Sleepy Hollow Senior Overcomes Odds to Become Female Wrestling Champ

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Kamile Contreras became Section 1's first female wrestling champion at 138 pounds.

February 24, 2025

By Tom Pedulla—

A daughter’s fear and parental concerns gave way to unbridled joy when Sleepy Hollow’s Kamile Contreras emerged as Section 1’s first girls’ wrestling champion at 138 pounds.

The senior had always been intrigued by the idea of joining her school team but never dared to proceed. “I was too scared, I guess,” she said. “This year, I was thinking, ‘Well, it’s my senior year. Why not just go for it?’ “

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Her parents, Israel and Linita, did not embrace the idea when she presented it to them. She had played soccer since she was five. They wholeheartedly endorsed that. They also enjoyed watching her compete in lacrosse. But wrestling?

“I had mixed feelings,” Linita said. “I wasn’t sure how that would go because I didn’t know if there were any girls in there, and actually there were not.

“I wasn’t sure how she would fit in, how she would feel about herself, what it means to be on an all-boys team. I wasn’t exactly excited at the beginning. I thought, ‘Well, she will have to find out for herself.’”

To her parents’ surprise, Contreras adopted a can-do attitude after her initial practices. She said her teammates and a highly regarded coaching staff led by Brian Tompkins were welcoming. Tompkins was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2019.

She committed herself to the rigorous conditioning required. Her discipline improved as she planned her meals in order to stay within her weight class.

“She came home so excited. It was so interesting for her,” Linita said. “I don’t know if I could have done what she did, honestly.”

Other than minor scraps with her brother, Lukas, who is a year and a half younger, Contreras had never wrestled before. She learned difficult early lessons, losing her initial matches. She would not be deterred.

“She got along with the kids in the room and she made it easy on herself by how she carried herself every day when she showed up for practice,” said Connor Tompkins, one of Brian’s sons and her primary coach.

Connor added, “Her work ethic and the effort she put into it made it easy for her to get better. She likes to compete and she doesn’t like to lose.”

Contreras defeated an opponent from Croton-Harmon to win her division. When the referee raised her arm in triumph at the Westchester County Center in White Plains, it became a breakthrough moment she will treasure forever.

“I was surprised and really, really happy,” she said. “This was my first year wrestling and to go this far and win sectionals was unreal.”

Linita pointed to the positive atmosphere at Sleepy Hollow as a key factor. “I think part of her success was that the team was 100 percent welcoming, coaches included,” she said.

Contreras has a history of challenging herself, even when it means going it alone. She is believed to be the only girl to officiate local soccer at the youth level. She has the distinction of being an Eagle Scout. “Wrestling isn’t the only thing where she is breaking barriers and coming out of her comfort zone,” her mother said proudly.

Contreras is waiting for decisions from the colleges she applied to. She is considering biology for her major. She would like to continue wrestling but, after starting relatively late in the sport, will not look to advance beyond the club level.

Linita, meanwhile, has come full circle in her view of girls and wrestling. “If only she would have tried this earlier,” she lamented.

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