High school wrestling: General Brown trio takes to mat for inaugural state girls invitational Friday
Jan. 25—DEXTER — Three General Brown wrestlers are hoping to continue to build the school's new girls program with their tournament appearance this week.
Zoey Jewett, Samantha Danyi and Brystol Branche will represent the Lions at the inaugural NYSPHSAA Girls Invitational on Friday at the SRC Arena in Syracuse on the campus of Onondaga Community College. The trio, as well as Gouverneur's Zoe Griffith, who has the won the Eastern States girls tournament two years in a row, will represent the area in the first-time event.
General Brown was the first Frontier League program to establish a girls wrestling team in the fall and joined other Section 3 schools such as Fulton, Camden, Holland Patent and Homer in competing in its first season of girls varsity wrestling. There were rumors of a state tournament at the beginning of the year, and the tournament's announcement earlier in this month has excited the wrestlers.
"I had no clue that I'd be here in my first year with only two months of practice," said Branche, who is the No. 4 seed at 235 pounds. "I knew there was going to be a state tournament, but I had no idea I was going to be in it."
Danyi, a freshman, and Branche, a senior, are in their first couple of months in trying the sport and have taken to the mat fairly well. Both wanted to try out wrestling as something new, and have loved it so far.
"I wanted to get out of my comfort zone and make some new friends," said Danyi, who is in the 94-pound bracket along with Jewett.
Jewett, a freshman, is the most experienced of the three Lions representatives and is the top seed at 94. She has wrestled against boys and has amassed 20 wins this season as a member of the General Brown boys team, with strong showings at tournaments.
Jewett finished second at the Bill Andersen Tournament in Cicero and third at the North Country Invitational at Indian River. Jewett has also competed in a number of tournaments during the summer. She'll draw upon that knowledge for Friday's event.
"I think that experience is going to be really beneficial," Jewett said.
General Brown wrestling coach Mike Hartle agreed.
"It's a big advantage and the other girls haven't had as many opportunities because they're just starting their journey," Hartle said.
Both Danyi and Branche credit Jewett for being helpful in starting out in the sport. While Jewett often practices with the boys, she continues to guide the younger female wrestlers.
"She's been good and she's been teaching me stuff during drills because she's more experienced," Danyi said.
General Brown also has an experienced coach in Hartle, who has led numerous wrestlers to appearances in the boys state tournament since taking over the program in 2008-09.
"Coach Hartle has been trying to help us get everything down and keep practicing and practicing," Branche said.
Coaching at a girls state tournament is brand new to Hartle but he's aiming for strong showings from all three and some place finishes.
"We're hoping to get everybody on the podium," Hartle said. "Why not go down there, put some General Brown wrestlers on the podium and bring some hardware back?"
The group also hopes to inspire new students to take up the sport. Parents in the district have taken to the school's new varsity offering, but with around a half-dozen wrestlers on the girls squad, the hope is for more athletes to try it out. Several female wrestlers have competed with boys teams in the last couple of decades, including at General Brown.
"I think we'll have more girls interested in it because they've seen it this year," Jewett said of the girls program. "The students have been talking about it because it's so new because they haven't seen girls wrestling."
The girls state invitational will be part of a busy weekend in Syracuse as the state dual meet tournament tales place Saturday. Griffith, who wrestles on the boys team, is seeded fifth in Division II.
