by Peter Dewey

For the first time this year Azle entered a tournament and didn’t win. Still they were not defeated by a team from Texas but by St. Thomas Aquinas, the defending Kansas 6A State Champions. Throughout the tournament it was a 3 horse race – St. Thomas, Azle and Coppell. Going into the finals, St. Thomas and Azle were tied at 180 points and Coppell was next at 159.5.

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by Peter Dewey

There are many teams on the rise in the Dallas area. Here are profiles on two of them.

Arlington Bowie
There is a lot of excitement surrounding the Arlington Bowie program this year. That’s because this is shaping up as perhaps their strongest team ever. The nucleus of the team is six returning starters that are trying to build on very solid seasons from last year – senior tri-Captains Luke Brigmon (152), Chris Corry (171) and Derick Moore (180), senior Matt Buckbinder (125), and juniors Shawn Klemm (112) and Brent Rogers (145). The rest of the line-up is less experienced but Coach John Mance noted that Matt Goolsbay (119), Sergio Tatum (130), Adam Roberts (135), Brad Atkinson (140), Marcus McGraw (189), Jordan Spruiel (215) and Larry Peters (275) have beaten some good wrestlers already this year.

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by Peter Dewey

A large contingent of Texans crossed the Red River the day after Thanksgiving to pit their wrestling prowess against the some of the best wrestlers in America at the Oklahoma Open. In addition to the usual collection of Okie bad boys were wrestlers from powerhouses Rio Rancho in New Mexico and Iowa City (Iowa) West and some very tough grapplers from Butte, Montana and other places. Texas wrestlers even outnumbered Okies in a few weight classes, and nearly tripled their medal count from last year.

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by Peter Dewey

Southern Assault has been known as the best early season tournament in Texas. It is no more. In its place was the new Warrior Invitational. Would this tournament deliver the early season matches we have come to expect from Southern Assault? The Warrior Invitational delivered Big Time!

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by Peter Dewey

The first season was tough, to say the least. One measly victory and 12 brutal losses in dual meets. Not a single wrestler won a match in the district tournament. That was 1982-83. It was their last losing season. It took four years to win District, but since 1987, they’ve compiled 18 District Championships in 19 years. And since UIL has sanctioned Texas wrestling, (the last seven seasons), they’ve won-

–Six UIL Regional Championships
–Six State Dual Team Titles
–Four UIL State Championships
–Two UIL State Runner-ups

That, my friends, is a dynasty, and the real story of Highland Park wrestling.

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