Small towns home to big champions

Women’s wrestling has been recognized as an Olympic sport since 2004. This year, two local female wrestlers helped bring attention to this fast growing sport by placing at the recent state tournament. The tournament was held on March 9, 2024, at Cure Arena in Trenton, New Jersey.

“I think it was a big accomplishment especially since it was my second year [of wrestling], and I think I’m going to the states and want to do better next year,” Palko said.

Palko is a 4th grader from Emerson, New Jersey. Teammates describe Palko as a strong opponent who won’t back down. She earned the team award for most improved wrestler this year.

“I go to two clubs and one rec [recreation] team,” Palko explains. “The two clubs are Dragons and Cordoba, and my rec team is Park Ridge Emerson or PRE.”

Emerson and Park Ridge have a combined wrestling team at the recreational and high school level due to small school size.

Triana Festa is a 6th grader from Park Ridge, New Jersey, who earned a fifth place finish at states.

“I felt nervous because there’s a lot of people,” Festa said of the state tournament. “There were 15 mats.”

Festa won two of her four matches at the competition. In order to qualify for the state tournament, wrestlers must first place in a top spot at their district competition.

“This year districts were held at Emerson High School,” Festa explained. “Palko and I were getting cheered on a lot by the Emerson Community. I beat a girl named Sam [from Mahwah], and we wrestled each other in states, and I lost by only one point this year. It felt really good to get on the podium.”

The top five wrestlers in each weight class have a photo opportunity on a special podium with their trophies at states. Festa also earned her team award for most outstanding wrestler. Both Festa and Palko are competitive dancers as well and say that dancing helps with core strength which is important in wrestling.