Cody Thorn
Eastwood took second place with 132 1/2 points, though Arlington James Martin ran away with the team title with 283 1/2 points.
Last year at the state meet, Martin was second and Eastwood placed fifth.
Franklin placed fifth in the regional meet with 94 1/2 points and left with the Most Outstanding Wrestler award.
Franklin had three wrestlers advanced to state and all three made the finals.
Alexander Tapia and Ian Abdallah won titles for the Cougars.
No. 6-ranked Tapia (113) went 4-0 with three pins, the last one coming in the finals against No. 7-ranked Dominic Salazar of Keller Central. In the semifinals, the sophomore won 11-9 in overtime against Haltom City Haltom’s Gale Santos.
Abdallah won the 126-pound title with a 7-1 win over Southlake Carroll’s Tyson Gibson. The senior improved to 49-2 on the year after a 4-0 showing that earned him the Most Outstanding Wrestler award from the coaches.
The only two losses this year came at the Texas Outlaw Tournament — to Caio Aron of Woodlands College Park and Allen’s Kelby Bernard. Last year, Abdallah lost in the 120-pound finals to Bernard in Cypress.
All three will be in the title hunt this week at the state championships, which starts Friday at the Berry Center.
Braulio Estrada made the finals for Franklin and took second at 120 pounds. The No. 3-ranked wrestler lost to the No. 1-ranked Isaak Arevalo of Martin…
