Nobody dogs it under Katy wrestling coach Vince Lowe, and the girls team is taking a back seat to no one.
"I played football in junior high, coed. And I did some basketball, shot put and discus, so I've always been into, like, I guess boys' sports," Tigers wrestler Alana Jimenez said.
Led by Jimenez and Julie Stayten, the Katy girls are ranked No. 1 in the area. Earlier this season, Staten defeated last year's state runner-up at 138 pounds.
"I was ecstatic," Stayten said. "I visualized it as another opponent, another match. I had been training for it since the state tournament last year."
Football is the sport at Katy, but a couple of years ago, all-state running back James Aston made everybody pay attention by winning the state heavyweight wrestling title.
"The crossover, the two-sport athlete is one of those things we don't see that much of anymore. So, without a doubt, it was bringing a little bit of notoriety. And yeah, it's a football town, but we're trying to make it a wrestling town as well," Lowe said.
And football players might be the first to tell you just how tough wrestlers can be, because some of them moved to the mat after the football season.
Some of them come in here and they can't stay, because they're like, 'Omigosh, practice is so hard.' I'm like, 'It's just another day,'" Jimenez said.
