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Gigi Sullivan becomes first girl to win Section 9 large-school boys wrestling championship

Gigi Sullivan made history on Saturday as the first female wrestler to claim a large-school Section 9 title. 'It was definitely harder (than expected),'' said Sullivan, the top seed at 101 pounds in the Division I meet at Monroe-Woodbury, 'because you can't mess up … like you're the first seed and you can't lose and that brings more pressure but I still got it done so it was good.'' Sullivan, 14 and an eighth grader, breezed through her quarterfinal and semifinal wins, setting up a finals confrontation with No. 2 seed Evan Gomez, an eighth grader from Valley Central. Sullivan (28-3 headed into sections) had a little size advantage on Gomez (28-4). The match remained tight throughout with Sullivan prevailing 3-2. More: Wrestling: Top seeds beat No. 2 in every sectional Division I final 'When I was on top and it was getting close, I just knew to stay calm and keep wrestling through for the rest of the match,'' she said. 'The last 30 seconds I was trying to get out. I was actually very happy,'' when it was over. Even in victory, Sullivan was critical of her own performance before coach John Gartiser told her everything was alright because she had won. 'I would have obviously liked it to be better but it can't always be that way,'' she said. 'I won and that's all that matters.'' Sullivan was fully aware of the historic nature of her accomplishment – Charlie Wylie of Port Jervis won a small-school Division II sectional title last year. 'It does mean a lot because I have been wanting to do this,'' she said. More: Section 9 boys wrestling scores, schedule for the 2024-25 season More: Mid-Hudson wrestlers claim seven gold medals at Eastern States wrestling meet Like all the other Section 9 qualifiers, Sullivan will head to states, hopeful of a solid performance. MVP Arena in Albany will host on Feb. 28-March 1. 2024 SECTIONALS: Here are the seeds, final results for the Section 9 Division I wrestling tournament. 'I definitely want to place,'' she said. 'There's nothing to lose up there. I've got to wrestle my best.'' kmcmillan@ X / Twitter: @KenMcMillanTHR This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Gigi Sullivan wins Section 9 101 pound wrestling title