Ray Shoaf
Cover Photo: Aiden Cooley by Tom Dendy of Phlox Photography
Today wasn’t a very productive day for team Texas as most of the wrestlers got beat out yesterday. The highlight of the day was that Aiden Cooley did place 7th in the 16U medal match to add his name to the Texas Fargo All-Americans. Cooley joins fellow Allen alumni Oliver Pierce as an 8th grader going into 9th grade to All-American for Texas on the boys side anyway. Pierce place 4th in freestyle in 2009 at 135lbs. Texas has had plenty of 16U/Cadets place and Champions but I believe they all had completed their first year of high school.
195-Aiden Cooley defeated Kayden Cartee of California by tech fall with 24 seconds left winning not giving up a point getting the win 10-0.
195-Jarrett Stoner coming into the day was the only one of the 3 junior wrestlers to be on the championship side of the bracket making it to the round of 16. Stoner gets teched by Jersey Robb a state champ and #1 ranked Oklahoma wrestler. On the consolation side Stoner gets the tech-fall against Sean Carroll of Kansas. Stoner’s freestyle tour come to an end with a loss to Thomas Dineen a Minnesota wrestler who was ranked as well.
285-Rodney Trotter JR made the next day and gets a forfeit right out the gate to advance to start his day. Then Trotter gets the tech fall over Cameron Geuther of Iowa to keep going. Up next against Alex Hamrick of Illinois, Trotter gets the 12-2 tech with a big 5-point throw, yes, the ground rumbled, not every day you see the big guys get air miles like that. Trotter advances to the consolation of 8. 2 more matches to All-American. Ethan Vergara of Florida ended Trotters junior freestyle run.
285-Kandence Baker the 3rd wrestler to make the 2nd day of competition faced off with Oklahoma wrestler Hayden Simpson and right from the start gets a 4 point throw then gives up one. Baker gets another 4 point throw and gets rolled through and pinned by an Oklahoma wrestler ending his run for the stop sign.
