New York State is broken down into eleven different geographic regions referred to as Sections. The Sectional champions from each region in addition to the Catholic High School State Champion (CHSAA) and New York Public School Athletic League Champion (NYSPAL) compete in the New York State championships. As of 2007 the tournament was modified to include four wildcard entrants based on selective criteria. Nassau and Suffolk Counties are each considered separate Sections due to the large population of students attending high school in each County. Long Islander’s therfore usually refer to the Nassau (Section 8) and Suffolk (Section 11) Sectional Championships as the “Counties” or “County Championships”. Some upstate regions are geographically larger than the more densely populated down state regions and therefore may include numerous Counties in their individual Sections. Most other Sections therefore refer to them as the Sectional Championships.
The New York State Championships are also broken down into two divisions based on the student enrolment at each individual High School and are referred to as Division One & Division Two. Massapequa like most Long Island schools is considered a Division 1 program. Nassau (Section 8) is comprised of approximately 50 wrestling teams, but only six are considered Division 2 programs. Suffolk (Section 11) is comprised of approximately 54 wrestling teams, but only 8 qualify as Division 2 programs. Division 1 is therefore much more competitive on Long Island. The larger geographic regions upstate have many more high schools with smaller student enrollment and therefore have many more Division 2 programs and a more competitive Division 2 Sectional Tournament.
