MERIDEN — Their names are on the wall in the Platt High School gym.
The most accomplished young men who have passed through the wrestling program on the West Side of Meriden are on that banner, chief among them All-American and all-time wins leader West Johnson and State Open champions Ben Stratton and Caiden Talento, Luis Murillo. Sr. and his son Luis Jr.
In a year's time, they're going to have company unlike any that's come before or after. Kayli Morris has been that good, and that unique.
With another first-place performance at the CIAC Girls Wrestling Championships this past weekend, the Platt junior continued to further her status as one of the state's top female wrestlers. Her triumph at 185 pounds was her third CIAC crown in as many attempts.
This coming weekend in Providence, R.I., Morris will go for her second New England championship — again, in as many attempts. A sanctioned girls New England tournament didn't start up until last year.
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So we're talking a major legacy, one that, upon further examination, transcends wrestling.
"She going to be one of the best female athletes, ever, out of Platt," remarked Bryan McCarty, who went to Platt, teaches at Platt and has been coaching wrestling there for 35 years. "If she goes 4-for-4 (in Connecticut)? Three New England titles?"
To any question that begins with "who won" and ends with "girls wrestling," Kayli Morris is as good an answer as any. Name it, she's won it. Morris has never lost to another girl save for Nationals, where All-American status eluded her a year ago by one match.
Morris stands 15-0 on the current season. She won at Foran's Queen of the Mat Tournament; she won at the Rocky Hill's Queen of the Hill. On the day Platt and Maloney staged Connecticut's first-ever all-girls dual meet, she won twice.
At the CIAC tournament, Morris was named Most Outstanding Wrestler after winning by 17-1 technical fall 2:39 into the quarterfinals, pinning in 3:37 with an 11-0 lead in the semifinals, then pinning again in the finals, this time in 1:01 after a quick takedown.
Add it up and Morris outscored her opponents 31-1 in 7 minutes, 17 seconds of mat time.
"It's great to see all the work I put in pay off, and to see all the other girls in Connecticut do it, too," she said.
The comment is revealing. A Panther on the mat, stealthy and fierce, Morris is a jovial teddy bear off it. Said assistant coach Cesar Rodriguez, "She's the most lovable person on the team."
Morris has been in Meriden since moving from the Bushwick section of Brooklyn in fifth grade. She has two brothers. One played football, one wrestled, but the latter really wasn't an influence. He was much older and Morris didn't even know he had wrestled in high school.
So, as much as wrestling may have piqued her curiosity, there were more stigmas than role models.
"Wrestling, I thought about doing it when I was a kid; I was just too scared," Morris said. "I was like, 'How would I wrestle?' That was not a normal thing for girls to do."
Besides, Morris was all about volleyball. That was her sport until, searching for ways to stay active in the offseason, one of her friends, Justin Bunnell, Platt's resident 106-pounder, told her about McCarty's program.
That's when the star was born.
"I started wrestling and I just fell in love with it," Morris said. "I had to stop playing volleyball because I enjoyed wrestling more. It's a growing sport. I'm really glad I did."
Indeed, during Morris' tenure girls wrestling was becoming more ubiquitous. The CIAC established its tournament in 2020 and, in five years, has seen the field grow from 77 to 246. All but four states now stage a yearly championship in the sport.
Morris sees the best in the country when she competes in Fargo Nationals, the Beat the Streets National Duals and, later this month, in the High School Nationals in Virginia Beach, Va.
Morris is setting her sights on All-American status this March and it seems well within reach. Since falling just shy last year in Virginia, she says she's become a better wrestler, and her coaches agree. She honed her craft often going against boys, both in practice and in matches.
"She's become a little more versatile; she has a little more mat sense," said McCarty. "She works out with the boys all the time in our gym. She can go with them and she can beat them."
In particular, Morris has improved her positioning — the step-by-step maneuvers that ultimately lead to scoring, even if they temporarily put her in a vulnerable spot. Being coachable has been the key.
"She listens and she pays attention; she doesn't go out there and do what she wants to do," Rodriguez said. "She trusts in her team, she trusts in her coaches, she trusts in her corner. She knows we're not going to steer her in the wrong direction. And then she can execute."
There's another element Morris has learned to better manage. It's the psychological one. For all her success, Morris would get exceedingly nervous before bouts.
"I still do, but it's bearable," she reports. "And I need nerves to wrestle well. It's good to have adrenaline."
Mostly, it's the waiting that prompts the anxiety. Once Morris hits the mat and the opening whistle blows, "They all go away," she said.
Morris aspires to wrestle in college. As McCarty notes, "It's just a matter of where, not if."
One career path that Morris finds appealing? Firefighting.
"It's one that would keep me active, especially after wrestling, and I'd be giving back and helping people," Morris said.
It would also fit a pattern. One of Morris' signature moves is called "The Fireman." For Connecticut opponents, it's now of the three-alarm variety.
March 3, 2025
Bryant Carpenter
Staff writer
Bryant Carpenter is a sportswriter with the Record-Journal. He joined Hearst Connecticut Media Group in 2024. He's husband to Colleen, father to Laura and Danny, author of "Life Is Still Good," rider of bicycles and loyalist of the Boston Red Sox and Bruins.