McALLEN — Mission Veterans wrestling head coach Ben Yzaguirre has 12 wrestlers who will contend for individual wrestling supremacy today at the Holiday Havoc wrestling tournament.
Mission Veterans is one of 17 teams participating at the all-day tournament held at McAllen Rowe High school. Schools from as far as Austin and San Antonio are also expected to participate.
Edinburg North senior Eva Cerda is coming into the tournament fresh off going undefeated at the district dual tournament held Nov. 23 at Edinburg North, where she went 4-0 in her weight class. Cerda is a four-year letterman and helped lift the Cougars girl wrestling team to a 15-6A district title last year on her way to a state appearance.
“She is so strong,” Edinburg North head coach Rene Garcia said. “She has done an incredible job since entering the sport as a freshman.”
Wrestlers score two points on takedowns, one point for an escape, two points for a reversal and two or three points for near fall when a opponent is almost but not quite pinned.
Matches are projected to begin by 9 a.m. after all the participants are weighed in. The championship rounds will take place later in the afternoon.
Wrestlers from across the Valley ranked in the top 20 in the state from a majority of weight classes are expected to compete.
“We are getting them ready for the district tournament,” Yzaguirre said. “The best part of this sport is you build a camaraderie with kids from other schools.”
Three of Yzaguirre’s wrestlers are coming back this year after a trip to the regional tournament last year in San Antonio representing District 15-5A. They are Vianna Dominguez, Mia Sanchez and Leeroy Villanueva.
Sanchez, a senior, is returning to wrestle for Mission Veterans in the 148 weight class.
Dominguez, a junior, had a successful sophomore campaign competing in the 185 weight class last season.
And Villanueva reached the regional tournament as a freshman under Yzaguirre’s guidance.
“We are expecting good things from them this year,” Yzaguirre said. “We are wrestling to get better and that’s all we can ask for from our wrestlers.”
This is a first time wrestling event hosted by McAllen Memorial and McAllen Rowe.
Next year, the event is expected to be held outdoors at the McAllen football stadium in effort to bring more attention to the sport.
“You have to have a lot of endurance, a lot of flexibility and knowledge of three to six moves to win,” Yzaguirre said.
Yzaguirre has been coaching wrestling at Mission Veterans over the last 17 years.
Due to the increase of mixed martial arts, he has seen more wrestlers enter the sport, but also said it’s a tough sport to recruit high school athletes to join.
“It’s taken the Valley many years to get where we are today,” Yzaguirre said. “Before, you never saw wrestlers reach state and now more and more wrestlers are competing at a high level.”