Section VI champion Michaela Thomas // Photo courtesy of Jeff Pataky
Photos contained within this article may not be used for republication unless authorized by WNY Athletics with prior written consent.
Iroquois junior Michaela Thomas secured the 165-pound Section VI title on Feb. 14 at Sweet Home HS in the first official Section VI Girls Wrestling Championships and NYSPHSAA state tournament qualifier. Thomas went 3-0 in the bracket winning her first two matches by 10-0 technical superiorities before a 5-2 decision victory in the title match.
Thomas along with twenty-four other athletes will represent Section VI at the 1st NYSPHSAA Girls Wrestling Championships on Thursday, Feb. 27 at MVP Arena in downtown Albany.
Thomas carries a career varsity record of 94-8 and a current season record of 38-1 with an Eastern States title in January on her season resume. She is currently ranked 21st in the country at 170 by themat.com and 24th in the country by Flowrestling.com.
She competed in both the 2023 and 2024 NYSPHSAA Girls Wrestling Invitational in Syracuse which served as a precursor to the official state championships this year while interscholastic girls’ high school wrestling went through the required two-year ‘emerging sport status’ on the way to full sanctioning. Thomas wrestled to a 3rd place finish in 2023 at 152-pounds before a runner-up finish in 2024 at 165.
Pataky
While hundreds of athletes have flocked to the sport in recent seasons, Thomas has been committed to wrestling since youth. She is a year-round wrestler who has traveled as far away as North Dakota to compete in high level offseason events. In 2024, she placed 7th at Super 32 in Greensboro, NC and 7th at Preseason Nationals in Des Moines, IA, and was one round from placing at Fargo Nationals in July.
“When I could beat up on the boys, I realized that girls could do this too and it wasn’t just a boys’ sport anymore,” said Thomas looking back on her start as a youth wrestler and what kept her wanting to continue to wrestle. “If girls try hard enough, they can win too. It is an empowering feeling.”
Pataky
Thomas said that wrestling freestyle against all girls at Super 32 and Fargo helped her to prepare for the scholastic season, as NYS adopted freestyle for girls’ high school wrestling. Boys high school wrestling is contested in the folkstyle tradition across the country.
Although well-traveled and accomplished with the accolades and awards to show for it, Michaela said that one of the most memorable moments of her career so far came in 2024 when other female students at Iroquois High School showed interest in and signed up for wrestling.
“It finally felt like I had a sisterhood,” said Thomas on the fledgling girls’ team that began to grow around her. “Other girls finally joined, and it wasn’t just me wrestling with the boys. I finally had a team and a place to call home.”
According to her coaches, this season has been possibly the most impactful to Michaela not just as a wrestler but as a young leader.
“This year especially, her stepping into a leadership position throughout the region for these girls, she belongs in the conversation not only as a pioneer for girls wrestling but as a pioneer for girls’ teams,” said Alexander girls’ head coach Scott Wessel who also helps coach Thomas and some of her Iroquois teammates.
“Michaela stands above the rest. She has stepped up to the plate and becoming a leader for these other girls, both on and off the mat, has set a new standard of what we can expect from her. I could not be prouder of the person she has developed into.”
Thomas (l) and Clarence's Cael Vesper (r) // Pataky
Wessel continued, “Every day, she goes out there trying to prove that not only does she deserve to be there, but every single other girl deserves to as well, and she never lets them down.”
The introduction of freestyle in New York State for girls’ wrestling was a big moment for Thomas as well, as it was a key development that helped to continue to separate girls and boys from wrestling against one another, which has had a direct impact on the surge of participation in interscholastic girls wrestling.
What sets Michaela apart from most other wrestlers is her intensity and physicality on the mat as well as her quiet, humble confidence. Her sportsmanship and dedication to the sport have earned Michaela the respect of opponents, coaches, and even alumni of one of WNY’s longest running and proudest high school wrestling traditions.
“She was made for this sport,” were the first words from retired legendary Iroquois head coach Fred Marcheson, who coached the Chiefs from 1979 to 2002. “She has the attitude and the physical talent. She’s reserved, not boisterous, she takes care of things, and speaks her mind.”
Pataky
Coach Marcheson noted how he had a banner hung in the practice space dubbed ‘the Pit’ where hundreds of Iroquois wrestlers have trained over the years that read ‘Champions are born in the offseason’ and how that phrase applies directly to Michaela.
“That’s what she does, she dedicates herself to the sport…it’s not just November to March. You can’t be a champion anymore in those confines,” said Marcheson. “You’ve got to wrestle the circuit. You’ve got go places and wrestle the right competition, and that’s the road she’s taken. On top of that, she has the right kind of attitude. She means business. She’s not out there to show off. She shows good sportsmanship and tremendous leadership.”
Pataky
Marcheson is an honoree of the Iroquois Athletics Hall of Fame, the WNY Wrestling Coaches Association Hall of Fame, and the Upstate NY Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
“She took the hard knocks…it took time to get where she is, and she isn’t afraid of competition,” said Marcheson. “I certainly support what she’s done, what she means to Iroquois, and what she means to western New York. She’s one of the first to really step up. I know she will be mentally prepared for Albany. I’m just impressed with her attitude and preparation…you couldn’t ask more as a coach.”
Pataky
When it comes to her work on the mat now, Michaela’s coaches praise her relentless work ethic in pushing pace, learning new skills, and conditioning.
Likewise, Michaela’s coaches say that she is willing to help others and that she has become a role model for up-and-coming wrestlers.
“There’s not many athletes you find willing to drive wherever for a third or fourth practice and put everything they have out there to get to that next level,” said Wessel. “The top tier athletes that I’ve worked with all have that same drive of ‘What am I going to be doing when everyone else is resting? That’s how I’m going to be a champion.’”
Thomas and Wessel (m) // Pataky
Thomas’s lone loss of the season came on Jan. 25 in Canandaigua to Union-Endicott’s (IV) Teagan McGuinness. Wessel says that Michaela has taken the experience of that defeat and used it as motivation for the last month of the season.
“Taking a loss during the season changed her dynamic and mentality and refocused her on her end goals,” said Wessel. “She’s going to the Section VI practices and then coming to Alexander for two solid hours of hard work. There’s not a lot of other athletes that are going to do that. The drive that no one sees is the difference between her and others. Her focus right now is winning the state title, but after that it’s to All-American at Fargo and start getting recruited by Division I schools.”
Michaela is the daughter of Mike and Stacie Thomas of Elma.
Pataky
Thomas and Springville's Lauren Winfield (r) will represent Section VI at 165-pounds in Albany // Pataky
Pataky
Comments