For the first time in school history boys and girls wrestling competed in the Texas High School Wrestling Coaches Association’s State Duals on Jan. 20 in Wichita Falls.
The girls entered the duals seeded third but faced Dumas in the first place match, losing 51-18 after beating Anna 60-12, Borger 42-24 and West Plains 36-27.
Sophomore Makalyn Lee secured the Lady Eagles a chance to battle for first place with a win over West Plains’ Karina Rodriguez in a 4-3 decision.
“It was an emotional win,” Lee said. “I fought hard against a good opponent and felt a great sense of accomplishment knowing we worked hard to make it to the finals.”
Hope Gleghorn, Raleigh Blankenship and Haleigh Oglesby had wins against Dumas but the team still fell short. The Lady Eagles claimed State runner’s up for their first appearance at the State Duals.
“I’m more than glad that all of the hard work we put in this year showed on the mat,” senior Hope Gleghorn said. “That day was truly a team effort all the way around.”
The boys also entered the duals seeded third and faced Springtown in the third place match after beating West Plains 49-15 and Fort Worth Benbrook 60-23 then falling to Randall 52-30. The Eagles beat Springtown 53-28 to place third.
“This season, I had a lot of goals set and had big expectations,” junior Braden Swanson said. “One I am proud of us medaling at every tournament this year.”
Both teams traveled to Pampa to end their duals season with wins over Pampa and Palo Duro. While wrestling against Palo Duro Swanson earned his 100th victory.
“To gain my 100th win was a big achievement for my career,” Swanson said. “I felt like my hard work and commitment was starting to pay off.”
District wrestling is at Caprock on Friday, fans can follow along on TrackWrestling.com. The Regional Tournament is being hosted by Canyon ISD and will take place at West Texas A&M’s First United Bank Center on Feb. 9-10.
