AUSTIN – This weekend, Isaac Grieder accomplished something none of his LH wrestling predecessors had before. Greider capped off an undefeated season and won a state title. He finished with a remarkable 59-0 record in the 160-pound division.
"I was extremely pleased with the way things turned out," Grieder said. "The whole weekend was pretty fun."
Although Grieder’s final match won him the title, his semifinal against Sawyer Morris of Austin Westlake was the one those in attendance at the Delco Center will remember. The Grieder-Morris matchup was the talk of the arena Saturday morning and had a lot of hype surrounding it from the state’s wrestling enthusiasts.
Grieder defeated Morris, 12-7, punching his ticket to the state finals.
Unfortunately for many Wildcat fans, that match and Ebrima Njie’s semifinal match at 215 pounds were going on at the same time. It was difficult to pick just one to watch.
At one time, both Grieder and Njie were on the ground being tended to by coaches for injuries, one mat over from each other.
Both wrestlers recovered and Njie, along with Isaac Kinsella, wound up winning a fourth-place medal.
(Click on the link below for more details from the state meet and to see video of Isaac Grieder’s winning moment)
Grieder won the state championship by taking down Marc Backus of Canyon Randall, 6-4. Grieder never trailed in the match and almost pinned Backus early on. When Backus pulled within two points with 32 seconds left, Grieder began wrestling more defensively and did not give up another point.
As a team, Lake Highlands finished in eighth place, solidifying its place as one of Texas’ best wrestling programs.
"I was very proud of the team," coach Pete Grieder, Isaac’s father, said. "This isn’t a sport where you can blame other members of the team for your mistakes. I think we all competed well this weekend."
