By Robert Lukaszewicz, NYSPHSAA Spring 2022 Intern

The New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) Wrestling State Championship returns to the MVP Arena in Albany on February 25-26.

This is the 57^th annual NYSPHSAA Wrestling State Championship which has been held at the MVP Arena 14 times since 2005. It is one of the longest running NYSPHSAA State Championships in history and will be return after being canceled in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This is a great event and one of the biggest in the state each year,” said Marty Sherman, Wrestling State Coordinator.  “The MVP Arena is an outstanding venue and Albany serves as a great location altogether for athletes and fans to see the great wrestling in our state.”

The event will see 540 participants competing in 13 different weight classes over 2 divisions. NYSPHSAA will continue to recognize the 7^th and 8^th place wrestlers on the award podium for each weight class, resulting in additional consolation matches on Saturday afternoon. Qualifiers will represent NYSPHSAA’s 11 different sections, along with schools from the Catholic High School Athletic Association (CHSAA) and the Public Schools Athletic League (PSAL) of New York City. All matches will be streamed by the NFHS Network, the official broadcast partner of the NYSPHSAA State Championships.

Tickets can be purchased on www.mvparena.com (fees apply) or at the arena box office.  Doors open one hour prior to each start of the session.

The schedule for the event is as follows:

SESSION #1
Friday, February 25         9:30 am….……………………..… Parade of Champions/National Anthem
10:00 am – 3 pm…..….……… Preliminaries: Division 1 and 2
3:00 pm – 4:30 pm……………Quarterfinals: Division 1 and 2
4:30 pm – 8:00 pm…..………Wrestlebacks: Division 1 and 2

SESSION #2
Saturday, February 26    9:30 am…………………………...National Anthem/Special Awards
9:30 am – 12:00 pm………...Semifinals: Division 1 and 2
                                                  Wrestlebacks: Division 1 and 2
12:00 – 2:00 pm……………….Wrestlebacks/Consolation Semifinals: Div 1 & 2
2:00 pm – 3:30 pm…………..Consolation Finals: Division 1 and 2

SESSION #3
Saturday, February 26    6:15 pm……………………………..Finals: Division 1 and 2 (2 mats only)