H-ton Girls’ Wrestling Team Completes First Season

The first season of the Huntington varsity girls’ wrestling team is in the history books. The Blue Devils enjoyed a great campaign, capturing its first individual and dual meet victories.

Huntington was coached by high school physical education teacher Maria Canino, the granddaughter of the Blue Devils’ iconic National Hall of Fame coach, Lou Giani.

Huntington combined with John H. Glenn, Harborfields and Walt Whitman to get the initiative off the ground. Known by the acronym TOH for Town of Huntington, the squad practiced three times a week at John H. Glenn with the Huntington High School wrestlers using the Blue Devil wrestling room the rest of the time.

Huntington was led by freshmen Wynne Franciscovich and Jaslyn Marroquin Chavez; sophomore Aylin Davila Chitay and junior Yuliana Hernandez Perla.

“Our biggest team accomplishment was definitely beating Bay Shore in our final match of the season,” Canino said. “We had faced them previously earlier in the season and came up short. In our final match, we won, 54-51. This win truly showed the growth of the girls’ skill level this year. They showed tremendous growth in both skills and their knowledge of the sport. With that, the girls were able to display that all their dedication and hard work paid off. These girls showed true desire, discipline and determination this season. I am beyond proud of them!”

The roster also included freshman Giselle Salmeron; sophomores Katerin Garcia-Maldonado, Brittany Lopez Berrios and Angie Uceda-Enamorado; junior Keiry Palma and seniors Yoselin Fuentes-Velasquez and Soraya Ortega-Salgado.

“Not a single girl on this team has wrestled before,” Canino said. “A majority of them have not even been on a school sports team prior to this season. They showed tremendous courage coming out for this very challenging sport and sticking with it. Day in and day out they were determined to get better, even during challenging times. They showed that they were true wrestlers. They were tough, willing to learn and grow every day.”

Canino ordered Huntington girls’ wrestling apparel and many high school faculty and staff members purchased items and wore them around the school. Principal Brenden Cusack and Superintendent James W. Polansky attended meets.

Aylin Davila Chitay made Blue Devil history when she became the first female to win a varsity wrestling match. “She went on to win four matches this season, giving her the most wins on the team,” Canino said.

Brittany Lopez placed fourth in the Rocky Point Invitational, which served as a sort of unofficial Suffolk girls’ wrestling county tournament.

“Our forecast for next year is that everyone will be back minus our two seniors,” Canino said. “All of the other girls expressed that they would be returning. I will be working hard to gain interest among more girls so we can grow our roster. I am hoping to have more matches and more tournaments next year. This includes hosting a girls’ wrestling tournament at Huntington in December and hosting a home match for the girls. I think that hosting events at our building will help gain interest in girls wrestling, gain support of the community and staff and give the girls a sense of belonging and pride for being on this team.”