BY NATHANIEL MATA | SPECIAL TO THE MONITOR
Valley wrestling put in strong performances over the weekend during the Class 6A and 5A Region IV tournaments.
The RGV will again send 50 wrestlers, along with 12 alternates, to the state tournament next weekend in Cypress.
Nine Valley girls advanced to finals during the 6A regional tournament at San Antonio’s Blossom Athletic Center.
La Joya Juarez-Lincoln’s girls were the Valley’s highest-finishing team. For a third consecutive season, the Huskies finished runner-up at the regional tournament. Juarez-Lincoln had 94 points — one point behind San Antonio Johnson’s 95.
In an all-Valley matchup and rematch of the district tournament at 215, Jesenia Gaytan got a quick win against Keyla Gutierrez of La Joya Palmview.
Gaytan, a senior, drew from experience in the victory over the familiar foe.
“I used what I knew about what she would do to my advantage, and that’s how I was able to get a pin in the first round,” Gaytan said. “I believe we work harder than any other school has, and we put more heart into it.”
Huskies coach Bianca Palomin was named outstanding coach of the regional tournament. She pointed that accolade to her teams.
“It makes me feel that, finally, my work is being shown on my wrestlers,” Palomin, in her second stint leading the Huskies, said. “I work the girls and put them in situations they’re going to face, and also knowing how competitive these other girls are, I have to push them a notch harder so they can be at competition level.”
There was another all-Valley final early in the day. At 102, Weslaco’s Melissa Ibarra pinned Juarez-Lincoln’s Vanessa Doria. The Panthers lightweight defended her district championship from a weekend ago.
Juarez-Lincoln’s Nancy Becerra also finished the day a silver medalists in 128 after she had to withdraw due to injury in the championship match against Erin McAlpin of San Antonio Johnson. Palomin said with a week of rest, Becerra will be back to full strength.
In the 165 class, PSJA North’s Lauren Segovia won gold with a pin 2:49 into her match against Zharia Harris of Killeen.
McAllen Memorial’s district champion at 148, Amanda Alvarado, reached the regional final but was knocked off by New Braunfels’s Leilani Vital.
The lone 6A boys champion was Mission’s Guadalupe Rodriguez at 138, holding off Robert Hall from Killeen Shoemaker.
Rodriguez was named male outstanding wrestler of the tournament. The Eagles senior placed 6th at regionals a season ago. His work since then has focused on the technical aspect of the sport.
“I learned just to wrestle smart, not just hard. I learned you don’t really need to overpower someone, it’s more technique,” Rodriguez said. “It was a tough battle, the one-point difference, that’s all it was. I knew that I worked harder and I wanted the regional champ spot. I wasn’t going to give up my spot as regional champ for one point.”
Mission coach David Mann said determination is paramount against tougher competition.
“At the regional and state level, everybody’s got talent,” Mann said. “It’s about who wants it more and who’s going to work harder for it more. … Who’s going to push when they’re down by a point with 30 seconds or not give up a point when they’re up one.”
The Delco Activity Center in Austin was the site for the 5A tournament, where Rio Grande City headlined the action.
Coach Ronald Pratt’s team advanced nine wrestlers to state, including four who will move on as regional champions. RGC’s girls finished second as a team, just 2.5 points behind Corpus Christi Veterans. The boys finished in fourth.
The Rattlers’ Kassidy Ramirez won a regional title 95 pounds. Ramirez took gold via 9-1 decision.
Sophomore Elias Sanchez continued his impressive career, winning a regional title in just his second high school season.
Rupert Baustia, at 132, bounced back from a district championship loss against Sharyland’s Joseth Suarez to win the regional title. The duo have met at three consecutive meets. Baustia’s 3-2 win by decision was the first win for the Rio senior.
Heavyweight Alejandro Islas was Rio’s final champion. He improved from a third-place regional finish a season ago to win gold as a senior.
Pratt admitted it stung a bit to not win a third straight district title, but he knew his team had higher goals this year.
“I like to game plan like a year in advance. … We decided we needed to peak at the regional tournament,” Pratt said. “A lot of teams peak for district. When we break out, we always break to ‘state champs,’ and that’s what we want to shoot for.”
Sharyland Pioneer’s 106, Diego Serna, won a regional title in an all-Valley matchup. Serna, the District 16-5A champion, beat Grulla’s Ivan Ozuna in a rematch of last week’s district championship.
Both 5A and 6A wrestlers will compete at the state tournament on Friday and Saturday in Cypress.
VALLEY-WRESTLING STATE QUALIFIERS & ALTERNATES
Class 6A
(weight class)
Edinburg High
Nathan Marez, Sr., 3rd place (160)
Edinburg Economedes
Kassandra Castillo, Sr., 3rd place (148)
Brenda Caballero, Sr., 5th place (185)*
Edinburg North
Dillion Toavalu, Sr., 3rd place (195)
Ruth Coutcher, Jr, 5th place (102)*
Ruth Santana, Sr., 3rd place (165)
Edinburg Vela
Robby Silva, So., 5th place (132)*
Alberto Alcala, Jr., 5th place (182)
Mike Mendez, Sr., 4th place (195)
Alexis Atlamira, Sr., 3rd place (110)
La Joya High
Rosie Ramirez, Sr., 3rd place (119)
Steffany Rosas, Sr., Runner-up (185)
L.J. Juarez-Lincoln
Leonardo Mendez, 4th place (138)
Ricardo Villegas, Sr., Runner-up (145)
Diana Acuna, Sr., 5th place (195)*
Nancy Becerra, Sr., Runner-up (128)
Jesenia Gaytan, Sr., Regional Champion (215)
L.J. Palmview
Keyla Gutierrez, Sr., Runner-up (215)
McAllen High
Serena Cervantes, Jr., 3rd place (128)
Blythe Romero, Sr., Runner-up (138)
McAllen Memorial
Misty Prado, Sr., 4th place (119)
Amanda Alvarado, Sr., Runner-up (148)
McAllen Rowe
Alejandra Hernandez, Jr., 5th place (138)*
Mission High
Guadalupe Rodriguez, Sr., Regional Champion (138)
Manuel Vega, Sr., Runner-up (160)
PSJA High
Jaden Trevino, Jr., 5th place (106)*
Raul Vargas, Jr., 4th place (120)
Edison Brooks, Sr., 3rd place (152)
PSJA Memorial
Mireya Sanchez, Sr., 4th place (185)
PSJA North
Lauren Segovia, Sr., 1st place (165)
Weslaco High
Manilio Medellin, Jr., 5th place (120)*
Chris Garcia, Jr., 5th place (145)*
Caleb Muinz, Jr., 4th place (152)
Melissa Ibarra, Jr., Regional Champion (102)
Weslaco East
Melina Gonzalez, Sr., 3rd place (215)
Class 5A
(weight class)
Donna High
Aime Velasquez, So., 4th place (110)
Donna North
Marcos Gonzalez, So., 5th place (138)*
Luis Costilla, Sr., 5th place* (220)
Esmeralda Meza, So., 3rd place (102)
Grulla
Ivan Ozuna, Jr., Runner-up (106)
Mario Marroquin, Sr., Runner-up (182)
Jaylyn Trevino, So., 4th place (102)
Jasmine Perez, Sr., Runner-up (110)
Carolyn Villarreal, So., 4th place (119)
Rio Grande City
Elias Sanchez, So., Regional Champion (113)
Rupert Baustia, Sr., Regional Champion (132)
Alonso Berrones, Sr., Runner-up (145)
Alejandro Islas, Sr., Regional Champion (285)
Kassidy Ramirez, Sr., Regional Champion (95)
Lizbette Lara, Jr., Runner-up (119)
Alexandria Espinoza, Sr., 5th place (128)*
Jythssel Mascorro, Sr., 3rd place (165)
Graciela Toscano, Jr., 4th place (185)
Sharyland High
Abraham Flores, Sr., Runner-up (113)
Juan Colegio, Jr., Runner-up (126)
Joseth Suarez, Sr., Runner-up (132)
Sharyland Pioneer
Diego Serna, So. Regional Champion (106)
Brandon Pritchard, Jr. Runner-up (152)
Dominique Rodriguez, Jr., 3rd place (182)
Mia Padilla., Fr, 4th place (138)
Lisaannette Calderon, Fr., 5th (148)*
Roma
Elder Manual, Jr., 5th place (195)*
Liana Garcia, Sr., 5th place (185)*
*Denotes state alternate