Casa Grande High School junior Lillian McCoy added to her growing wrestling reputation by taking first place in the U.S. Marine Corps Girls Folkstyle Wrestling ?National Championships held in Oklahoma.
McCoy was ranked ?No. 8 nationally at 225 pounds going into the tournament, but proved unbeatable on the mat.
She acknowledged that by the time she got to her championship match, she was beginning to feel the effects of her long season of training and competition.
“By the final match I was a little tired,” she said. That didn’t stop her from winning a decision and a national championship.
McCoy explained that folkstyle wrestling is different from the freestyle she competes in during the high school season. “It (folkstyle) has a lot more restrictions. I like freestyle better,” she said.
Still, she earned a prestigious national championship and added more honors to a season that included a repeat as North Coast Section champion and a second straight fifth-place finish in the CIF state championships.
She was probably the only one who was disappointed.
“The state tournament was about what I expected it to be,” she said. “But for me, I wanted to do better.”
Section championships and state tournament experiences don’t just happen for McCoy. She works hard on conditioning and practices by wrestling against boys.
For her it is a labor of love.
“Wrestling is super fun,” she said. “On the mat I can really express myself. When I get on the mat everything changes.”
Usually, everything changes for her opponents as well - they add a loss to their record.
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