Pictured are Bloomfield girls wrestlers. Top, from left, are Zoepearl Ikpe, Jenah Ibrahim, Lesly Sanchez and Saharia Quamina; middle, Leanna Noel, Alani Garcia and Madelyn McLaughlin; and bottom, Reno Prochilo.
BLOOMFIELD, NJ — Bloomfield High School girls wrestlers Saharia Qamina, Leanna Noel and Madelyn McLaughlin earned medals in their respective weight classes at the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association’s girls wrestling state individual championships at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, Thursday to Saturday, March 6-8.
Quamina earned the second-place medal at the 235-pound heavyweight class, Noel earned the third-place medal at the 132-pound weight class and McLaughlin earned the fifth-place medal at the 126-pound weight class.
Quamina, a junior seeded No. 1, reached the final on Saturday, falling to third-seeded Caroline Biegel, of DePaul Catholic (Wayne), by a 9-1 decision to cap her season at 28-4.
Quamina decisioned No. 9 seed Tracy Najarro, 7-1, in the quarterfinals on the first day and posted a 14-4 major decision over fourth-seeded Caitlin Hart, of Vernon Township, in the semifinals on Friday.
Quamina, who was the only Essex County wrestler in the finals in both the boys and girls state championships, is the first BHS girls state champion to reach the final since Kira Pipkins, who was the first four-time state champion in state history from 2020-23.
Noel, a junior seeded sixth, posted a 19-2 technical fall over No. 11 seed Melani Contretras, of North Brunswick, in the first round, before losing to third-seeded Lamiah Barry, of Absegami, by a 6-1 decision in the quarterfinals on Thursday. Noel returned on Friday to win three straight matches.
She won by a 15-6 major decision over No. 12 seed Abigail Centeno, of Somerville, in the consolation first round; pinned ninth-seeded Eduora Pamphile, of Trenton Central, in 1 minute, 06 seconds in the consolation second round; and pinned eighth-seeded Sophia Massefski, of Montville, in 5:17 in the consolation semifinals.
In the third-place bout on Saturday, Noel prevailed, 3-0, in sudden victory over No. 2 seed Belle Konopka, of Seneca, to cap a spectacular 35-3 season.
McLaughlin, a senior seeded sixth, posted a 6-1 decision win over No. 11 seed Bilge Balci, of Pennsville Memorial, in the first round and won a 5-1 decision over eNo. 3 seed Polina Shardakova-Scorzafava, of Kinnelon, in the quarterfinals, but lost to No. 7 seed Alexa Ciliotta, of Montville, by a 3-0 decision in the semifinals. McLaughlin lost by an 11-1 major decision to fifth-seeded Briana Dugo, of Jackson Memorial, in the consolation semifinals. McLaughlin returned on Saturday and posted a 4-2 decision over Shardakova-Scorzafava in the fifth-place bout to finish the season at 32-10.
The Bengals boasted a total of five wrestlers at the state championships.
Senior Reno Prochilo (eighth seed at the 165-pound class) and sophomore Lesly Sanchez (eighth seed at 185) both lost in the first round, won in the consolation first round and lost in the consolation second round to end their runs.
The state championships consisted of the top three finishes in each weight class from the four region tournaments.
Photo Courtesy of Nicole Finnerty
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