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Four Score: Allen, Cobb seeking fourth consecutive state titles
BY Kevin Hageland, khageland@starlocalnews.com
There will be no shortage of Allen wrestlers when the Class 5A State Tournament takes place today through Saturday at the Delco Center in Austin.
Howard Smith, Gabe Torres, Mason Smout, John McCabe, Daniel Cartagena, AJ Hinkle, Oliver Pierce, Bo Nickal, Tracey Eitel, Matt Meyer, Nick Cobb, Stone Drulman and Garrett Esparza qualified on the boys side along with female counterpart Vanessa Smith.
Allen, which has won the last five dual state titles, is out to win its fourth straight UIL State Championship.
He would be just the second wrestler in UIL history (Amarillo Tascosa's Nick Herrmann) to accomplish the feat.
"Nick is such a humble guy that he isn't making a big deal out of it," said Matt Meyer, senior teammate, "but you know he's thinking about it."
Cobb admitted as much.
"I'm trying not to think about it too much," he said, "but it is definitely on my mind."
While prepping for a potential fourth individual and team title, Cobb had time to reflect on his first three championships.
The first came at 180 pounds as a freshman in 2010 as Cobb defeated Cord Fletcher of Henderson in the state finals, 7-4 in double overtime. Fletcher was undefeated before losing to Cobb at regionals two weeks prior.
"I was trying to represent the family because my brother (Zach) and cousin (Chase) both made it to state but didn't get to the finals," Cobb said. "And I was only 15, so I think I was so terrified at the time it didn't even really hit me that I was in the state finals until we got to overtime."
Cobb's first state finals bout was grueling.
"It was double overtime," he said, "so I was so exhausted when the match was over; I couldn't even celebrate."
Cobb was one of two Allen freshmen (Oliver Pierce, 140) to win individual state titles that season.
"To win state as a freshman has to give you a lot of confidence, especially when you do it at one of the upper weight classes where a lot of upperclassmen usually wrestle," said Jerry Best, Allen head coach. "Our goal is to put our freshmen in a position to be successful and of course you want them to become four-timers, especially when they win that first one. With Nick, you have someone who works hard, is determined and when the lights come on, he is ready to battle."
Cobb won the 180 bracket again in 2011, but it wasn't easy.
"Sophomore season was kind of an odd year," Cobb said. "I separated cartilage in my ribs in January, so that slowed me down a bit, but I felt ready by the time we got to district."
Cobb proved his mettle on the mat as he pinned or majored decisioned each of his opponents leading into the state finals, where he defeated Chad Wampler of Justin Northwest, 6-3.
State title No. 3 came last year as Cobb moved up to 195.
And while his toughest matches at state came in the finals his freshman and sophomore seasons, Cobb's most difficult bout as a junior came in the semifinals as he bested Steven Candley of Arlington Martin, 3-2.
"It was a sloppy semifinal," Cobb said.
Candley continually backed away, but it eventually cost him as he was penalized a point for stalling with the score tied, 2-2, in the third period.
"It was a pretty frustrating match," Cobb said, "but I'll take that point any day if it gets me to the state finals."
Cobb capped off the bracket with an 8-2 win over Troy Mercer of Rockwall-Heath.
A third straight team and individual crown weren't the only titles Cobb won in 2012 as the linebacker was a starter on Allen's Class 5A Division I State Championship football team. Cobb's football career will continue in college as he spoke to Texas A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin and will walk-on with the Aggies.
The Eagles won their football title Dec. 22, well into wrestling season.
"There wasn't much time to celebrate," Cobb said.
With UIL-mandated days off Dec.22-27 and Cobb seeking to cut from his football weight of 215 to his wrestling weight of 195, he worked out on his own. That included runs on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
Cobb has made the transition look easy as his only loss came against a nationally-ranked grappler from Edmond North (Oklahoma) and he pinned his first three opponents at the Feb. 8-9 Region II-5A Championships before registering a 10-0 victory in the finals.
That leaves Cobb four wins away from a fourth state title.
"Nick's a gamer," Pierce said. "So I have no doubt he'll do what he needs to do and take care of business."
"We've been trying to push Nick in practice," Meyer added.
Pierce and Meyer are seeking their second individual titles at the Delco Center as Allen looks to win a fourth straight UIL State Championship and Cobb attempts to do the same.
"You still have to take it one match at a time," Cobb said. "Because if you start looking at the big picture, it will eat you alive."
"It's always great to see good kids like Nick have this chance to succeed," Best added. "So the opportunity for him and the team to win a fourth would be a great feeling, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."
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