Trey Coates overturned just about every stone he could find to build up the girls wrestling program at Tuscarora High School.

He knew that Ella McDonald had a background in jiu-jitsu and would be ideally suited for the sport. But when he stopped McDonald in the hallway and asked her to come out for the team, she initially turned him down.

"I was kind of skeptical about it," she said.

But Coates is persistent. And when the Tuscarora wrestling coach approached McDonald again the following year about coming out for the team, she was looking for something new to try.

Now McDonald is a powerhouse wrestler on a powerhouse team. On Saturday at Thomas Johnson High School, the senior at Tuscarora won her first county championship in a loaded weight class featuring two state medalists to help the Titans take the girls teams championship in the Frederick County Public Schools wrestling championships.

"It was amazing. I was looking forward to this," McDonald said. "I knew it was going to be hard in the finals. But my hard work paid off."

Facing Walkersville's Alexis Nicholas in the championship match at 120 pounds, McDonald was tenacious throughout, scoring a pair of hard-fought takedowns on her way to a 6-1 victory over the third-place finisher in the state at 115 pounds last season.

Tuscarora's Ella McDonald, right, defeated Alexis Nicolas in the 120-pound final during the county wrestling championships Saturday at Gov. Thomas Johnson High School.

Photos: 2025 Frederick County Wrestling Championships

Walkersville's Jack Birth upends Middletown's Henry Graham in the 157-pound weight class final Saturday during the County Championships at Gov. Thomas Johnson High School.

Tuscarora's Ella McDonald, right, defeated Alexis Nicolas in the 120-pound final during the county wrestling championships Saturday at Gov. Thomas Johnson High School.

McDonald improved to 29-0 this season. She wrestled most of the season at 125 pounds before dropping down to 120 for the county tournament.

Nicholas, meanwhile, had been wrestling boys for most of the season with great success, as her 22-7 record indicated coming into counties. In the semifinals, Nicholas earned an 11-6 victory over Frederick High's Annika Emshoff, a state finalist at 125 pounds last season.

"She is the real deal," Coates said. "But Ella wrestled an awesome match."

In the second installment of the FCPS girls wrestling championships, Tuscarora sent a wrestler to the finals in 10 of the 14 weight classes and crowned seven champions. The Titans finished with 193.5 points, 86.5 more than second-place Thomas Johnson, which sent six to the finals and crowned two champions.

"We've been very lucky to have a bunch of good, athletic girls that are real coachable," Coates said. "They are awesome."

While Tuscarora was dominating the girls tournament, the boys teams were spreading the wealth around on their mats.

All 10 FCPS schools sent at least one wrestler to the county finals, with seven of them sending multiple wrestlers. Eight different schools crowned at least one champion.

As it has all season, Middletown, the runner-up in the Class 1A state duals, led the way with seven county finalists. The Knights crowned three champions to match Brunswick for the most in the tournament and won the team championship with 192.5 points.

Linganore, the 3A state duals runner-up, was second with 129 after sending five to the finals and crowning a pair of champions.

Walkersville, which sent four to the finals and saw unbeaten senior captain Jack Birth win the county title at 157, was third with 110.5.

And Brunswick, which saw all three of its finalists come away with championships, was fourth with 110.

"The county as a whole is continuing to grow and catch up to everybody else," Middletown coach Chad Strube said. "Everybody knows Frederick County produces good, strong wrestlers. And I like where the county is going from here."

106 -- Evan Mullen (Brunswick) dec. Damian Duchez (Urbana), 1-0.

113 -- Josh Arthur (Linganore) pinned Liam Soe (Middletown), 5:36.

120 -- Calvin Smith (Middletown) maj. dec. Jayden Lassiter (Linganore), 10-0.

126 -- Brennan Considine (Linganore) maj. dec. Ryker Keeney (Middletown), 11-2.

132 -- Cooper Cammarata (Tuscarora) tech. fall Lincoln Zirk (Linganore), 2:58 (16-1).

138 -- Seth Crawford (Brunswick) maj. dec. Ashton Thompson (Catoctin), 12-2.

144 -- Alex DeVriendt (Middletown) maj. dec. Chase Wheeler (Tuscarora), 10-0.

150 -- Victor Guerra (Frederick) pinned Jacob Mostowski (Oakdale), 3:06.

157 -- Jack Birth (Walkersville) pinned Henry Graham (Middletown), 3:15.

165 -- Ian Tumi (Frederick) dec. Peyton Pickett (Linganore), 4-2.

175 -- Carter Canale (Middletown) maj. dec. Max Birth (Walkersville), 13-0.

190 -- Vince Corso (Urbana) dec. Gino Dolan (Walkersville), 5-0.

215 -- Brendan Hubbard (Thomas Johnson) maj. dec. Desean Butts (Middletown), 14-1.

285 -- Lane Riggleman (Brunswick) dec. Wyatt Weinrich (Walkersville), 1-0 OT.

100 -- Bella Signor (Oakdale) pinned Christiana Smith (Catoctin), 4:40.

105 -- Catherine Orndorff (Brunswick) dec. Dylan Bleignier-Baker (Urbana), 7-2.

110 -- Mikayla Chioye (Tuscarora) pinned Hadley Rice (Oakdale), 2:26.

115 -- Katherine Virgilio (Brunswick) pinned Nataly Bello (Thomas Johnson), 1:26.

120 -- Ella McDonald (Tuscarora) dec. Alexis Nicholas (Walkersville), 6-1.

125 -- Lillian Markoff (Tuscarora) pinned Gelin Cubias (Thomas Johnson), 3:29.

130 -- Akasha Fernandez (Linganore) pinned Alexcia McCalla (Tuscarora), 4:32.

135 -- Zaria Smith (Oakdale) pinned Cing Huai (Thomas Johnson), 4:34.

140 -- Aliya Conner (Tuscarora) pinned Lyla Ladd (Oakdale), :33.

145 -- Kristina Dorsey (Tuscarora) pinned Jennifer Diaz (Walkersville), 3:18.

155 -- Delaney Stupp (Tuscarora) pinned Yeslin Chavez (Thomas Johnson), 1:35.

170 -- Jilnae Davis (Tuscarora) pinned Saleema Kang (Walkersville), 1:08.

190 -- Nylah Obiezue (Thomas Johnson) pinned Kimora Udoye (Tuscarora), 3:22.

235 -- Julia Lyonga (Thomas Johnson) pinned Janelle Espinoza (Tuscarora), 2:26.