The Lady Farmer wrestlers will be facing off in a regional tournament today at Allen after a 10-1 dual meet season and their second straight district championship.

“A lot of long hours and hard work have led up to this moment,” coach Joe Daniel said.

Daniel, who was named district co-coach of the year, said he believes in straightforward and fundamental techniques to win duals, keeping away from flashier moves.

“We’re not a fancy team,” Daniel said. “We don’t believe in doing a bunch of fancy moves. Our core moves are takedowns and trying to control them.”

The team consists of several accomplished individuals such as junior Selphia Galloway and junior Fernanda Hernandez, a first-year wrestler, going to regionals, as well as returning state qualifiers senior Beatriz Sanchez and sophomore Brittany Marshall, with the latter having a 31-2 record.

“To say that there’s a particular stand-out girl, well, we’ll see what happens.” Daniel said.

Regionals and district will be individual team tournaments, with each girl facing off against girls in their own weight class from opposing schools.

“It’s going to be pretty tough,” Daniel said. “Some of the best teams and girls are going to be there. The list just goes on and on. Our girls just have to bring the best with them.”

Daniel goes into each tournament with victory in mind. He said this mindset will help in the success of the team.

“My goals are always to win,” Daniel said. “I think it’s a mistake to think that we should just do well. I want us to be regional champions. We haven’t had one in the four years of this program. I would like to bring that home to LHS for the first time.”

So far, the varsity girls wrestling team has done well against several 5A schools in the region.

“We match up well,” Daniel said. “It’s really going to be up to [the girls]. If they wrestle to win, then we should be fine.”

Boys and girls wrestling teams have progressed significantly, with each coach aiding the teams in improving.

“I’m excited,” Daniel said. “Coming here to LHS and coming back into wrestling after being out for awhile, I’m excited about the growth of your program. We have a good foundation for things to come.”

Editor’s note: Nichole Walker assisted with the reporting of this story.