The first New England Interscholastic Girls Wrestling Championship was a success, and local wrestling coaches hope the event will continue to grow in the years ahead.

Frontier’s Jocelyn Antes and Franklin Tech’s Mia Marigliano qualified and competed in the inaugural tournament earlier this month after both took third place at the MIAA All-State Championships.

Antes, competing in the 120-pound weight class, went 2-2 on the weekend while Marigliano, competing at 126, went 0-2 in Providence, R.I. at New Englands. 

“The experience for Jocelyn was a rollercoaster,” Frontier coach Brian Bagdon said. “She lost a heartbreaking match to open the day and was deflated. She had to change her goal from being a New England champ to trying to compete for third. You have to navigate changing your goals mid-tournament. It’s not easy. She battled back, won her next match and just focused on winning the next one the rest of the way.

“As a sophomore, nothing is guaranteed in wrestling,” Bagdon added. “That’s what makes the sport so great. She saw some amazing things happen and had some tough matches as well. The whole experience of the season, it’s been an incredible journey. I’m proud to have been part of that journey. She had a bunch of success and it was an amazing season. Hopefully she only gets better.”

In just her second year wrestling, Marigliano won 19 matches. The junior capture first place at the Agawam Phil Tomkiel Tournament, placed second at the Mahar Girls Tournament and took sixth at the Kieron Smith Mixed Gender Tournament. Her performances during All-States, where she placed third, made her just the second wrestler in Franklin Tech history to reach New Englands.

“Since Mia started wrestling last year she has shown a passion for the sport and a great competitive nature,” Eagles coach Mike Aiken said. “Last year she competed well at the Girls All-State Tournament, going 5-2 over the two days, but fell just short of getting on the podium. Since then she has continued to train in the offseason and has developed into a talented wrestler.” 

Antes, a sophomore, finished the season with 36 wins. She came in third at a tournament at Phillips Andover, second at a tournament in Keene while also reaching New Englands and getting two wins there. 

Bagdon said it was all the work she did in the offseason that prepared her for her stellar season. 

“She wrestled a ton of matches,” Bagdon said. “She’s the hardest working wrestler on the team. She did the most work in the offseason, did a ton of core work and did the most actual wrestling in the offseason. She lost to a girl from Exeter at a tournament early in the season and beat her later in the year. It was good to see her improve as the season and tournaments went on and as she got even more comfortable wrestling.” 

Coaches said having a New England Championship for girls wrestling shows how much the sport is growing. 

With so many new tournaments popping up that strictly feature girls, the hope is it leads to more interest in the sport. Both Bagdon and Aiken noted they hope to see more girls come out for their teams each year as the sport continues to take off. 

“Mia Marigliano not only had a great season on the mat, but is a leader in the practice room and the classroom,” Aiken said. “Girls wrestling has become one of the fastest growing sports in the United States and Mia is a trailblazer for girls wrestling in Franklin County. With the growth of girls wrestling, new opportunities for competition have arisen. This year Mia had the opportunity to be one of the few wrestlers to compete at a New England Championship. Wrestling is one of the few sports that has a true New England tournament and the addition of a girls New England tournament will only help continue to draw more girls to the sport. My coaching staff and I are incredibly proud of Mia not only for the success she has enjoyed, but for how she has overcome adversities, and the attitude and effort she displays daily.”

Having more girls on their teams would certainly help both wrestlers, as it would give them each more opponents to compete against in practice. Leading up to New Englands, Antes and Marigliano practiced against each other. 

“Jocelyn has done a bunch to promote how to be successful at Frontier,” Bagdon said. “Anyone trying the sport can learn from her. With all the guys, it can be intimidating. It’s hard to get girls to come to practice. I feel like I need more girls wrestling and practicing to help Jocelyn get better. She travels an hour or two to get better drilling partners to work on her skill. Thankfully it worked out where her and Mia were in similar weight classes so they were able to help each other prepare for New Englands.”

Both trailblazers in the area, expect Marigliano and Antes to come back stronger and better next winter.

“Mia has already had an incredible wrestling career and has one more season to continue to make history for not only the FCTS wrestling team, but for girls wrestling in Franklin County,” Aiken said.