Martin ’ s State Champs
By Kenneth Perkins
For Martin High School wrestlers , it was lucky number 13 . That ’ s how many years the varsity wresting team had competed without winning a dual state championship .
Martin recently captured the team title in impressive fashion , knocking off El Paso Franklin 58-6 . They had little trouble beating Austin Westlake 72-12 , El Paso Montwood 77-6 and Klein 65-8 en route to the state championship .
“ They played really well ,” Martin wrestling coach Patrick Dunn said . “ They did everything they had to do to win .” The Dual State Championships are different from the individual state tournament that followed in March . Wrestlers still compete in their weight class but scoring is slightly different . “ This is more like team tennis ,” Dunn said .
State Wrestling keeps a ranking system that allows the teams to qualify for the pool play tournament . Winners of pool play advance to the semifinals and the winners there go head-to-head for top state honors .
Martin has a rich wrestling tradition . They ’ ve won four state championships overall and placed second six times . “ Three years ago we put six or seven kids into Division I wrestling scholarships ,” Dunn said . About 20 wrestlers traveled to El Paso with 14 starters .
“ What ’ s neat about duals is that you can trade kids in and out ,” he said . “ I can bump a kid up a weight class because maybe he will win there or put our backup in to beat their varsity kid . There ’ s more strategy to it . And when you wrestle , the whole team is right there cheering each other . In the individual state meet , one kid is on one mat and another on another mat . They can be all over .”
Arlington School & Family 9