Mariah Dillard ended her career as an Azle Lady Hornet wrestler with back-to-back state championships and an 85-match win streak. She captured the 114-pound championship in the Class 5A State Tournament at the Berry Center in Houston Feb. 14-15.
And this season she can share that championship feeling with a teammate. Sophomore Noah Kovach captured the girls championship in the 100-pound division.
For the Hornets, brothers Chase Yancey, a junior, and freshman Tyler Yancey, finished as state runners-up in the 138 and 132 weight classes, respectively.
As a team, the Lady Hornets finished third with 71.5 points, behind Lubbock Cooper with 110.5 and Dumas with 80. It’s the second straight season the Azle girls have brought home a trophy as they were state runners-up in 2024.
“State was an exciting weekend of ups and downs,” Azle coach Tyler Harrison said.
Both Kovach and Dillard dominated their opponents on the way to their titles. Kovach won her final with a 17-2 technical fall score at 5:38 of the match.
In her final match as a Lady Hornet, Dillard won by a pin just 25 seconds into the match. She pinned all four opponents at state.
Dillard, making her third straight appearance at state, ended the season with a 43-0 record. She won the 120 division last season.
Kovach posted a 35-1 record this season. She was state runner-up in the same weight class last season.
Tyler Yancey (47-4) narrowly missed out on joining them on the champions podium, losing his finals match 8-7. He and Chase are the first boys from Azle to reach a state final since 2018.
Chase (51-5), who lost a 12-6 decision in the finals, medaled for a second straight season and improved from his third-place finish a year ago.
“Watching them compete in the state finals as brothers and training partners was a great experience, and I am confident they are going to be back there next year chasing the goal of being a state champion,” Harrison said.
Also for the Lady Hornets, sophomore Elly Yelle (45-4) placed fourth in the 165 division. She was named the Most Outstanding Girls Wrestler at the 5A Region I Tournament.
The 2024-25 season included a district championship won by the Hornets in runaway fashion by more than 100 points, followed by posting their highest finish ever at the regional tournament.
Individual regional championships were won by Dillard, Kovach and Yelle for the girls, along with Tyler Yancey and Roman Fraser for the boys. In all, nine Azle wrestlers competed at state, including Landin Evans (boys 150), Devin Wingfield (boys 285) and Eli Bryan (boys 275).
Kaylie Groot was an alternate in the 107 division for the girls and Wyatt Hicks was an alternate in the 144 class for the boys.
“We are proud of the growth we saw this year in the program and the successes that we had,” Harrison said. “We are excited to come back even stronger next year, returning four of our five state placers. We are going to have a great off season this spring and build a foundation for next season.”
