DONNA — More than 40 high school wrestlers will represent the Rio Grande Valley at the UIL wrestling state tournament beginning Friday at the Berry Center in Cypress.
Sixteen wrestlers in each of the 10 girls and 14 boys weight divisions — the top four places from each of the four Texas regions — will battle on the mat for the opportunity to wrestle, and win, a state championship.
Five of those local wrestlers are Region IV champions. They include PSJA Memorial’s Abel Alvarado (22-1) in the Class 5A at 106 pounds, Donna North’s Monica Resendez (17-6) in the Class 6A at 95 pounds, McAllen Memorial’s Serenity De la Garza (36-5) in Class 6A at 138, and two other Class 5A representatives with Donna High’s Precious Hernandez (21-1) at 215 and La Joya Palmview’s Judith Rivas (38-4) at 165.
Rivas was not available for the photo shoot and interviews for this story.
Abel Alvarado, Sr.
PSJA Memorial
22-1; 106 pounds
Alvarado is making his second straight trip to the biggest tournament of the year. He finished second in last year’s district tournament.
“It feels amazing to win the regional; that was a big goal of mine.
“I knew he (Sharyland’s Alberto Mendoza) had been taking everyone out, so I really had to wrestle smart against him and not give him any chances.
“The biggest key for this year is my recovery. Last year I faced a lot of injuries and this year it was focusing more on my enduring and recovering the right way.”
On how he feels wrestling at 106 after wrestling at 113 most of the year: “It’s tiring, but I feel like I’m unbeatable now and the wrestlers who are ranked higher than me I saw them wrestle last year at state and I feel like I can compete with them. The key is just treating them like any other opponent.”
Precious Hernandez, Sr.
Donna High
21-1; 215 pounds
Hernandez defeated the top-ranked Region IV wrestler in the division, Sharyland Pioneer junior Camile Flores (28-4), just two weeks after Flores sent Hernandez to her only loss of the season in the district finals.
“She was without a doubt my most challenging opponent. She was second in the state and had already beaten me in the district final. In district I was really emotional. My best friend (Ozzy Guerra) had just dislocated his elbow in this match and this was going to be our year — me and him going to state — I wasn’t in it. I had been crying. My head wasn’t in the game and I took the loss.
“At regional I said she wasn’t going to take this from me so I took it to her and beat her. The difference was she didn’t have the opportunity to control me. I was in full control.
“It’s my third time to state and my best finish will hopefully be this year. Hopefully I can bring something back to my community.
“Last year I was in a different weight class, 185, and now this year at 215. It’s quite a stretch, but I felt like I could be more successful at this weight, so I went up.”
Serenity De la Garza, Freshman
McAllen Memorial
36-5; 138 pounds
De la Garza, a first-year wrestler who was convinced to wrestle by her uncle, has stormed onto the scene. She defeated four seniors in a row en route to the regional title and her first trip to the state championships.
“I didn’t have an idea to wrestle, my uncle gave me the idea and I tried it out and started to like it after a while.
“I started at 148 and the wrestlers were kind of slower and at 138 they were quicker and I liked moving quicker better. I think my strength gives me a little bit of an advantage. I like to watch the videos of my matches and see what the things are that I did wrong so I can improve on them, like my shots and drops.
“I really didn’t have any concerns about my match in the finals. I just had to think positive and go out there and give it whatever I had, and I did.
“I didn’t think I would make it this far, but I’ve worked hard to make it as far as possible. Once I placed first in regional I realized I was pretty good at this. When I saw my record the first time I was 18-0 and then went to San Antonio and was crying when I lost and Coach came up to me and said to get ready because I would see them at regionals and I saw them and fought back at them. I worked hard, thought positive. The first time I went to San Antonio I was scared. Now I feel I’m prepared.”
Monica Resendez, Sr.
Donna North
17-6; 95 pounds
Resendez is making her fist trip to state. She said she’s a bit nervous but is focusing on thinking positive. This is her third year in the Donna North wrestling program.
“This year, mentally I have a different mindset. I go in thinking positive and knowing I’m going to be the one coming out the winner. Physically I just kept attacking at regionals. They’d get back up and I’d bring them right back down.
“A perfect match for me would be shots and a pin. I was in it just to try it out and ended up liking it and staying. I originally joined because of my weight. I was a basketball player first and the wrestling coaches were asking me how much I weighed. I said 97 and they were like, ‘We need a girl in the 95-pound weight class. Take of your shoes and get on the mat.’
“I had no idea how to wrestle. They said, ‘Don’t worry, we’ll teach you.’ I got a win in my first match (against someone from rival Donna High) and I was hooked.”