?? Tickets are ON SALE! ??
— NYSPHSAA (@NYSPHSAA) February 6, 2026
The NYSPHSAA Girls & Boys Wrestling Championships are almost here and you won’t want to miss the action!
Purchase Information here: https://t.co/rDtuQJMUZt pic.twitter.com/ytg6Jld8jK
LATHAM, NY – The New York State Public High School Athletic Association has announced tickets are now on sale for its girls and boys individual wrestling state championships taking place from February 26-28 at MVP Arena in Albany.
GIRLS STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS – February 26 at MVP Arena
NYSPHSAA will conduct its 2nd Annual Girls Wrestling State Championships on Thursday, February 26th. Starting at 9:30 am, preliminaries, quarterfinals, semifinals and wrestlebacks will take place until 2:00 pm. A new session starts at 5:00 pm with ceremonies for the medal rounds as qualifying wrestlers will be marched out to the mats, followed by wrestling kicking off at 5:15 pm.
The 2026 Girls State Championships will see 208 athletes compete in one division and 13 weight classes. Brackets will be 16 girls per weight class with the top six finishers being recognized on the podium at the conclusion of the finals. In 2025, NYSPHSAA conducted its first ever standalone girls individual state championship with 208 wrestlers from around the state. In 2023 and 2024, NYSPHSAA sponsored a statewide girls wrestling invitational event at SRC Arena in Syracuse with over 200 girls each of those years. With the rapid growth of the sport, the Association was approved to establish a formal state tournament after the 2024 invitational.
“The fast growth of girls wrestling has allowed us to provide a great opportunity for thousands of female wrestlers around the state to compete for a state championship. We saw last year’s first ever girls individual state championship as a tremendous success and know it will continue to be an exciting event,” said Dr. Robert Zayas, NYSPHSAA Executive Director. “Similar to the longstanding boys state championships, this year we will showcase the girls finalists on the evening of February 26th further highlighting the accomplishments of these wrestlers at a quality venue in MVP Arena.”
BOYS INDIVIDUAL STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS – February 27-28 at MVP Arena
NYSPHSAA will also put on its 61st Annual Boys Wrestling Individual State Championships on Friday, February 27th and Saturday, February 28th. From 10:00 am until 8:00 pm on Friday, preliminaries, quarterfinals and wrestlebacks will be conducted as one session. On Saturday, wrestling continues starting at 9:30 am with semifinals and wrestlebacks throughout the day and concluding at 3:00 pm. Doors will open for the last session of the tournament at 5:15 pm for the finals with ceremonies and the finalists parade kicking off at 5:50 pm before the first finals match gets underway at 6:05 pm.
Tickets for each session start at $16 and can be purchased by visiting the arena box office in person or online at https://www.mvparena.com/events (additional fees apply for online purchases). Multiple sessions for the girls, boys or both tournaments are available for purchase on the MVP Arena website. In addition to single session tickets and all session general admission packages, NYSPHSAA is offering two premium seating packages. The first is a three-session, boys-only package with premium seating for the finals only. The second is a discounted five-session package (two girls, three boys) with premium seating within the first 15 rows of the floor for the boys finals only. Premium seating is not sold separately.
Suites are also available by contacting Kim Bruno at 518-487-2016 or kim.bruno@mvparena.com.
The 2025 Boys Wrestling State Championships are now in the 21st year of a two-division format and will follow a similar schedule to last year’s event, however, this year will add a 14th weight class. The last tournament expansion was in 2022 when NYSPHSAA approved allowing an additional 120 wrestlers to fill the byes in the brackets using a formula based on a wrestler’s current season and previous season’s performances. The at-large slots starting in 2022 and added weight class in 2026 bring the total number of participants to over 500. Additionally, in 2020, NYSPHSAA began to recognize the 7th and 8th place finishers on the awards podium for each weight class. Qualifiers will hail from the 11 NYSPHSAA sections, as well as from the Public Schools Athletic League (PSAL) of New York City, the Catholic High School Athletic Association (CHSAA), New York State Association of Independent Schools (NYSAIS). The MVP Arena has hosted the boys event 19 of the last 22 years.
Ticketing details and the full schedules for both tournaments are available at www.nysphsaa.org.
To request a credential for either event, please contact Lexi Swatt, Director of Sports Information, at lswatt@nysphsaa.org.
HISTORY/VENUES OF NYSPHSAA INDIVIDUAL WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS
1963 – Cornell University, Ithaca
1964 – Walt Whitman High School, South Huntington (Long Island)
1965 – Ithaca College, Ithaca
1966 – Walt Whitman High School, South Huntington (Long Island)
1967 – Niagara University, Niagara Falls
1968 – Onondaga County War Memorial, Syracuse
1969 – George H. Clark Gymnasium, Rochester
1970-72 – Onondaga County War Memorial, Syracuse
1973 – Utica Memorial Auditorium, Utica
1974-2003 – Onondaga County War Memorial, Syracuse
2004 – University at Buffalo, Amherst
2005 – Pepsi Arena, Albany (MVP Arena)
2006 – Nassau Veterans Coliseum, Uniondale
2007 – Times Union Center, Albany (MVP Arena)
2008 – Blue Cross Arena, Rochester
2009-20 – Times Union Center, Albany
2021 – Canceled due to COVID
2022-26– MVP Arena, Albany (previously Times Union Center)