Sports
Championship state of mind: Minor wrestles state title away from Allen
By Richard C. White, rwhite@starlocalnews.com
Not all high school state championships are equal.
Some are earned through a much tougher road than others.
The task ahead of McKinney Body junior wrestler Alex Minor this season was not an easy one. On Saturday, Minor prevailed as he defeated Allen's Howard Smith, 8-7, in the state tournament from the Delco Center in Austin.
"The feeling after when that last whistle was blown was unbelievable," Minor said. "I couldn't believe it, I'd won the state championship. The feeling was amazing. I was overwhelmed."
Allen had a state-record seven finalists and the lone grappler to defeat the powerhouse Eagles for a championship was Minor (106 pounds), and he did it three different times in the past five weeks.
"Knowing that is a really good feeling," Minor said. "I can say that I beat a wrestler from the No. 1 team in the state. To do it three times in a row felt good knowing I can beat someone from the best wrestling team in Texas."
Boyd head coach David Clayton said he couldn't be prouder of Minor's hard-earned accomplishment.
"It's the best outcome we could have expected," he said. "While there are no guarantees, we knew if he wrestled well it could happen."
Clayton said Minor's major achievement was the culmination of a dominant season. Minor was ranked top three in the state for much of the year.
"He only had one loss this season," Clayton said. "He started strong and only got better. There were no letdowns during the season as he continued to improve every week."
Minor first met Smith during district.
"When it came time for district I knew I had one of the toughest kids in the state in my district," he said. "I knew if I could beat this kid, my shot at winning state was very clear. From there, I started wrestling a lot more confidently."
Minor beat Smith at regionals a week later, leading up to their third meeting at state.
"When I had to wrestle him for the state title I knew I was in for the biggest fight of my life," Minor said. "I had beaten him twice and I knew he wanted to beat me badly. I knew I had to fight every second of the match. I knew he was going to be ready, so I had to get after him to make sure that he didn't take my state title from me."
Clayton said he'll never forget the immediate moments after Minor claimed the state championship.
"I told him he had to work on his celebration because he was supposed to jump into my arms," he said. "He didn't jump very far."
Minor credits Clayton as an integral part of his state championship season.
"I had an amazing coach to go along with my state title," he said. "He always kept pushing me. If it weren't for him working me and making sure I was always ready, there is no way I would have won the state title."
Minor has aspirations to wrestle at the collegiate level.
"[Minor] wants to get bigger and he wants to wrestle in college, so he's got to get closer to the minimum weight, which is 125 in college," Clayton said. "And he's got it in his mind that he's going to do it."
Since he's only a junior, Minor's goals for his senior season remain clear.
"Next season is about how I'm going to stay hungry," he said. "I'm going to wrestle a lot in the offseason, go to national tournaments and play tough competition so I'm ready when next season starts. I want to repeat and be the first guy from my school to win two state titles."
Some are earned through a much tougher road than others.
The task ahead of McKinney Body junior wrestler Alex Minor this season was not an easy one. On Saturday, Minor prevailed as he defeated Allen's Howard Smith, 8-7, in the state tournament from the Delco Center in Austin.
"The feeling after when that last whistle was blown was unbelievable," Minor said. "I couldn't believe it, I'd won the state championship. The feeling was amazing. I was overwhelmed."
Allen had a state-record seven finalists and the lone grappler to defeat the powerhouse Eagles for a championship was Minor (106 pounds), and he did it three different times in the past five weeks.
"Knowing that is a really good feeling," Minor said. "I can say that I beat a wrestler from the No. 1 team in the state. To do it three times in a row felt good knowing I can beat someone from the best wrestling team in Texas."
Boyd head coach David Clayton said he couldn't be prouder of Minor's hard-earned accomplishment.
"It's the best outcome we could have expected," he said. "While there are no guarantees, we knew if he wrestled well it could happen."
Clayton said Minor's major achievement was the culmination of a dominant season. Minor was ranked top three in the state for much of the year.
"He only had one loss this season," Clayton said. "He started strong and only got better. There were no letdowns during the season as he continued to improve every week."
Minor first met Smith during district.
"When it came time for district I knew I had one of the toughest kids in the state in my district," he said. "I knew if I could beat this kid, my shot at winning state was very clear. From there, I started wrestling a lot more confidently."
Minor beat Smith at regionals a week later, leading up to their third meeting at state.
"When I had to wrestle him for the state title I knew I was in for the biggest fight of my life," Minor said. "I had beaten him twice and I knew he wanted to beat me badly. I knew I had to fight every second of the match. I knew he was going to be ready, so I had to get after him to make sure that he didn't take my state title from me."
Clayton said he'll never forget the immediate moments after Minor claimed the state championship.
"I told him he had to work on his celebration because he was supposed to jump into my arms," he said. "He didn't jump very far."
Minor credits Clayton as an integral part of his state championship season.
"I had an amazing coach to go along with my state title," he said. "He always kept pushing me. If it weren't for him working me and making sure I was always ready, there is no way I would have won the state title."
Minor has aspirations to wrestle at the collegiate level.
"[Minor] wants to get bigger and he wants to wrestle in college, so he's got to get closer to the minimum weight, which is 125 in college," Clayton said. "And he's got it in his mind that he's going to do it."
Since he's only a junior, Minor's goals for his senior season remain clear.
"Next season is about how I'm going to stay hungry," he said. "I'm going to wrestle a lot in the offseason, go to national tournaments and play tough competition so I'm ready when next season starts. I want to repeat and be the first guy from my school to win two state titles."
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