Katy High’s boys and Tompkins’ girls had their way on the wrestling mat this weekend, taking home the team District 9-6A wrestling championships at the Merrell Center.

Katy’s boys won the district title for the fifth straight season. The Tigers will be seeking their fifth consecutive regional championship next weekend as well. Katy is second behind Allen in the Wrestling Texas 6A team rankings.

Katy won with a score of 248.5 points. Seven Lakes placed second with 181, followed by Cinco Ranch in third at 168.5, Tompkins in fourth at 147 and Morton Ranch in fifth at 144.

“Expectations are high and those are our goals, and it’s always fun to watch our kids step up and compete at the right time of the year,” Katy coach Vinnie Lowe said. “I thought our boys wrestled fantastic. I think they tried to make a statement.”

Tompkins’ girls won their first district title and coach Derek Ankney’s first district title in his 12 years coaching in Katy ISD. The Falcons are seventh in the Wrestling Texas 6A team rankings.

Tompkins won with a score of 171 points, followed by Morton Ranch’s 154 in second. Seven Lakes placed third with 130, Mayde Creek was fourth with 103 and Katy was fifth with 81.

“These girls work their tails off and put in a ton of time,” Ankney said. “They’ve absolutely grown as technical wrestlers, but I credit them buying into the extra work that’s needed outside of the wrestling season. In the summer with the strength and conditioning camp, wrestling through the summer, and just having a total buy-in to what they’re doing. With the dedication of these kids and this coaching staff, it’s been a great run.”

Lowe was named the boys’ Coach of the Year. Morton Ranch’s Brendan McBride was named Assistant Coach of the Year.

Ankney was named the girls’ Coach of the Year. His assistant, Alyssa Batiste, was named Assistant Coach of the Year.

Katy senior Ty Wright and Taylor senior Curshawn Wilkins were named Co-Most Outstanding Wrestlers. Morton Ranch senior Jordan Suarez was named Most Outstanding Wrestler on the girls side.

On the boys, the Tigers had seven individual district champions, followed by Tompkins and Seven Lakes with two apiece. For the girls, Tompkins had four individual district champions, followed by Morton Ranch with two. The Mavericks girls are ninth in the Wrestling Texas 6A team rankings and were previously ranked first.

Following is the district champion in each weight class, along with their grade and season record.

BOYS

>> 285: Curshawn Wilkins, sr., Taylor, 34-3

>> 220: Marcos Balbuena, sr., Mayde Creek, 11-4

>> 195: Joe Racicot, jr., Seven Lakes, 35-5

>> 182: Barto Radman, sr., Seven Lakes, 30-10

>> 170: Kishawn Higgins, sr., Katy High, 44-1

>> 160: Jacob Kelske, sr., Katy High, 41-4

>> 152: Ty Wright, sr., Katy High, 31-11

>> 145: Truman Timmons, jr., Katy High, 32-8

>> 138: Mason Wilke, jr., Tompkins, 31-7

>> 132: Luke Holland, jr., Katy High, 36-9

>> 126: Cole Minnick, jr., Tompkins High, 31-6

>> 120: Jackson Crandall, jr., Katy High, 36-3

>> 113: Jeremy Manibog, fr., Katy High, 30-7

>> 106: Douglas Melrose, sr., Morton Ranch, 31-1

GIRLS

>> 215: Rewa Chabado, so., Mayde Creek, 27-5

>> 185: Nicole Blinn, jr., Tompkins, 30-5

>> 165: Kaitlyn Bryant, jr., Tompkins, 34-0

>> 148: Lauren Collins, sr., Tompkins, 21-10

>> 138: Jordan Suarez, sr., Morton Ranch, 35-1

>> 128: Danielle Miller, sr., Seven Lakes, 30-8

>> 119: Lilly Broadrick, jr., Tompkins, 26-3

>> 110: Kiara Ortega, sr., Katy High, 25-10

>> 102: Brittany Cotter, jr., Morton Ranch, 29-1

>> 95: Isabella Walsh, jr., Cinco Ranch, 25-11

For the boys, Katy’s Higgins is a returning state champion. Crandall, Holland and Kelske are all expected to compete for state titles also.

Wright has emerged as a key contributor and had his best finish at a district meet. Manibog has gotten better all season and is beginning to come into his own as a freshman.

“I don’t know how different the team is (compared to past teams),” Lowe said. “It may be closer than teams we’ve had. They’ve really come together. We’ve double-entered in a lot of tournaments and had some real good competition at lineup spots, and ultimately it made our starters better. Our team got deeper than it’s been in the past.”

Morton Ranch’s Melrose is ranked first in the region in the 106 class.

On the girls’ side, Tompkins has had a dominant season, led by Bryant, who is undefeated at 34-0. Along with Broadrick and Blinn, Collins (148), junior Andrea Tamez (138) and junior Chelsea Andrade (215) have had stellar seasons for the Falcons, along with freshman Elizabeth Lucio (102) and junior Savannah Scheffler (128).

“When we step on the mat and we’re focused, we’re a very tough team to beat,” Ankney said. “We as a coaching staff have an unbelievable amount of faith in them, and as long as they have that faith and belief in themselves, they’re extremely tough.”

The Region III-6A tournament will be held at the Merrell Center on Friday, Feb. 14 at 9 a.m. and Saturday, Feb. 15 at 9 a.m.

“It’s going to be tough,” Lowe said. “Cy-Ranch is always putting together tough kids and has some top kids. Houston Westside always has good kids. Clear Lake will bring some tough kids. Not to mention what we’ve got from our own district, it’s going to be some good competition.”

At the District 11-5A championships on Feb. 5 in Waller, Paetow qualified 11 wrestlers to regionals—six girls and five boys.

Paetow’s girls team placed third out of 10 teams with 92 points and claimed a district champion in junior Brittney Galindo, who won her 102 class to boost her record to 25-5. The Panthers boys placed sixth out of 12 teams with 119 points and had a district champion in junior Josiah Bernhardt, who won his 152 class and improved his record to 25-4.

Paetow is competing with just one senior in Raymond Perez.

The Region III-5A championships will be held Feb. 14-15 in Pflugerville.