NATHANIEL MATA | SPECIAL TO THE MONITOR
Valley schools left their mark on Austin this past weekend during the CenTex tournament at the Delco Center. The Craig T Grace CenTex girls wrestling tournament had three valley schools place in the top five.
No team had more success than the La Joya Juarez-Lincoln girls. They returned home champions after finishing second at the tournament last year.
Huskies coach Bianca Palomin said her girls were determined to finish the job after coming close 12 months prior.
“This year, they worked harder, they pushed themselves, even through the pain. I do have some injured wrestlers,” Palomin said. “They said they wanted to win, and they wanted to keep wrestling. Overall, it was emotional, it was nerve wracking, and it was exciting.”
Juarez-Lincoln is reigning the District 16-6A champion, and the team is proving it is a contender to repeat.
Four Huskies placed in the top three in their weight class. The lone individual champion was Nancy Becerra, pinning Aldersea Reagan of Schertz Clemens to claim gold at 128 pounds.
Jesenia Gaytan also received a silver medal, losing to Weslaco East’s Melina Gonzalez at 215. Gaytan, a senior, was a champion in last year’s meet.
The Huskies’ Vanessa Doria came up one match short, falling in the championship match in the 102 division, while Diana Acuna finished in third place at 95.
ECONOMEDES’ 148-POUND TITLE THREAT
Edinburg Economedes’ Kassandra Castillo had a memorable season as a junior last year, placing second in her weight class at the UIL state meet. Her senior season has the chance to be special, marking her final chance to claim a state title.
She is ranked first among 148-pound wrestlers in Class 6A by WrestlingTexas.com. As a returning state finalists and the state’s top ranked wrestler, she finds it hard to ignore the pressure. That’s when Castillo leans on the support system around her.
“They make me work hard, especially since the pressure is on now for being ranked No. 1 in the state. They know that it means a lot to me, so they help me,” Castillo said. “Most of the time, it’s too much pressure. But like I said, my coaches, my family, my friends, they always manage to help me get my mind straight and just focus and have fun. All the nerves just go away after a while.”
Castillo won a statement match during the Snakebite Invitational when she pinned defending 5A state champion Adelyhda Perez of Uvalde. It was Perez’s first loss of 2016-17, Castillo, on the other hand, hasn’t lost since the state title match last year.
“Every match is going to be a struggle. You can’t underestimate anybody, neither can you overestimate anyone,” Castillo said after that championship match.
It will be a good motto to hold as she finishes a season as the top target in the state of Texas.
DUAL-SPORT STANDOUT
Rio Grande City’s Kassidy Ramirez was a prominent athlete on campus before wrestling. She and her twin sister have both earned honorable mention as all-Valley softball players. Athleticism runs in her blood, and as a junior last year she approached RGC coach Ronald Pratt about joining wrestling.
Pratt had to grapple with hesitant parents, who were wary of letting their daughter compete in a contact sport directly before softball season.
“I promised mom and dad that ‘We’re going to train them to avoid injury, and we’re going to do everything in our power, because we understand softball is her first sport,’” Pratt said.
The veteran Rattlers wrestling coach finally convinced Ramirez’s mother during a softball scrimmage. The 45-minute chat was the green light needed to create a star wrestler. From that point forward, Ramirez has been a force wrestling in the lightest girls division, 95 pounds.
Pratt praised the senior’s desire to learn and get better. He also highlighted her work with his new assistant, Sam Mangum, former two-time state champion at McHi.
“She’s extremely coachable. You tell her one time, and she’ll work it,” Pratt said. “If you have to tell her a second time, she’ll have it down. I think the addition of coach Sam Mangum helped. She really took to him. She takes a lot of pride in what she does, and she wants to be the best.”
In her second season, her record stands at 18-1. Her sole loss has come from a disqualification due to an illegal throw of an opponent.
Pratt has high hopes for Ramirez to become his second state champion, and first since Lisa Gonzalez won gold in 2013.
“If she continues to work at the pace she’s been working, and with the same attitude she’s got, I see nothing but a state championship in her future,” Pratt said.
She will attempt to ride the momentum of an exceptional senior season to try to reach the lofty goal. She could very well return the softball diamond with some extra hardware.