The Texas Women’s Classic in Lewisville continues to be one of the best in the state and this past weekend was no exception.
A field of 59 teams took part in the event that featured more than 130 wrestlers ranked in the top 20 in either Class 5A or 6A and brackets were simply loaded from top the bottom.
Due to the growth of the tournament, the event went a 40-woman bracket and at the very least, there were 9 ranked wrestlers in each bracket and at the high end — the 145-pound bracket had 17 wrestlers competing for a medal.
Of the six teams that earned trophies last year at the UIL State Wrestling Championships, four of them were competing in this event: Allen, Frisco, Azle and Arlington Martin.
At the end of the event, Allen took home the team title with 150 points, while Dumas (143), Coppell (138 1/2) and Frisco (137 1/2) rounded out the top four. Lubbock Cooper was slated to compete but did not show up.
El Paso Eastwood and Trophy Club Byron Nelson were the only teams with multiple champions in the tourney — while 10 other schools had one champion.
The Troopers from Eastwood won the first two weight classes. Freshman standout Hailey Delgado kept her perfect start intact with a win over Azle’s Noah Kovach — a 5A finalist last year — in the 100-pound bracket. It was a battle of the No. 1-ranked wrestler in each class and
Delgado (18-0) went 5-0 with four pins and a 17-0 tech fall — over Class 5A No. 4-ranked Alexa Rodriguez of Dallas Hillcrest. Rodriguez bounced back to beat 6A No. 7-ranked Trinitee Hobbs of Coppell by a pin for third.
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Eastwood made it 2-for-2 in the finals with a 5-0 run by freshman Allessandra Toscano, ranked No. 14 in 6A.
Her march included wins over five state-ranked wrestlers and beating Class 6A No. 2 Mattilyn Givens from Allen by a pin in 1:31 in the semifinals and defeating Class 5A No. 2 Berkley Funderburg from Dumas by a 7-0 decision in the finals. That was the first loss of the season for Funderburg.
Katelynn Dockery from Bryan — No. 4 in 6A — took third with a pin over El Paso Pebble Hills’ Kiera Wells in the third-place match. Dockery’s only loss came to Toscano.
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In one of the most watched finals on Saturday was between Azle’s Mariah Dillard and Allen’s Grace Romans. Both were state champions last year — Dillard at 120 in Class 5A and Romans at 107 in Class 6A.
Dillard, ranked No. 1, went up 3-0 on a takedown in the first period. Romans, No. 2 at 120 pounds, got a nearfall early in the second to make it 4-3. A reversal with 30 seconds left gave the Azle grappler the lead for good as neither scored in the third period. Dillard is now 19-0 on the year.
The third-place match ended with an injury-time loss by Dumas’ Kennedi Purcell — giving the win to Coppell’s Ishitha Mallidi in a battle of top-10 ranked wrestlers. Purcell was 9th in Class 5A in this weight class, while Mallidi was No. 7 in 120 in 6A.
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Two wrestlers ranked No. 3 in their respective classes made the finals — though that might change going forward with Romans dropping down a weight class this tournament.
Melissa’s Akeelah Moore posted a 16-0 tech fall win over Cypress Creek’s Chamille Bryson in the finals. The Class 5A-ranked Moore went 5-0 and had four pins on the way to the finals.
Moore, a two-time state finalist — improved to 16-0 on the year and posted four pins prior to the finals.
Class 6A No. 4-ranked Erin Marquez from Princeton went 5-1 and bounced back from a loss against Bryson in the semifinals to beat Allen’s Lal Sienna with a fall in 3:13 in the third-place match.
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A pair of Highway 75 rivals met in the finals in a Class 6A vs. Class 5A clash in this bracket final.
Allen’s Kailin Sebert posted a 10-6 win over Melissa’s Malia Griffin, aided by a pair of takedowns in the first to build a 6-1 lead. Early in the second period, the defending state champion was up 9-1.
Griffin was ranked No. 11 in 132 pounds.
The third-place match was ranked wrestlers in Class 6A and 5A. Class 5A No. 6-ranked Elaina Morgan from Dumas pinned Prosper’s Jaelyn Skelley — No. 7 — with a pin in the second period.
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This bracket featured an all-Frisco final with Frisco Centennial’s Jordyn Parker escaping with a win — literally.
Parker — No. 1 in 5A — was taken down with 1:08 left in the second by Frisco’s London Woods, which tied the match at 3-3. With 30 seconds left, Parker got an escape for what was the final — and winning points — in the match.
Woods was ranked No. 4 in the same weight class.
A pair of 6A-ranked wrestlers clashed in the third-place match. Arlington Lamar’s Jaylah Davenport turned an early reversal into a pin over Coppell’s Juliet Carrell. Davenport entered ranked No. 10 in 138 pounds, while Carrell was 10th at 132.
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Returning all-stater Marli Denmark won the first of two titles for Byron Nelson with a 16-7 major decision over Taylor Martell from Lampasas.
Denmark, ranked No. 2 in 5A, started the tournament out with two pins within the opening 40 seconds. She had four pins during the tourney, improving to 12-1 on the season. Martell was ranked No. 2 in 5A heading into the tournament.
Flower Mound Marcus senior Jessica Cope improved to 20-2 on the season by taking third — by injury time — against Frisco Emerson’s Summer Rodgers.
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Mackenzie Blue’s undefeated season continues after a 5-0 run through this bracket.
The Justin Northwest standout — ranked No. 8 in 6A — beat three ranked wrestlers on the way to the crown. She beat No. 9-ranked Paris Kelleher of Princeton in the finals by a 16-5 major decision. Kelleher (16-2) pulled within 3-2 early in the second, but a pair of takedowns helped Blue take a 9-3 lead into the third.
Class 6A No. 15-ranked Ayden Quinones from El Paso Pebble Hills took third place with a 19-5 major decision victory over Frisco Lebanon Trail’s Emma Ward.
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What could’ve been a good showdown between defending state champions Lubbock Cooper’s Taylin Silco and Hadyn Stine from Prosper Rock Hill never materialized.
However, the Class 6A No. 4-ranked Stine picked up first place in this bracket. Four of her five wins were by pins and the other was an 18-2 tech fall win. Stine (16-0) beat 6A No. 6-ranked Leona Layne in the finals with a second-period pin.
Yaretzi Espinoza was the lone medalist for Arlington Sam Houston won 7 in a row to close the tournament by taking third place. No. 13 in 6A, the junior is now 15-2 on the season.
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On paper, this bracket had potential for some good matchups but it never transpired for various reasons.
At the 6A level, the No. 2 and No. 8 wrestlers didn’t compete and No. 3, 5 and 7 were there but didn’t get into the first- or third-place matches — which showcased the depth.
The championship went to Class 6A No. 15-ranked Aaliyah Finlayson from Trophy Club Byron Nelson — now 13-0 on the season.
She picked up a pair of close wins early — 3-1 over Class 5A No. 3 Layla Asana from Frisco and won 2-0 against Prosper Walnut Grove’s Tatum Luley — ranked No. 20 in 5A. Finlayson (13-0) beat Lewisville Hebron’s Annalisa Afrifa by a 5-1 decision in the finals.
Two 5A wrestlers battled in the third-place match with No. 5-ranked Elly Yelle from Azle beating No. 9-ranked Xazanya Gonzales of Amarillo Palo Duro by a pin with 20 seconds left in the first period.
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The No. 1-ranked wrestler in Class 5A Kayla McLearen of Lubbock Cooper wasn’t there and Class 6A No. 2-ranked Carla Campos from Haltom City suffered an early loss in the quarterfinals.
Princeton’s Rebekah Sorrell pinned her way to the title, taking down Class 6A No. 15-ranked Wema Laktari of Flower Mound in the finals in 1:08. Sorrell improved to 15-1 with her run. A state runner-up last year at the same weight class was ranked No. 3 heading into the tournament.
Campos did bounce back to take third, going 6-1 on the weekend. She had entered with a perfect record and left Lewisville with a 17-1 mark She won the third-place match with a pin over Class 6A No. 6-ranked Juliana Lefort of Allen — who incidentally beat her by a pin in the quarterfinals.
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The two top-ranked wrestlers in the state met up in the finals.
Class 5A No. 1-ranked Ariana Chavez from Borger capped off the tournament with a pin at the buzzer in the first period against Prosper Rock Hill’s Zakhia Burke — the No. 1-ranked wrestler in Class 6A.
Chavez, a state champion last year, is now 15-0 on the season. Dating back to her loss in the semifinals in 2023, she’s won her last 63 matches during the high school season.
Only one of her five matches in Lewisville went beyond the first period — a quarterfinal match against Copperas Cove’s Evelyn Stack — ranked No. 9 in 6A.
Dumas sophomore Khylee Whalen took third with a pin over Sara Lepsis from Frisco Centennial in 2:42. Whalen with 4-1 with a loss to Burke.
