Central Islip's all-around talent Julissa Fonseca trying to make wrestling history
An accidental elbow sent Julissa Fonseca to the mat. Her nose bloodied and eyes watery from the blow, Fonseca remained undeterred. Her right nostril was stuffed with gauze to stop the blood and she continued to practice at the next whistle.
This is toughness. This is Fonseca focused on trying to become the first girl wrestler to qualify for the Suffolk Division I tournament.
Fonseca wrestles for Central Islip High School – on the boys team. There is no girls team. She competes at 102 pounds and has had a fantastic season with a 16-6 record, including seven pins and two second-place finishes in tournaments.
Her bid to qualify for the sectional tournament came up short in a 15-4 quarterfinal-round loss in the Suffolk League I tournament early Saturday.
"She’s pound-for-pound as tough as anyone on our roster," said Central Islip coach Brad Brzozinski. "Julissa is super competitive, never misses practice and has this laser-focus on improvement and success. She sets the bar for everyone in our workouts."
The 17-year-old senior has wrestled since the seventh grade. It’s a sport she developed a passion for while growing up in a house with four brothers.
"We have a big family and I have two older and two younger brothers," she said. "The younger guys I can wrestle with while I can, but they’re starting to get too big. At first, I was wrestling to get stronger and build my strength. That changed and now I’m here to go out and win."
Fonseca is a driven soul in everything she does. And she is so much more than a wrestler. She plays the tuba in the school’s wind ensemble, sings soprano in the Musketeers show choir and competitively dives for the swimming team.
"Balancing my schedule can sometimes be tricky," she said. "I just have to prioritize things and make sure I leave enough time to study and keep my grades in order. Keeping track of everything is the key."
Added Brzozinski, "Julissa doesn’t join anything to just be involved. She joins to be the best she can be and fully commits to everything she signs up for. Her presence in our wrestling room is powerful."
Fonseca is in phenomenal physical shape, a credit to her many hours in the pool and on the mat. She has been able to juggle a loaded schedule with a superb level of focus and self-discipline on nutrition.
"Once I make a commitment, I’m all in, and that means eating and sleeping right to maintain a high level of performance," she said.
Brzozinski said Fonseca is setting the foundation to be a United States Marine.
"She wants to be a soldier and wants to be prepared for when she leaves at the end of the summer," he said. "And I see all the qualities in her that will make her an excellent soldier. She’s all about teamwork, makes informed decisions and adapts well to working under pressure. All of what she’s doing in high school will help her on life’s journey."
Wind ensemble director Steven Muller said Fonseca has matured into a fantastic tuba player.
"I’ve known Julissa since middle school and watched her grow and mature," Muller said. "Whether she’s in the marching band or the ensemble she’s a quick learner and terrific. She’s also a leader and helps the younger members."
Central Islip swimming/diving coach Miriam Rios echoed Muller’s sentiments as Fonseca became a swim team captain.
"Julissa is a special person," said Rios, in her 12th year of coaching. "We don’t have a club team at CI and our students don’t have the advantages of the schools that have clubs. But we have those diamonds in the rough and Julissa is one of them. She’s not in the pool all year long but she’s made massive progress – a real overachiever. She just shines on the diving board."
Fonseca placed first in diving in the Suffolk League I meet last year as a junior to qualify for the county tournament that was canceled by the COVID-19 pandemic. She finished third in League I as a senior.
"She wanted to dive since middle school," Rios said. "We put her on the board, and she was a natural. She’s got a great work ethic and worked hard on the front forward reverse, the double and the twist."
Fonseca said she loves to dive and thought her one-and-a-half round and inward dive were her best.
"I’d get on the board and there’d be endless dives looking for the perfect one," she said.
Central Islip’s concert choir director, John Anthony, was so impressed with Fonseca that he gave her a solo in the Twelve Days of Christmas for the school’s Christmas concert.
"I had the fifth day of five gold rings, but it was so nerve-racking," she said. "There are so many people that are watching and you’re trying not to crack. It was harder than wrestling or diving. You can’t mess up in front of a whole lot of people. I had to project my voice on top of the whole choir. But I did it."
Perhaps one of the most impressive things Fonseca has done in her life came in the ninth grade. The concert choir planned a trip to Disney World in Florida and each student was asked to pay $1,500.
"My family did not have the money for the trip," Fonseca said. "I had to figure out a way to come up with the payment."
Fonseca met with Chris Helmke, the wood shop teacher at the high school, and he allowed her to use the facility to make two Adirondack chairs and 10 cutting boards that she could sell.
"I’m a very hands-on person and I enjoy making things," she said. "The hardest part was being a salesman and selling all those things."
She was successful raising enough money for the trip.
"It was my first time in Florida," Fonseca said. "It was an amazing trip. Disney World was great and those rides . . ."
She’s on the ride of a lifetime.
Gregg Sarra is Newsday's high school sports editor and has been on the beat since the mid-1980s.
