Freshman John Geiger placed 2nd overall in the 106 pound weight class and is the runner up State Champion in all of Texas. The Lions varsity wrestlers competed at the State Tournament at the Berry Center in Cypress, Texas. Five wrestlers competed, a school record for number of state qualifiers.

“I was disappointed because I had worked the whole year to get first,” Geiger said. “It was a great year and we had five go to state. Being part of the team and the experience was really great.”

Freshmen Lance Reed went 0-2, senior Ricky Smith, senior Tyler Young and junior Zeke Garcia all went 1-2 and Geiger went into the State Finals and finally ended 3-1 as runner up in the State.

“The team has improved a lot since the beginning of the year,” Head Coach Adam McLain said. “I feel like our biggest improvements have been in overall toughness which has helped our wrestlers finish close matches. We also had a big improvement in team chemistry. Wrestling is widely considered an individual sport, but it really is a team sport. These guys wrestle each other every single day to make each other better.”

This is the last meet the wrestlers have this season. They have placed first as a team multiple times and have produced champs in several different meets.

“We have taken a team that many students knew nothing about, and made it relevant at Leander,” Coach McLain said. “People are starting to talk about the wrestling program. We had good attendance at our home duals. We also broke the school record for most state qualifiers with 5. All of these things are just the first step in getting this program to where it is capable of being.​”