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Wrestling: Cowboys can't match up with Allen
By Justin Thomas, jthomas@starlocalnews.com
In the opinion of most Metroplex wrestling coaches, Class 5A Region II is as good as it gets.
That fact helps illustrate just how dominant three-time reigning state champ Allen is, as the Eagles dismantled the competition en route to the championship.
Allen (325.5) took the top honors ahead of Lake Highlands (148.5) and Flower Mound (144.5).
Coppell will be represented at state by Daniel Murillo (132), who kept his unbeaten record intact by taking first.
"Daniel made it through pretty convincingly," said Chip Lowery, Coppell head coach. "He was really solid and it was exactly how we expected. He made it look pretty easy. He'll have four or five tough wrestlers in his class at state, including a guy who finished third last year. But I think he'll be ready to go."
In the finals, Murillo knocked off Allen's John McCabe by decision, 7-2. Murillo grabbed a 5-1 lead after a takedown and a reversal before pushing the lead to 7-1 after another reversal following a shake off of a takedown.
"I felt like [McCabe] had a pretty good sprawl," Murillo said, "so I had to find a way to get around it and I set my shots up accordingly to do so.
"You win such a big tournament like this and it always gives you confidence. But I have to keep wrestling hard going forward to get to where I want to go."
Roger Moe (285) will head to Austin as an alternate after finishing fifth.
"Roger wasn't seeded at all and had to beat a couple of highly seeded kids to stay alive," Lowery said. "It was a very talented heavyweight group he was competing against."
That was the case throughout in a region that included Allen, Lake Highlands and Flower Mound.
"Most others would acknowledge this is the toughest region," Lowery added. "Allen won very convincingly. They've won state three years in a row, but this could be the best team they've had."
Hebron, meanwhile, took 20th, which included a third-place finish from Patrick Davis (120).
In girls action, and just like at the district tourney, Coppell finished second behind a Lewisville squad that filled more positions.
But that didn't stop the Cowgirls from sending seven qualifiers to Austin, all of which finished third or better.
Stephanie Martinez (148) notched a first-place finish, while Anna Woo (95) and Erika Lozano (128) placed second and Charlotte Lee (110), Cara Romeike (119), Leisa Hernandez (165) and Koa Moe (185) all finished third.
"We talked all season long about having a really young team and needing to grow," Lowery said. "If we did that, we thought we could do well, and that showed the last couple of weeks. Our goal was not to win, but for everyone to score points and we did that. Our only girl that didn't finish in the top three was sick all weekend."
Lowery believes the team has a chance to make some noise at state.
"There are a lot of tough opponents, but we hope to do well," he said. "We only have one senior in our lineup and are pretty experienced, but we'll have a lot of chances to score points."
From R.L. Turner, Heiley Garcia (138) won gold, while Enye Hernandez picked up silver (102).
Southlake Carroll, meanwhile, was in action at the Region I Championships at Arlington Martin where they finished sixth and six wrestlers placed.
Cody Lindberg (195) led the charge by earning his way to the top of the podium, including defeating El Paso Franklin's Alex Jimenez in the finals.
Michael Basler (152) notched a third-place finish and will be heading to Austin, while Matt Spuria (138) and Harry Chapman (170) are alternates after each earning fifth.
Rounding out the Carroll wrestlers reaching the second day were Jacob Swoyer (sixth, 132) and Rishin Patel (sixth, 182).
At the Class 4A Region II Championships, The Colony continued its success.
The Cougars had a trio of gold medalists, including Colt Stowe (132), Jacob Green (160) and Dominick Thornhill (182). Jose Estala will also be headed to Austin after placing third (145).
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