For the first time, two Connecticut girls high school wrestling teams meet on the mat in a dual meet in early February. Maloney High in Meriden beat cross-town rival Platt High, 45-33 with seven victories, including the final four of the match.

“It was incredible,” said Platt senior Daylianette Sanchez Cardona. “I have been wanting this since last year. We’ve been trying to set this up and it’s finally here. I’m so proud of all the girls here.”

Platt had nine girls ready to wrestle. Five competed twice to allow Maloney wrestlers a chance to compete. The Spartans have 12 girls in their program.

“Obviously, we don’t have a full lineup but you have to start somewhere,” said Sanchez Cardona, who won twice with a pair of pins. “I’m glad we started here.”

Maloney coach Angel DeJesus and Platt’s Bryan McCarty, a member of the Connecticut Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, arranged for this historic match.

“They’re competitive girls. They work hard in wrestling. They want some recognition. They want to show their skills and what they’ve learned,” McCarty said.

The first girls-only State Open tournament, which was called the CIAC Girls Invitational, was in 2020. The first girls-only tournament in Connecticut was the Queen of the Mat at Foran High in Milford in 2023.

“This is really cool, especially for Meriden,” Maloney’s Gabriella Parris-Dwyer said. “For Platt and Maloney to have this opportunity and for it to the first (dual meet), it is a great feeling. It really is.”

Wallingford’s Choate Rosemary Hall wrestled and lost a dual meet in Massachusetts against Phillips Andover Academy in January 2024, according to Choate head coach Ryan Roddy. A few days earlier, Lowell High wrestled a dual meet against a team of Boston city school All-Stars on January 19, 2024, according to a story in the Boston Globe.

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Posted Sunday, March 23, 2025 by the Connecticut Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame