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Home of the Allen Eagle Wrestling Team
Allen, TX
Always I will be dedicated
Long I will train
Limits I will break
Everyday I
will persevere
NEVER will I be satisfied
Allen Wrestling Crowns Six All-Americans,
Three National Champions!
After a successful wrestling season resulting
in a Dual State Championship and an Individual UIL State runner-up finish, the Allen wrestling program adds more national accolades to
its list of accomplishments. On April 5, six wrestlers competing for Allen and the Best Trained Wrestling Club were
named USA Wrestling All Americans - with three wrestlers crowned as National Champions.
At the Asics USA Wrestling Folkstyle Nationals
on the campus of the University of Northern
Iowa, the competition took place in the UNI Dome, one of the most elite wrestling venues in the
country. Attracting almost 3000 wrestlers from all over the country, the tournament is the 1st leg of USA Wrestlings
prestigious triple crown in which wrestlers compete to be named national champ in all three styles of wrestling (Folkstyle,
Freestyle, Greco Roman). The second and third legs will take place in July.
Ophir Bernstein (Cadet 145) and Jarrod Trotter
(Cadet 119) placed 5th and will be returning next year as UIL state runner-ups for Allen High School. This is their second
USA All American appearance at the national level. Christain Doyle placed 4th (Cadet 84) and will be a freshman for
Allen High school
next year.
National Champions for Best Trained were Nick
Reenan (Novice 80), Nick Cobb (Schoolboy 175) and Oliver Pierce (Cadet 135). Reenan will be a 6th grader next year while
Cobb and Pierce both attend Ereckson Middle
School and will be freshman for Allen next year. Cobb and Pierce are both past winners of
the USA Triple Crown and the only wrestlers ever to do so from Texas.
Both of these wrestlers are also ranked on Revwrestling.com as top 10 Junior High wrestlers in the country. With
his Cadet title, Pierce is also the first Texan ever to earn a USA
Cadet Folkstyle National title.
All six wrestlers are coached by Jerry Best of
Allen High School.
Eagle Wrestlers Take Runner-up at State Championships
Records Fall; Best Named Coach of the Year
The well-respected
motivational speaker, Les Brown, once said "Shoot for the moon and if you miss, you will still be among the stars."
After winning the Dual State Championships in Amarillo this season, the Allen wrestlers
had their sights set on capturing the Texas UIL
State title last weekend. With nine State Qualifiers, including six regional
champions, the Eagles headed to Austin expecting to battle
Austin Bowie and defending UIL Champions, Canyon Randall for the Championship.
After the first day of action,
Austin Bowie dropped several key matches and Randall became the team to beat. A mere 10 points separated the two teams after
Day 1. The Eagles advanced six to the Semi-Finals, Randall advanced five.
After the Saturday morning
Semi-Finals, the teams remained in one of the closest State races ever. Allen sent four wrestlers to the Championship Finals,
Randall sent five. “We wrestled well in the Semi-Finals”, head coach Jerry Best stated. “Unfortunately for
us, Randall also wrestled well, and we couldn’t cut into their lead”.
Heading into the final placement
matches (1st-6th), Allen still trailed Randall by 10 points. With five returning State Champions or placers, Randall’s
experience proved to be too much for the young Eagle squad. Allen managed one champion with Randall winning four titles.
“Their experience proved
to be a key factor, and they wrestled extremely well”,
Best continued. “The
Dual State Championship showed our
great team balance, but the UIL State
Tournament focuses on outstanding individual performances …..and they had several”.
Although the Eagles didn’t
reach their ultimate goal of another State title, they still “landed among the stars”. Several records were tied
or broken this weekend and outstanding performances by individuals gave the huge crowd of ‘Screamin’ Eagle Fans’
something to cheer about.
Junior, Alex LeGrande, lived
up to his #1 ranking winning the 103# STATE CHAMPIONSHIP.
Freshman, Jarrod Trotter finished
as STATE RUNNER-UP at 112# in his first season of Varsity competition.
Roderick Gaines, 119# Junior,
gained All-State status for his third consecutive season finishing 5th.
Sophomore, Ophir Bernstein,
posted what is perhaps the most shocking upset in Texas
wrestling history. Bernstein ended Jeremy Sandoval’s (Colleyville-Heritage) quest to become Texas’ only four-time state champion defeating him 7-6 in the semi-finals. Ophir finished
second at 140# losing to Randall’s Victor Dotson in Finals action.
Senior Eden Bernstein dropped a heart-breaking 3-2 decision in the Finals after being reversed with
5 seconds remaining in the match. As State Runner-Up at 152#, Eden
became a 2X All-State wrestler after finishing fourth last season.
180# Joby Bishop placed fourth
becoming Allen’s sixth placer of the weekend.
At 215#, Senior Travis Springfield,
ended his high school wrestling career on a winning note capturing All-State status with a fifth place finish.
Allen’s SEVEN STATE PLACERS
tied a decade old UIL record held by the Highland Park Scots.
In addition, once again honored
by his peers, Head Coach Jerry Best was presented the award for Texas Wrestling ‘Coach of the Year’ - adding to
the Region III ‘Coach of the Year’ honors at the Region III Championships two weeks prior.
Next season, the Eagles return
12 of fifteen starters including five with All-State status. “We will definitely miss our seniors and appreciate their
leadership and all they have done to help us compete successfully on a State level.” Best added. “We do have
a competitive group coming up from our Middle School programs that should help us on the mat next year.”
Congratulations, Eagle Wrestlers,
you are indeed ‘among the stars’!
Eagle Wrestlers
Dominate District and Regional Championships
Qualify 9 for UIL State Competition in Austin February
27-28
After winning and scoring a school
record 295.5 team points at the District 17-5A championships, the Allen Eagle Wrestlers hosted the UIL Region III tournament
this weekend. The #1 ranked Allen Eagles scored 234 points, 124.5 ahead of runner-up Houston-Westside. With eight wrestlers
in the Championship Finals, Allen placed six regional champions (Alex LeGrande, Jarrod Trotter, Roderick Gaines, Ophir Bernstein,
Eden Bernstein and Joby Bishop), as well as two regional runners-up (Zach Cobb and Garrett Johnson). Placing third and also
qualifying for State competition was Travis Springfield.
Winning matches but not
qualifying for state were Ben Haynie, Joey McFarland, and Matt Reese.
Perhaps the most impressive
performance of any wrestler in the two-day event was that of Allen's Alex 'Jersey' LeGrande.
LeGrande, currently ranked as the #1 103 pounder in Texas,
had four pins in :23, 1:45, 1:07, and 1:44. His finals victory was against the state's #3 ranked Lofgren of Houston Westside.
"You guys wrestled tough
this weekend.....you dominated the competition in the toughest Region in the State", Coach Jerry Best told his team in a post-tournament
meeting. "I am very proud of the way you wrestled. You were focused....... you were intense."
In addition, during
the tournament, Coach Jerry Best was honored as Region III "Coach of the Year". "To be recognized by your peers is quite
an honor", Best stated, "I am very appreciative".
In two weeks, Allen will
face tough competition at the UIL State Championships, including defending State Champion, Canyon Randall and Austin
Bowie, which was Allen's toughest opponent on the way to winning the State Dual Championship earlier this season.
The Texas UIL State Wrestling
Championship will be held in Austin's Delco
Center on February 27-28.
| Eagles Take Dual State 2009 |
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| Dual State Champions |
Eagles Take Dual State Championship!
Allen High School put another state championship on the books this weekend
with the Eagle Wrestlers taking home team gold from the Texas Dual State Championships in Amarillo.
Legendary wrestler and Coach Dan Gable once said “Gold medals aren't
really made of gold. They're made of sweat, determination, and a hard-to-find alloy called guts.” And that is exactly
what it took for the Allen Eagle grapplers to win the State Duals this weekend. Battle-tested, the Eagles have come up against
many powerhouse teams this season as they travelled as far as New Mexico, Oklahoma and most recently to the Virginia Duals
last weekend. Back in the great state of Texas, the travel-weary Eagles leveraged their national experience to earn the first
Dual State Gold for Allen and prove themselves worthy of the #1 ranking going into the tournament.
The top 16 wrestling teams in the state were invited to Amarillo for the state
duals battle. Going 5-0 on the day, Allen grapplers fought to the end, defeating all three teams in their pool – Katie
Morton Ranch (55-13), El Paso Franklin (77-6), and what may well have been one of Allen’s most exciting victories against
Austin Bowie (38-33). Advancing to the semi-finals, the Eagle wrestlers took on Vista Ridge and won 52-28, sending them to
the final match against defending UIL state champions and tournament host, Canyon Randall.
The battle lines were drawn and the showdown was set to begin at 103#, the
first of fifteen weight classes to be contested. . Junior, 103# Alex ‘Jersey’ LeGrande and 112# freshman sensation,
Jarrod Trotter set the tone with impressive wins giving the Eagles a 12-0 lead before Randall reeled off three consecutive
victories to cut the Eagles lead to 12-10. A major decision (9-1) by Allen’s 135#, Joey McFarland followed by a Randall
pin via State Champion, Victor Dotson, knotted the score at 16-16.
Back to back victories by The Bernstein Brothers, (a 4:08 pin by Ophir and
a 22-7 technical fall by Eden) followed by a 1:38 pin by Garrett Johnson gave the Eagles a 33-16 lead with five matches remaining.
An Allen loss at 171# was followed by an electrifying pin by junior Zach Cobb at 180# and a victory clinching 4-2 decision
by Joby Bishop at 189#. With an insurmountable 20 point lead, the Eagles opted to forfeit the last two matches at 215# and
285# and let the celebration begin
Head coach, Jerry Best, had nothing but praise for the team. “This is
what TEAM is all about….we had guys step up when others were upset. Your hard work and sacrifices have paid off....enjoy
your victory”. Best also had praise for his coaching staff of Dariel Daniel, Jerrett McCollom, and Todd Wyckoff for
their efforts
Best credited the team’s rugged schedule as being instrumental in developing
the team’s mental toughness and competitive edge. “When you wrestle the schedule we have this season, you become
battle-hardened. You don’t back down when things get tough......you rise to face the challenge”, Best added
Sweat, determination, and that hard-to-find alloy called guts – Allen
Eagle wrestlers have proven they have all three, and the season isn’t over yet. Dan Gable also said “you don’t
really measure the year until the whole year is done…”, and the Eagles are still battling toward UIL state in
February – starting with the Centennial Tournament in Frisco next weekend and Senior Night at Allen High School on January
29. The Region III Tournament will be hosted by Allen on February 13-14
In a surprise move, Best gave the Eagles Monday off from practice. Not surprisingly,
however, Coach Best added “Tuesday, be ready to go back to work. We’ve got to get ready for the District, Regional,
and State tournaments.
| Eagles Win 2009 Grapevine Duals |
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Eagle Wrestlers Soar In Prestigious Grapevine Duals
Defeat
St. Mark's 49-24 In Finals
The Allen Wrestlers started the New Year off with fireworks of their own. Competing
in the Grapevine Duals, the Eagles won 8 duals in two days besting a field of 24 teams from 5 states. The field of opponents
came from all across the Southwest and included teams from Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Texas.
Friday’s
competition saw the Eagles go undefeated (5-0) in round-robin pool competition. Results were:
ALLEN 53, Rockwall 10
ALLEN
78, Keller 4
ALLEN 63, Arlington Bowie 12
ALLEN 54, Blackwell, OK 24
ALLEN 48, Belen, NM 24
Saturday, the
top finishers in each pool battled for the title. After receiving a first round bye, the Eagles began their second day of
competition by crushing Klein High School 55-15.
In the tournament’s semi-finals, Allen stormed by New Orleans
Jesuit with an impressive 52-19 victory. In the other semi-final, St. Marks defeated Flower Mound to set up the finals showdown.
Winning
10 of the 15 matches, and without a heavyweight wrestler on the roster, Allen defeated St. Marks with a 49-24 romping.
It was the first championship in the prestigious Grapevine Duals for
Allen and a great start to the New Year.
Congratulations to the Eagle wrestlers and the coaching staff!
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