Thursday, March 28, 2024

Dragon Wrestling Team Makes History

The 2011-2012 Carroll Dragon wrestling team made history last Saturday at Fossil Ridge High School. For the first time in the program’s history, the Dragons captured the District 10 Dual Team Championship. Carroll, the defending 2011 District 10 Tournament Champions, had finished as runner-up to Keller Central in back-to-back seasons in the regular season dual team tournament. 

The District 10 Dual Tournament is a nine-team round robin, where all teams compete against each other, over the course of two competition packed days of wrestling. The team with the best record at the conclusion of the tournament is crowned Champion. The Dragons entered the tournament as the #2 seed behind two-time returning champions, Keller Central.  The team started competition strong on Friday posting a 4-0 record before receiving a bye in Round 5 and heading home.

The team started competition Saturday morning tied for the lead with Grapevine HS at 4-0 and Central shortly behind at 3-1. First up for the Dragons was Fossil Ridge, who had come off an upset victory over Central on Friday. The Dragons traded victories with the Panthers until pulling away and securing a 42-27 win.  A turning point in the dual was an overtime victory for Jack Ohlhaber over his FRHS opponent, a returning state qualifier and ranked #1 regionally. The Dragons then carried on the momentum and rolled to a 64-13 win over Keller. Now 6-0 with 2 matches remaining, the Dragons headed into a match up with the undefeated Grapevine Mustangs that would determine the District Championship.

After a day and a half of competition, the tournament championship came down to a matchup of familiar foes. The Dragons and Mustangs were 2-2 in the previous two seasons with this being the first meeting of the current season. Each team came to battle in a very exciting match, but in the end the Dragons walked away victorious and 2012 District 10 Dual Champions, 40-37. The dual was clinched when the Dragons had five consecutive wins from 170-Heavyweight.

Even with the tournament victory clinched, the day was not over. The final round held a clash with recent rival, Keller Central. From the early moments of the match, the Chargers took the lead and it looked as though they may have the upper hand following critical matches in the middle of the lineup. The tides turned in the dual with Scott Marks and Cody Lindberg both scoring falls and putting the Dragons ahead for the first time. With three matches remaining, the Dragons would need some magic from the youngest part of the lineup to pull off the win. The magic would come in the form of 106 pound freshman, Baron Walsh, who scored a fall to clinch the victory for the team and a perfect tournament record, 8-0.

This was a huge step for the program and this special group of athletes. With only four seniors on the team, the Dragons should be an early favorite to defend their title next season. The team will defend their 2011 District 10 Tournament Title, Feb. 2 at Colleyville Heritage. 

Day 1
Round 1 Carroll wins over Trinity (54-24)
Round 2 Carroll wins over L.D. Bell (58-12)
Round 3 Carroll wins over Timber Creek (68-18)
Round 4 Carroll wins over Colleyville Heritage (54-27)
Round 5 Bye

Day 2
Round 6 Carroll wins over Fossil Ridge (42-27)
Round 7 Carroll wins over Keller (64-13)
Round 8 Carroll wins over Grapevine (40-37)
Round 9 Carroll wins over Keller Central (42-39)

Top 3
1. Carroll (8-0)
2. Grapevine (7-1)
3. Keller Central (6-3)

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