Tascosa’s Mya Engert found herself in the middle of the zeitgest at the University Interscholastic League state wrestling meet Friday afternoon.

Engert’s state quarterfinal match in the Class 6A 110-pound division came against Euless Trinity’s Mack Beggs, a transgender male who has been undergoing testosterone therapy for more than a year.

Beggs was born female and thus, due to a UIL policy that requires athletes to compete as the sex on their birth certificate, was forced to compete as a girl, despite widespread criticism of the policy and even a lawsuit.

Engert "fought hard," in the words of Tascosa head coach Joe Stafford, in her match against the higher-seeded and heavily-favored Beggs. She fell by a 12-4 final despite trailing just 2-0 after two rounds. Stafford added that he "couldn’t have asked for much more" from Engert’s performance and expects her to be a "state title contender" in 2017.

It was Beggs’ second win of the afternoon. It pushed the junior’s record to 54-0. He will face Grand Prairie’s Kailyn Gray (27-14) in a state semifinal match on Saturday.

One side of the mat was lined with onlookers and cameras during the match between Engert and Beggs. Both wrestlers and their coaching staffs quickly left the area at the conclusion, amidst a mixture of cheers and boos from the crowd.

The contentious atmosphere quickly died down, however, and the subsequent matches proceeded without incident.

Beggs’ story has drawn nationwide media attention, as The Washington Post, Forbes, the Chicago Tribune, the Houston Chronicle and numerous other outlets published stories about him in the days leading up to the UIL state wrestling meet at the Berry Center in Cypress.

His run to a possible undefeated state title comes at a particular moment in history in which transgender rights are a hot-button issue.

In an interview with The Dallas Morning News, Beggs’ family expressed their preference for having their son compete with the boys.

Yet the current UIL rules simply don’t allow it.

When asked about what steps he felt the UIL should take to address the reality of transgender athletes, Stafford was hesitant to point fingers.

"I don’t feel like it’s my position to make those calls," he said. "I’ve read the rules and the UIL is in the process of figuring out the right thing to do. It’s not something that’s going to be solved overnight. It’s going to take a lot of people working together to come to a reasonable solution."

"I have no doubt it will get solved," he added. "It’s just going to take some time. This is all still very new."

The UIL state wrestling meet continues in Cypress today with the action kicking off at 8:30 a.m. and concluding with championship matches at 4:30 p.m.