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UIL state wrestling: Frisco Centennial looks to stay hot

Two make their way into weight-division finals at state meet

GARLAND — Frisco Centennial wrestling is on a roll it hopes continues toward a Class 4A boys title at the UIL state meet. The Class 5A and 4A boys and girls finals are Saturday at the Garland ISD Curtis Culwell Center.

Centennial junior Devin McCord picked up bonus points with a quick pin in his semifinal match Friday night. The 152-pound McCord exploded when given an opportunity to get leverage. Centennial is coming off the state duals championship and district and regional titles.

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“Everyone was so excited to win duals,” Centennial coach Jake Jackson said. “You are a little bit worried it will turn into a ‘we have arrived’ feeling, but we talked about if we liked that feeling, let’s do it again.”

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Frisco ISD has built a strong wrestling community, but expanding high schools so quickly has made it tougher to compete for state titles. Frisco was second in state last season, the first year of split 5A and 4A competition. Wakeland was seventh while Lone Star was at No. 32 and Centennial No. 33.

An energetic presence on the mat, Jackson is a former two-time state champion (2002, 2003) at Hebron and helped Oklahoma to a couple of top-five NCAA finishes.

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In the semifinals, McCord got a fall over Victor Trevino of Rio Grande City in 1 minute, 10 seconds. McCord will meet Wakeland senior Sean Roche in the final. Roche advanced with a 6-2 decision over Carrollton Creekview senior Tanner Jones. Centennial senior Roman Rose, who won the deciding match at state duals, reached the 126-pound championship match.

New coach gets Highland Park back to state: Highland Park coach Tim Marzuola got a state title in 2007 — his last appearance at the state meet. Returning after six years of coaching in South Carolina, Marzuola is recharging the Scots' program with another run at a title. Highland Park was third last year.

Sophomore Stephen Dieb helped keep Highland Park in second place behind Centennial before heading into the semifinals. The 145-pound Dieb advanced to the final with a fall at 4:24 against Vista Ridge junior Mitchell Landgrebe.

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Highland Park junior Connor Creek advanced to the 160-pound final against Lancaster senior Aaron Guery.

Briefly: Hebron freshman Coltan Williams advanced to the 5A 113-pound final to face Allen junior Howard Smith. Smith took second at state last year in the 106-pound division over McKinney Boyd senior Alex Minor, who was eliminated in the second round in this year's 113-pound division.

Allen’s hopes for a fifth consecutive 5A boys state title remain strong with senior Tracy Eitel reaching the 182-pound final and two-time defending state champ Bo Nickal advancing to the 170-pound final against Grapevine senior Gabe Cabrera. A Penn State commit, Nickal won his first two matches with falls and the semifinal with a technical fall (17-2).

Creekview senior Jorge Santos advanced to the 106-pound final.

Arlington Sam Houston senior Daysha Woods kept improving her position in her fourth consecutive state meet. She reached the final of the 5A girls 102-pound division. Woods was third last year and a top eight finisher as a sophomore.

In the 5A 285-pound boys division, Coppell senior Roger Moe advanced to the final. In the 5A boys 220 division, senior Blake Andrews meets South Grand Prairie senior Trey Smith in the final.

Jesuit junior Shane Ross reached the boys 5A final at 126 pounds.