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Trumbull coaches react after Marangelie Teixeira pins New Britain's Kaydence Atkinson during girls state wrestling championship action at Hillhouse High School in New Haven, Conn., on Saturday February 28, 2026. (Christian Abraham/Hearst Connecticut Media)
NEW HAVEN - The numbers are growing, and so are the legacies, at the CIAC Girls Wrestling Championships.
Trumbull made it 2-for-2 in the team competition and Platt senior Kayli Morris made it 4-for-4 as an individual champion Saturday at the Floyd Little Athletic Center.
Trumbull was led by Most Outstanding Wrestler Jillian Blake, a first-time senior champ who captured the 120-pound division with a series of pins that set up a 17-1 technical fall victory in the final.
Trumbull, which racked up 132 points to outscore runner-up New Milford (107) and third-place Maloney (100), got an additional individual title from senior Marangelie Teixeira, who reclaimed her 165-pound crown with a third-period pin of rival Kaydence Atkinson of New Britain, who had dethroned Teixeira a year ago.
Platt's Morris, meanwhile, remained untouchable. The Meriden senior has left the Floyd Little Athletic Center in each of the last four years as a division champion. She pinned Shyann Bryan of Bristol Central in 1:25 to complete the grand slam.
Morris will next look to defend her New England championship next weekend in Providence, R.I. The top three CIAC finishers in each division advance.
Joining Morris in Providence as a repeat Connecticut champion will be South Windsor 100-pound senior Sophia Gordon, Branford 114 senior Ava Gambardella, Bunnell 152 senior Matilda Tote and Norwalk 235 junior Jeily Euceda.
Gambardella's 6-0 win over Law junior Selena Batres was one of the day's top finals. Both were champions in 2025. Batres also won a state crown as a freshman in 2024.
The two split earlier this year in the hallmark girls events of 2026, the Jonathan Law Tournament and the Queen of the Mat at Foran. In the rubber match on Saturday, Gambardella carved out a 2-0 lead with a second-period escape and stalling point, then put it away with back points late in the third.
Breaking through with a championship after runner-up finishes in each of the last two years was Eliana Selearis. The Amity junior pinned Hand's Evelyn Lavigne in 1:41 to take 132.
Stratford senior Winner Tshibombi also bounced back from a title defeat in 2025, racking up a 22-8 major decision over Gaby Aliaga of Greenwich in the 138 final.
Her Stratford teammate, junior Gabriella Kiely, followed with a pin of New Milford's Josephine Piel at 145.
In other finals, RHAM junior Brooke Heffernan upset top-seeded Clara Reynolds of New Milford 9-2 at 107.
Upset Special II: Ellis Tech junior Adelina Tate pinned top-seed Emma Rial of Trumbull in the 126 semifinals, then pinned again in the final against Fairfield Ludlowe senior Ashlynn Cummings.
Eastern CT landed another crown with Ledyard's Brooklynn Hepburn. The daughter of former Ledyard state and New England champ T.J. Hepburn, who now coaches the Colonels, the junior pinned in 1:53 to capture 285.
This year's tournament was the biggest in the event's six-year history. So big, in fact, that entries had to be limited to one girl per school per weight class. Even with the limit, the total number was close to 300.
Given the high number, coaches say girls qualifying tournaments, much like the boys' class tournaments, will likely be in order starting next season.
Championship matches
100:Sophia Gordon (South Windsor) pin 1:52 Isha Khanna (Westhill)
107:Brooke Heffernan (RHAM) dec. 9-2 Clara Reynolds (New Milford)
114:Ava Gambardella (Branford) dec. 6-0 Selene Batres (Jonathan Law)
120:Jillian Blake (Trumbull) 17-1 TF 2:29 Monica Flores Romero (Fairfield Warde)
126:Adelina Tate (Ellis Tech) pin 1:51 Ashlynn Cummings (Fairfield Ludlowe)
132:Eliana Selearis (Amity) pin 1:41 Evelyn Lavigne (Hand)
138:Winner Tshibombi (Stratford) MD 22-8 Gaby Aliaga (Greenwich)
145:Gabriella Kiely (Stratford) pin 1:17 Josephina Piel (New Milford)
152:Matilda Tote (Bunnell) pin 5:01 Ella Piccirillo (Shelton)
165:Marangelie Teixeira (Trumbull) pin 5:14 Kaydence Atkinson (New Britain)
185:Kayli Morris (Platt) pin 1:25 Shyann Bryan (Bristol Central)
235:Jeily Euceda (Norwalk) pin 4:34 Adrianna Bellamy (Maloney)
285:Brooklynn Hepburn (Ledyard) pin 1:53 Ivanelis Figueroa Rosario (Maloney)
Third-place matches
100: Sienna Poirier (Bristol Central) pin 3:52 Amarellis Arenas (Maloney)
107: Lila Poincelot (Lyman Hall) MD 13-0 Sophie Mraz (Derby/Oxford/Holy Cross)
114: Norah Reeps (Haddam-Killingworth) MD 9-0 Gabriella Parris-Dwyer (Maloney).
120: Maleeah Rios (Bristol Central) pin 1:54 Nina Smith (Darien).
126:Emma Rial (Trumbull) pin 0:58 Lilianna Diaz (Platt)
132:Narayah Rodriguez (Bristol Eastern) pin 2:52 Jillian Comeau (Griswold/Wheeler).
138:Mackenzie Nichols (Jonathan Law) pin 3:11 Gianna DeFelice (Cheshire)
145:Regan Murphy (Canton) dec. 3-1 SV Ava Cleary (Foran)
152:Moyao Sun (Hall) for. 0:45 Vanessa Tshibombi (Stratford)
165:Bethany Grace Dean (Bristol Eastern) dec. 7-4 Gabriella Mighty (Stamford)
185:Kam Robinson (Manchester) MD 14-0 Abigail Mikolinski (East Lyme/Norwich Tech)
235:Jadaliz Acosta (Bloomfield/Weaver) pin 4:58 Tiyana Taylor (NFA)
285:No match
This article originally published at Trumbull defends CIAC girls wrestling title; Platt's Kayli Morris lands fourth crown.
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