Squaring off in the Southern Tier finale against Madison Farberman (Harpursville-Bainbridge-Guilford-Afton-Chenango Valley) in a preview of a bout we could see in the later rounds of next month's NYSPHSAA State Championships; Beardsley came out of the gate on fire, as she converted a 4-pointer and then continued to roll from there, cruising to the 10-0 shutout!

Earlier victories under the roof of the LECOM Events Center took the form of :20 stick (leading 4-0) against Fulton's Cora O`Bryan; a 47-second fall (up 6-0) over Aniyah Rought (Waverly); and her second 10-0 blanking in the quarters versus St. Anthony's Friar, Mary McNerney! 

The encore was even finer!!!

Less than a day removed from seizing the first of her "double dip", the S5 superstar provided further evidence of why many pundits perceive her as the presumptive favorite to hoist hardware on South Pearl Street in late-February when she added four more wins, including two over returning NYSPHSAA Qualifiers, in Clifton Park on her path towards becoming just the second wrestler all-time hailing from the Rochester-area section to win a women's crown at the Eastern States (Maddie Westerberg in '23 @138)!

The culmination of her weekend sweep occurred when already up 8-0 she was able to pancake 2025 Section II bridesmaid, Avery Mancini (Burnt Hills/Scotia/Ballston Spa) for a fall at the 1:28 mark...

Her conquest in the main event certainly of top tier quality; it would actually be her effort in the semis that especially commanded respect...

Pitted against 2025 State participant, Zoe Hernandez (Rocky Point), who was fresh off of the title at the Dame of Thrones; Beardsley got the better end of a 4 & 2 exchange on her head throw attempt in the final 1:00 of regulation to steal the 4-4 criteria decision in a potential 2026 State money match preview!

Hernandez being the second of the aforementioned two returning NYS tournament qualifiers bested by the youngster; the quarterfinals bore witness to Beardsley jumping out to a 9-0 advantage before tossing defending S9 queen, Shane Dharaleen (Middletown), to her back for what would have been an 11-0 TF had the former not been able to inevitable secure the slap of the mat with :27 remaining in the 1st period!!

All in all, Beardsley enjoyed a 35-4 edge in terms of points scored vs. surrendered at ESC to bring her grand sum between the two events to a mind-blowing 69-6!!

She has yet to experience defeat this season!

The "Double Knee Pad Queen" took on all comers during the extended Holiday schedule and conquered all in winning not just one tournament, but a pair of brass rings on back-to-back days to raise her seasonal record to an immaculate 16-0!!!

Kicking off 2026 with an appearance at the 2nd Annual Queen Bee on the campus of Baldwinsville HS; the 3x NYSPHSAA Girls State placer (2x Bronze) for the Sidney Sabers capped off a dominant afternoon (three sub-1:00 falls + a 10-0 TF) when she pinned 2023 State Bronze Medalist, Rylie Meagher (Camden), at the :25 mark of their 120-pound finals bout!!

So good that she is becoming her own "deity"; a Sunday Sabbath in her world meant no rest; but rather another day of asserting her will!!!

Dropping down to 114 to participate in the deepest bracket of the event; Phelps took no prisoners en route to seizing gold at the Dame of Thrones....

Ripping through nothing but returning NYSPHSAA State placer/medalists/finalists at every stage of her coronation in Clifton Park; Phelps prevailed in a clash of unbeatens in the crossover finals when leading 6-0, she was able to pin Minisink Valley's 2x State 4th, Keira Filip (28-0 entering the bout) off of a gut-wrench at the 43-second mark!!

One outing earlier, she relied on an explosive 12pt effort in the 2nd period to overcome a 6-1 deficit to knock off 2025 State runner-up, Gianna Cruz (Eastchester), 13-6, to clinch the win in pool-play!

Cruz being the first and only opponent this season to go the full 6:00 against the S4 standout; earlier in the day, Phelps pitched identical 10-0 shutouts versus 3x State placer/2x Champion, Gabriella Barone (Niagara Wheatfield) and returning State 6th, Gabriella Gelnett (Lockport)!

As untouchable this weekend as she has been all season thus far; the present-day #16 ranked competitor in the land upped her 2025-2026 record to an immaculate 13-0 when she toppled a pair of former NYSPHSAA Girls State placers in commanding fashion to seize the 185-pound crown at the STAC Girls Championships on the campus of Chenango Forks HS!!

Squaring off in the semifinals against 2023 State 6th, Leylani Wiltshire, of Oneonta; the returning NYS Girls State silver medalist [McGuinness] cruised to a 10-0 superiority victory!!

As a follow-up, she'd prevail in an All-Tiger ambush when she stuck U-E teammate/training partner, Cadence Trinidad (2024 State 4th) in the final :04 of the opening period to emphatically close out a 3-0 display!!!

Unblemished as noted above; McGuinness added the STAC title to the brass rings she has already earned at Goodrich Girls Invitational and the U-E Girls Tradesman!

Receiving a brief respite (the "Cats" are not slated to return to action until after the New Year); we fully expect to see the early stages of 2026 be every bit as rewarding/lucrative as the closing moments of 2025!

Clearly put....The path to NYSPHSAA glory will go through McGuinness in February!!

When it comes to the Lehigh bound, defending NYSPHSAA Girls State titlist out of Port Jervis; there is never the slight thought of resting on laurels....

Head and shoulder above the majority of the opponent she has and will continue to face this season; we fully expect Wylie to run through her swan song unscathed...

But if this prophecy does indeed come to fruition; it most certainly will NOT be the byproduct of "playing it safe"!!!

Making it two consecutive weeks in which she toppled a returning State runner-up [she bested Gianna Cruz in a rematch of their state finals bout last week]; the 3x Fargo All-American/2x finalist/2024 Queen took all of a mere 47 ticks before she emerged with a victory by fall against highly-touted Shaker freshman/2025 NYS silver medalist, Julia Duro, in the 114-pound finale at the Iron Maiden Tournament on the campus of Minisink Valley HS!!

Leading the bout 8-0 at the time of the stick; From start to conclusion, Wylie did not surrender a single point, as she amassed a 40-0 margin while going 4-0 (3 TFs prior to the aforementioned pin)...

In addition to the clash of 2025 state main eventers to close the show; one round earlier, she registered a 10-0 TF (1:37) over 2x State Qualifier, Sophia Paone (Shenendehowa)!

With Wylie receiving the honors this week on the heels of Sara Paul's selection in wk #1; S9 presently is maintaining a stranglehold/monopoly on the "t-shirt"!

Facing her first true test(s) since returning from an injury that kept her out of the Super 32 in October; the present-day #16 ranked lady in the nation (per Sports Illustrated) demonstrated why many Empire State pundits are forecasting another NYSPHSAA title (3x medalist/2x finalist/2023 Queen) in her future this coming February...

Posting a perfect 7-0 resume with all of her victories being accompanied by some form of bonus points (all by fall); the Minisink Valley Junior 132-pounder led the Lady Warriors to a 6-1 dual record that yielded them runner-up honors at the 1st Annual Red Hawk Duals on the campus of Groton HS!!

Three of these head-to-head triumphs coming at the expense of former/returning State placers and/or qualifiers; it did not take Pauls long to make her presence felt, as she exploded for a pair of 4-point moves on her way to a 12-0 blanking against 2023 NYS Girls State participant, Alyssa Russell (Columbia), in her opening outing...

Shortly after, she'd connect with one of her bread-and-butter headlocks to earn a 1:21 stick of 2025 State 5th, Riley Butler (West Genesee)...

Round 5 proved to be her "calling card" of the weekend, as she battled back from an 8-5 deficit at the end of the 1st period to square the match at 8-8 before hitting a 4-pointer as a precursor to securing the fall at the 3:34 mark over the host school's freshman sensation/returning Girls State bronze medalist, Carmen Bishop!

All in all, Pauls accrued a margin of 54-8 (Bishop the lone opponent to score on her) from start to finish!!!

***If there is a wrestler that you feel warrant "WOW" consideration; please do not hesitate to submit him/her for consideration....

All nominations should be directed to NYUSAWWOW@yahoo.com***