McALLEN — Omar Aguinaga was a bit shocked. The defending 195-pound Region IV Class 6A champion had almost seen defeat — something he hadn’t done all season, hadn’t even come close.
Here he was, though, in his first match back from a shoulder injury, and he needed triple overtime to keep his unbeaten streak alive.
While the shoulder was a concern, his conditioning is what worried him the most.
“I was really tired,” the McAllen Rowe senior said. “I immediately started working on condition right after that.”
Now, he hopes the giant that was awoken has prepared enough to defend his title as the UIL wrestling regionals take place beginning Friday. Four different Class 6A districts — 13, 14, 15 and 16 — will converge at the Blossom Athletic Center in San Antonio to decide who will compete for a state championship.
The defending regional champ is different than the junior who won the title last year.
“He is the epitome of experience; there’s nothing new to him,” said first-year McAllen Rowe coach Jeff Moubray. “He’s gone through everything. He’s seen everything. And this year he’s a lot more confident. Last year, I think he was surprised he won regionals. This year, he’s going in with the expectation that it’s going to happen.”
Aguinaga agrees that in the past year, he’s become a different wrestler, a better one.
“I’m a lot smarter, and for sure strong and have more technique with our new coach,” the 22-0 grappler said. “I’m pretty confident in what I can accomplish and hopefully that’s a trip to state again.”
Aguinaga hurt his shoulder in a freak accident at school when a pipe fell and he reached out to grab the falling object. However, it was much heavier than he anticipated, and it pulled hard on his shoulder. He sat for a month.
“That was horrible,” he said. “The time off gave me some time to reflect on the little mistakes I would make, and how I would make them and how to better myself in those positions.
“But it was hard watching my teammates getting their hands raised while all I could do was sit during my senior year.”
If there’s one attribute that his coach praises, however, it’s his wrestler’s demeanor. He’s calm and extremely patient.
“He is always in the right position. If he’s going for a takedown, he doesn’t get out of position,” Moubray said. “If someone shoots in on him he, doesn’t get out of positions. He will work the hold that he’s using, and his takedowns are good takedowns.”
Based on the brackets, Aguinaga will likely face Nathan Alvarez in the semifinals. Alvarez went 37-1 for San Antonio Churchill this season and won the regional title last year at 182 pounds. The two are the top-ranked wrestlers in the region, with Alvarez ranked fourth by the UIL in the state and Aguinaga ranked fifth.
“We’ve watched him wrestle on YouTube, and obviously he’s a good wrestler,” Moubray said. “The weight class is a little skewed, because on paper these are your two best and they will face each other in the semis. The brackets may change or they may not. We will just wait and see.”
McAllen Rowe is bringing seven boys and four girls to the regionals. Because two of the four districts were from the Rio Grande Valley, both in the boys and girls districts, nearly half are Valley wrestlers looking to punch their ticket to the biggest mat of the season, the state tournament.
“I had a pretty good idea that Omar wouldn’t have trouble here, and he didn’t. But we wanted to push him for where he was going,” Moubray said. “We were always talking about going against real good wrestlers, countering their counters in regionals and state. He’s going to have to go a little deeper into that bag of tricks, and he’s been working on them from Day 1.”