2 Beat the Streets Academy student-athletes win New York state girls freestyle titles
- Brandon Cain
- 23 hours ago
- 3 min read
Seventeen BTS student-athletes, including nine girls and eight boys, earned a top six placement at the state tournament.
Beat the Streets Academy student-athletes Marielys Lugo Fernandez and Ana Carolina Mindlin Lockard each claimed state titles in junior girls freestyle at the Jeff Blatnick Freestyle and Greco-Roman State Championships.
Lugo Fernandez won her title in quick fashion with two technical falls in under 1:21, outscoring her opponents 22-2. She also split two matches for second place in Greco-Roman. Mindlin Lockard posted four falls under 1:31, including two in less than 28 seconds, for the title.
Fellow BTS Academy member Belen Medina took second in junior freestyle and Greco-Roman. Medina had wins by tech fall and pin in each style. Leona Gao (U16) also claimed second in freestyle, with a tech fall and 9-4 decision.
Like Lugo Fernandez, Lorena Martinez split two matches for second in junior Greco-Roman.
7 BTS girls place
Five BTS members placed in the top five in junior freestyle and two in 16U freestyle. Tehana Savory (third); Jacqueline Jackson, Joy Murray and Nicole Polyan (fourth); and Niomy Espinal (fifth) took podium spots in the junior division, while Esther Nawaday and Nicole Kremyanskiy each were fifth in 16U.
Jackson, Kremyanskiy and Murray also placed in junior Greco-Roman. Kremyanskiy took second, while Jackson and Murray each claimed third.
8 BTS boys place
Lazare Chikhradze had the best performance among BTS boys by placing in freestyle and Greco-Roman. Chikhradze had a 21-second fall and a tech fall to earn second in Greco-Roman. In freestyle, he went 2-3 with a fall and decision for sixth.
Five other BTS members placed in Greco-Roman: Malik Ayesh (16U second), Bilali Assoumanou (third), Andrew Roman (fifth), and Jonah Lugo and Aldo Romero (sixth).
Ayesh had two falls to claim his medal. Assoumanou had two tech falls then dug deep for two decisions in the consolation round to take third. Roman opened with a tech fall and after his quarterfinal loss he rebounded with two falls to stake his claim at fifth. Lugo and Romero each followed Roman's lead with two tech falls in the consolation round en route to a sixth-place finish.
Eric Ivry and Sellase Sunu claimed fifth and sixth, respectively, in freestyle. Ivry had a high-scoring 22-14 win and two tech falls, while Sunu scored two tech falls.
BTS RESULTS
GIRLS FS
1st: Ana Carolina Mindlin Lockard, Marielys Lugo Fernandez
2nd: Belen Medina
3rd: Tehana Savory
4th: Jacqueline Jackson, Joy Murray, Nicole Polyan
5th: Niomy Espinal, Nicole Kremyanskiy (16U), Esther Nawaday (16U)
GIRLS GR
2nd: Nicole Kremyanskiy, Marielys Lugo Fernandez, Lorena Martinez, Belen Medina
3rd: Jacqueline Jackson, Joy Murray
BOYS FS
5th: Eric Ivry
6th: Lazare Chikhradze, Sellase Sunu
BOYS GR
2nd: Lazare Chikhradze, Malik Ayesh (16U)
3rd: Bilali Assoumanou
5th: Andrew Roman
6th: Jonah Lugo, Aldo Romero
About Beat the Streets
Since being founded in 2005, Beat the Streets has pioneered a movement that now includes 150 individual wrestling programs, a youth league and the first girls high school league.
Beat the Streets works to develop the full human and athletic potential of New York City urban youth and strengthen the city's wrestling culture. Beat the Streets aims to make a lifelong impact on student-athletes through the lessons learned on the wrestling mat -- discipline, perseverance, self-reliance, humility and a strong work ethic. For more information about Beat the Streets, visit btsny.org and follow Beat the Streets on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and X.