‘A wrestling town’: Inside Azle’s developing powerhouse, area-leading success
There’s not a lot of glory in high school wrestling.
Athletes deal with cauliflower ears, weight cuts, brutal conditioning circuits, injuries and, sometimes, skin infections. To top it off, scholarships are few and far between in the college wrestling landscape.
They don’t receive a massive spotlight, as football players do. But the wrestlers who walk the halls at Azle High School don’t seem to care about attention, despite a long list of individual and team accomplishments that warrant it.
In what Azle boys head coach Tyler Harrison calls “a wrestling town,” they just want to see their hard work pay off when they step onto the mat at the UIL state tournament, which begins Friday at Cy-Fair ISD’s Berry Center.
“You have to love it to be in it,” Azle senior Chase Yancey said. “And I think we have that respect from the people, because no one’s working as hard as we are. No one is putting in the effort that we’re putting in. And people that know [Azle wrestling] respect it.”
While it can be hard to keep up with athletic juggernauts like Aledo in many sports, Azle wrestling flips the script, putting the Hornets on top.
Junior Noah Kovach, who is aiming to defend her state title in the girls 100-pound bracket, said wrestling success brings a lot of respect to Azle athletics — and she also sees herself growing and finding support systems in the process.
“I just keep working because I just try to stay disciplined, so I can accomplish all my goals,” she said.
Breaking down Azle’s success
Many Azle athletes join a rapidly growing, vertically aligned system at a young age. From youth wrestling to junior high, the younger Hornets eagerly prepare to one day contribute to what has become a local powerhouse.
The boys team has had a wildly successful season, going 24-1 in duals. They finished third at the 2026 Texas High School Wrestling Coaches Association state duals meet and followed it up by winning their first regional title in program history.
No. 1-ranked 144-pound wrestler Chase Yancey (52-1 this season), a four-time district champion, brought home a regional title. So did his sophomore brother Tyler Yancey (53-1), who is No. 1 in the 138-pound bracket.
“So, we’re really proud of that accomplishment and really excited to send these boys into the state tournament,” Harrison said.
With a flurry of title contenders, WrestlingTexas ranks the Azle boys No. 3, while the Azle girls are ranked No. 2. The Azle girls are a strong contender for an overall state title, although they’ll have some extremely tough competition in No. 1 Melissa.
The girls also brought home a regional title, completing Azle’s sweep of Region 1. The Hornets have had success for years, but this season is arguably the program’s peak.
Kovach (40-1) is a favorite to defend her title with a No. 1 ranking.
Freshman Zaylyn Woods (45-0), a multitime USA wrestling national champion, is No. 1 in the 130-pound bracket. Woods’ mother and stepfather are former UFC fighters Mark and Montana De La Rosa.
Freshman Kenzie Harris (45-1) will enter the 120-pound bracket ranked No. 2, while junior Elly Yelle (46-4) is ranked No. 2 in the 170-pound division.
Woods, Harris and Kovach brought home regional titles.
For the girls, the timing couldn’t be better. Women’s wrestling is on the rise nationally.
In 2025, the NCAA added women’s wrestling as a championship sport. The inaugural NCAA women’s championship is scheduled for March 6 and 7 at the Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa.
Teaching toughness
Harrison and girls coach Jayson Conger, both district coaches of the year, lead the Hornets.
“They just really care about us a lot,” Kovach said. “Mentally and physically. They care about us if we win or lose, but they are constantly pushing us to succeed.”
From managing injury to body weight, the physicality of the sport is grueling. But those in the program will tell you that the mental side is the “secret sauce.”
“It’s just you on the mat, and if you mess up, it’s on you,” Chase Yancey said. “If you lose, it’s on you. So, it’s a lot of pressure in your mind.”
With this in mind, Harrison and Conger do their best to give their athletes the tools they need to improve. Mental toughness is a constant topic of discussion, Harrison said.
“We try and put the kids in the practice room in really adverse situations, and so they can learn how to battle through that before they’re in actual matches,” Harrison said.
Conger said the preparation helps athletes not be afraid of the moment when it arrives.
“Pressure is a privilege,” Conger said. “Those cliché things you hear all the time, but really, they do carry a lot of weight when it comes to competing in a combat sport like wrestling.”
Whether it’s on the mat or in life, Conger said wrestling helps athletes visualize goals and understand that hard work is the only way to get there. If you want it, you have to take it, Conger said.
“We talk about everything’s earned, nothing given to you,” Conger said. “And we talk about building grit and what that means. We want these kids to talk about their goals, and we want them to not be afraid of things.”
A space fit for a champion
Ahead of the 2025-26 season, Azle wrestlers received a welcome surprise when the community came together to provide a much larger practice space.
An old storage room was completely transformed with new mats, wall decorations, Azle branding, a state countdown clock that says “Don’t waste a second” and more.
“[The old room] was really, really crowded, and I think the community just saw how hard we work and saw that we deserve to have the support and the equipment and the facility to back that up,” Kovach said.
Harrison said that Azle administration deserves a “big thank you” for the new and improved space.
“They cleaned it up and painted it and put new mats in here,” Harrison said. “And so it’s been great for the program. We can have our whole team practice under one roof at one time.”
Looking ahead to state
The Azle boys and girls squads are set to enter the most intense tournament of the season. They’ve been prepared, facing some of the toughest in-state and out-of-state competition.
Kovach said she’ll enter the meet with a fearless attitude.
“I’ll just try to go in there and give it my all and hope to make it to the finals and win and defend my title,” Kovach said.
Chase Yancey was the runner-up at state last seaso. He said he enjoys the tension-filled environment at state and plans to turn that pressure into joy, giving it his all.
Win or lose, he takes great pride in his contributions to Azle wrestling.
“Like from my sophomore year to now, we’ve really developed and grown as a program, and it’s just been great to be a part of and to build that,” Chase Yancey said. “And to be a leader, to be able to help all these underclassmen out.”
Azle doesn’t shy away from its potential. The Hornets know what they have to offer, and humbly work to capitalize on the potential. Whether their individual goals are to defend or capture a state title or to become a contender, Harrison takes pride in seeing hard work turn into fulfilling dreams.
“Seeing them accomplish their goals – that’s what is going to make it a great tournament,” he said.
All eyes will be on this weekend’s state tournament. Harrison emphasized, however, that becoming a champion is about more than one weekend.
Through this yearlong grind, Harrison said the coaches try to teach the kids discipline, work ethic and more, which will lead the athletes to success in life on and off the mat.
“Eventually, one day, wrestling is going to go away and one thing they’ll have left is their character,” Harrison said. “So, we try and teach those things, and teach them how to do things right. And you know, it kind of takes care of the wrestling as well.”
This story was originally published February 12, 2026 at 5:00 AM.
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