Three Down, One to Go — Landri Von Gonten Dominates Again at UIL 6A States; Eastwood Wins Team Title

College Park’s national star dominates for her third straight title while El Paso Eastwood wins a wide-open team race and a wave of upsets reshapes the Berry Center podium.

Landri Von Gonten, from The Woodlands at College Park, won her third straight UIL title, as she took another step towards becoming just the fifth Texas girl to win four UIL crowns. / Caroline Rodriguez

The UIL Girl’s 6A State wrestling tournament took place at the same time as the 5A Division at the Berry Center Arena in Cypress, Texas, last weekend. The action concluded on Saturday the 14th with El Paso Eastwood atop the team standings and The Woodlands at College Park’s Landri Von Gonten recording title number three and remaining on pace to become just the fifth Texas girl to ever win four state championships.

Von Gonten has been ranked fourth at 140 pounds for High School on SI after a loss to No. 3 Ariel Biggs (Fort Osage, Missouri). Interestingly, the last loss during a high school season for Von Gonten prior to Biggs also occurred at the KC Stampede during her sophomore campaign that ended with a 38-1 record.

Von Gonten’s March Toward Rare Air

After the Biggs loss, Von Gonten has gone unscathed since and dominated at states en route to a third consecutive crown, putting four falls up as she advanced through the bracket to the finals where she squared off with No. 6 Kailin Sebert of Allen in a battle of defending state champs.

Von Gonten stuck Sebert in 1:33 to add a fourth, first period fall to her stat sheet, and raise her junior season record to 42-1. It was her second pin of the season against Sebert, who she decked in a December dual meet in 46 seconds. The two met again in the finals of the Region 2 Tournament with that one going the distance and Von Gonten using a 12-2 major decision to down her rival.

 “It was surgical and precise with quick work,” said Landri’s father Steven Von Gonten. “Landri is a Chickasaw Nation citizen. She’s a fantastic student and serves as a USA Wrestling referee for youth tournaments. She has big goals and everything is laid out in front of her. She’s ready to get to Freco (Freestyle and Greco Roman) season.”

For her efforts at states, Von Gonten was named the Outstanding Wrestler of the 6A Division. Von Gonten’s semifinal opponent, Josephine Clark (Klein Oak) lasted longer than anyone else before she took it on the chin with 11 seconds left, succumbing by fall in 1:49. The quarterfinals and round of 16 saw Von Gonten author pins of 18 and 44 seconds respectively.

Also back in December, when Von Gonten was still up at 140 pounds, the junior took out Texas 5A state champion, No. 8 Jordan Parker (Frisco Centennial), 11-4, in the finals of the Rumble at the Rock.

As a freshman champ, Von Gonten’s record contained two losses, both of which she avenged, over her 41 matches for a 39-2 record. Von Gonten’s career high school tally is now 119-4.

After her sophomore season, Von Gonten blew up on the national scene, placing second at the Women’s Nationals U17 Tournament to two-time World Champion No. 1 Taina Fernandez of Maryland. Next was Fargo, where she competed in the 16U Freestyle slate and finished as the 130-pound champion.

Those escapades earned Von Gonten an invite to Flo Wrestling’s Who’s No. 1 in the fall of 2025. Von Gonten blasted New Jersey’s Taina McGowan, 16-3. McGowan has been inactive during the high school season, so she is currently not ranked. More fall accolades include a third place showing at Super 32 and winning the crown at the Brian Keck Preseason Nationals.

Von Gonten was joined by her teammate, Claire Guydon (155 pounds) in the winners’ circle as Guydon picked up an easy 16-1 tech fall win over Rockwall’s Leona Layne.

El Paso Eastwood Wins the Team Grind

El Paso Eastwood won the team race by outpointing Lewisville Flower Mound, 82.5-71. There was a lot more parity on the 6A side with sixth-place Rockwall being just 8.5 points out of second with 62.5. The Woodlands were fifth with 65 points.

El Paso Eastwood collected one gold medal and had three girls reach the podium. No. 3 Hailey Delgado, a sophomore, won her second title in a row with an 11-0 major decision of Klein Cain’s Alia Baker at 110 pounds. Delgado met No. 16 Cameron Hodge (Cibolo Steele) in the first round and disposed of her with a 3:09 fall. Hodge never recovered and fell all the way to sixth place.

Placing third for El Paso Eastwood were No. 17 Allesandra Toscano (105 pounds) and Daniela Hernandez (135).  

Katy’s No. 16 Emily Beltran posted a 12-4 major against The Woodlands’ Brynlee Mooney in the 105-pound finals to complete her repeat title bid. Mooney was a surprise finalist after getting by Toscano, 13-4, in the semis.

Breakout Champions Seize the Spotlight

Arlington Martin’s No. 25 Camille Rainey suffered two losses at the hands of Keller Central’s No. 12 Echo Cranor during the season. The postseason breeds craziness and that played out in the 130-pond bracket as Rainey made it to the finals where she downed Rockwall’s Avery Fitzgerald. Cranor came in fourth with two losses to Haley Pitts (Katy), who Fitzgerald beat 3-0 in the semis.

Flower Mound’s Double Gold Statement

Lewisville Flower Mound equaled The Woodlands with two champions, No. 25 Aisha Williams (170 pounds) and Wema Laktari (190) winning back-to-back crowns. Williams stuck Lancaster’s Victoria Brown in 38 seconds. Laktari had a completely different experience, needing overtime to claim her glory on a 1-0 ultimate tiebreaker win.

Brackets Busted: Upsets That Changed Everything

The girl we projected to be the 235-pound champ, No. 18 Maliana Heimuli (Eules Trinity) finished in third place after being pinned in her semifinal by Richmond Foster’s Izis Kouokam. Kouokam could not build on that win and settled for silver after receiving a 13-6 loss from Saniah Ebron (Killeen Harker Heights) in the finals.

El Paso Franklin’s Jubilee Rendon (100 pounds) and Northwest Nelson’s Marli Denmark used pins to gain their gold medals. Rendon planted previously nationally ranked Katelynn Dockery (Bryan) in 3:03. Denmark only used 57 seconds of the allotted time to deck Madison Fitzgerald of Rockwall.

San Marcos’ Mila Juarez won a bracket that featured one ranked girl, No. 30 Tiana Crawford (Rockwall Heath), and one who used to grace the list in Allen’s Grace Roman, who is now a two-time state runner-up after coming up short in the finals versus Juarez, 9-3.

Crawford was picked off in her first match with Coppell’s Hailey Kennedy, who pinned her in 55 seconds. Crawford battled back and landed in the fifth-place match where she encountered Kennedy again and this time reversed the outcome with an 8-4 decision.

Stephanie Lopez (Katy Mayde Creek) handed Katy Cinco Ranch’s Nevada Daniels her first loss on the season in the 115-pound finals with an 8-4 decision. How unlikely was that outcome? Very, as Daniels was 4-0 when facing Lopez this year with pins in the District Finals, a dual meet, and the finals of the Cinco Ranch Big 12. A 6-5 win was posted over Lopez in the Maverick Stampede finals.

Two ladies came out ahead of their rivals with one-point wins, Riley Drennan (McKinney) and Zoe Sonnier (Bryan). Drennan was involved in a 125-pound final that had 19 points scored in a 10-9 Drennan win over Kayla Dunn (Cypress Park). Sonnier’s win at 145 pounds against Zamariya Williams (Rockwall Heath) was a low scoring, 4-3, affair.

Team Scores (Top 10)

1-El Paso Eastwood 82.5

2-Lewisville Flower Mound 71

3-Allen 70

4-Katy 69.5

5-The Woodlands at College Park 65

6-El Paso Franklin 63

7-Rockwall 62.5

8-Richmond Foster 55

9-Coppell 52.5

10-Bryan 48

Individual Results

6A 100

1st Place Match

Jubilee Rendon (El Paso Franklin) 55-1, Sr. over Katelynn Dockery (Bryan) 34-2, So. (Fall 3:03)

3rd Place Match

Celeste Gonzalez (Katy Paetow) 42-10, Jr. over Kaelani Palmer (Richmond Foster) 43-6, Sr. (Dec 5-1)

5th Place Match

Natalie Roberson (Katy) 47-4, Jr. over Xariah Sandoval (Wolfforth Frenship) 33-8, Fr. (Dec 19-12)

6A 105

1st Place Match

Emily Beltran (Katy) 49-0, Sr. over Brynlee Mooney (Conroe The Woodlands) 40-7, Fr. (MD 12-4)

3rd Place Match

Allessandra Toscano (El Paso Eastwood) 37-3, So. over Cordelia Martinez (San Antonio Madison) 40-11, Jr. (Fall 0:49)

5th Place Match

Minha Castillo (League City Clear Falls) 38-5, Sr. over Kiana Riggenbach (San Antonio Roosevelt) 37-9, Sr. (TF-1.5 5:00 (16-1))

6A 110

1st Place Match

Hailey Delgado (El Paso Eastwood) 51-0, So. over Alia Baker (Klein Cain) 42-4, Jr. (MD 11-0)

3rd Place Match

Gianna Zavala (Langham Creek) 42-12, Jr. over Valeria Medrano (Edinburg) 41-5, So. (Dec 4-0)

5th Place Match

Cameron Hodge (Cibolo Steele) 41-9, Fr. over Maria Fernandez (Austin Vandegrift) 35-11, Sr. (Fall 1:31)

6A 115

1st Place Match

Stephanie Lopez (Katy Mayde Creek) 46-6, Jr. over Nevada Daniels (Katy Cinco Ranch) 50-1, Sr. (Dec 8-4)

3rd Place Match

Aviana Caceres (Langham Creek) 43-6, Sr. over Naime Abdallah (El Paso Franklin) 53-5, So. (Dec 6-3)

5th Place Match

Gracie Bays (Round Rock) 37-11, Sr. over Hailey Miranda (Cypress Creek) 32-13, Jr. (Dec 3-0)

6A 120

1st Place Match

Mila Juarez (San Marcos) 31-1, Jr. over Grace Romans (Allen) 36-5, Sr. (Dec 9-3)

3rd Place Match

Aylin Pagan (Katy Paetow) 46-2, Sr. over Iliana Villagrana (Northwest Eaton) 29-6, So. (Dec 10-6)

5th Place Match

Tiana Crawford (Rockwall Heath) 40-3, So. over Hailey Kennedy (Coppell) 37-6, Sr. (Dec 8-4)

6A 125

1st Place Match

Riley Drennan (McKinney) 27-1, Jr. over Kayla Dunn (Cypress Park) 45-6, Sr. (Dec 10-9)

3rd Place Match

Sophia Tamayo (Houston Clear Lake) 45-5, Jr. over Lucy Clarno (Dripping Springs) 32-2, So. (MD 12-1)

5th Place Match

Jaelyn Skelley (Prosper) 44-12, Sr. over Elizabeth Cummings (Coppell) 49-9, Jr. (Fall 2:28)

6A 130

1st Place Match

Camille Rainey (Arlington Martin) 32-3, Sr. over Avery Fitzgerald (Rockwall) 44-7, So. (Dec 9-2)

3rd Place Match

Haley Pitts (Katy) 34-2, Sr. over Echo Cranor (Keller Central) 44-5, Sr. (Dec 6-0)

5th Place Match

Elliotte Strange (Conroe The Woodlands) 37-7, Jr. over Gabriella Martinez (Klein Collins) 27-5, Jr. (Fall 0:44)

6A 135

1st Place Match

Landri Von Gonten (Conroe Woodlands College Park) 42-1, Jr. over Kailin Sebert (Allen) 41-4, Jr. (Fall 1:33)

3rd Place Match

Daniela Hernandez (El Paso Eastwood) 36-2, Sr. over Tayla Skelley (Prosper) 37-9, Sr. (Fall 4:57)

5th Place Match

Josephine Clarke (Klein Oak) 46-8, Sr. over Isabella Malcolm (Coppell) 40-8, So. (Dec 5-1)

6A 140

1st Place Match

Marli Denmark (Northwest Nelson) 44-3, Sr. over Madison Fitzgerald (Rockwall) 41-8, So. (Fall 0:57)

3rd Place Match

Adalyn Robinson (Allen) 36-9, Sr. over Jayada Ramos (El Paso Franklin) 38-8, Jr. (MD 11-2)

5th Place Match

Sophia Payrovi (Cypress Falls) 54-6, Jr. over Luciana Vega De Alencar (Prosper Rock Hill) 32-11, Sr. (TF-1.5 3:42 (15-0))

6A 145

1st Place Match

Zoe Sonnier (Bryan) 48-8, Jr. over Zamariya Williams (Rockwall Heath) 36-5, Jr. (Dec 4-3)

3rd Place Match

Joanna Henry (Austin Vandegrift) 44-2, So. over Lillian Jukes (Prosper Rock Hill) 32-11, Sr. (Dec 8-3)

5th Place Match

Ishitha Mallidi (Coppell) 43-9, Sr. over Ayden Quinones (El Paso Pebble Hills) 47-4, Sr. (Dec 6-0)

6A 155

1st Place Match

Claire Guydon (Conroe The Woodlands) 49-2, Jr. over Leona Layne (Rockwall) 47-4, Jr. (TF-1.5 4:21 (16-1))

3rd Place Match

Gianna Cedeno (Richardson Berkner) 31-4, Jr. over Yaretzi Espinoza (Arlington Houston) 30-6, Sr. (SV-1 4-1)

5th Place Match

Elizabeth Castro (Cypress Ridge) 19-5, Sr. over London Rolen (Lewisville Flower Mound) 55-11, Jr. (Fall 2:44)

6A 170

1st Place Match

Aisha Williams Bautista (Lewisville Flower Mound) 64-1, Jr. over Victoria Brown (Lancaster) 24-2, Jr. (Fall 0:38)

3rd Place Match

Gabrielle Moore (Cypress Creek) 39-5, So. over Ana Davis (Killeen Harker Heights) 36-10, Sr. (Fall 2:59)

5th Place Match

Angelina Patterson (Cypress Ranch) 48-8, Sr. over Madeline Moore (Katy Cinco Ranch) 44-9, So. (Dec 3-2)

6A 190

1st Place Match

Wema Laktari (Lewisville Flower Mound) 54-0, Jr. over Asaiya Golphin (Cibolo Steele) 27-2, Sr. (UTB 1-0)

3rd Place Match

Annalisa Afrifa (Lewisville Hebron) 27-5, Sr. over Jaida Kuntz (Richmond Foster) 54-4, So. (Dec 4-1)

5th Place Match

Addy Smith (Princeton) 32-6, Sr. over Tristyn Alo-Suliafu (Katy Jordan) 40-7, So. (Fall 3:50)

6A 235

1st Place Match

Saniah Ebron (Killeen Harker Heights) 38-2, Jr. over Izis Kouokam (Richmond Foster) 44-3, Sr. (Dec 13-6)

3rd Place Match

Maliana Heimuli (Euless Trinity) 44-1, Sr. over Zakhia Burke (Prosper Rock Hill) 31-5, Sr. (Dec 5-3)

5th Place Match

Jessica Pyatt (El Paso Pebble Hills) 39-9, Jr. over Melanie Avila (Weslaco) 32-4, Jr. (Fall 2:14)