McALLEN — The boys District 16-5A wrestling title was wrapped up before the finals started.
No team was going to catch the Sharyland Pioneer Diamondbacks, led by first-year head coach Caleb Alexander on Friday at McAllen High School.
Alexander comes with 15 years of experience of coaching wrestling in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. His Diamondbacks scored a total of 235.5 points to beat out Sharyland High’s 170 points and PSJA Memorial’s 134.5 points.
“We had some tough matchups,” Alexander said. “All of our opponents brought it. This is one of the toughest districts in South Texas, to be honest with you, 5A or 6A — this district can get nasty. We have to stay focused and train hard this week.”
An example of one of those matchups was the last one at 285. Diamondbacks senior Joel Garza only had thirty seconds to secure a point, and he did to secure a district title.
Mission Veterans Memorial’s Diego Cordero picked up the district title at 215 pounds by pinning Diamondbacks sophomore Cooper Woydziak in less than two minutes. Woydziak pinned Rio Grande City’s Aidan Stafford in the semifinals.
Sharyland Pioneer grabbed district titles from senior Michael Perales at 157 pounds, senior Cristian Ramos in the 144-pound weight class and at 113 pounds when sophomore Sebastian Contreras pulled out a 10-8 win.
“They wrestled awesome,” Alexander said. “I had a bunch of young kids step up and help us out, and the older kids wrestled tough. Anything those kids got, they earned it. I am very proud of them.”
Sharyland High’s Paolo Miranda, Alberto Mendoza and Aiden Baker all looked to be up for the task in their district finals matches.
Miranda faced a tough opponent in PSJA Memorial’s Erik Duran and held him without a point, winning 5-0 for the 126-pound title. Baker picked up a technical fall at 106 pounds, and Mendoza pinned his opponent for the 138-pound title.
Sharyland High freshman Nick Torres also claimed a title for the Rattlers. Torres picked up a 6-4 decision to win gold at 132 pounds.
Rio Grande City’s Greg Vela is now 44-1 on the season. The senior also had an easy day at the office with three pins in three matches. Vela is ranked No. 3 in the state in Class 5A at 150 pounds.
“So far, so good,” Vela said. “I have been feeling really dominant, but in reality the Valley is really nothing for us at this point. It is really going to come down to the region, and I am looking for a regional title.”
Pharr Vanguard Rembrandt’s Luis Nieto came up clutch at the end to pull out an 8-7 decision and win the 120-pound title. McAllen Memorial’s Joshua Romero also pulled out a close win. The senior had three straight pins before winning the 165-pound title 6-4.
La Joya Juarez-Lincoln’s Julian Navarro and PSJA Memorial’s Isacc Garza each dominated their weight classes. Navarro had four pins in four matches to secure the 190-pound title, and Garza had three in three, at 175 pounds.
The Region IV-5A tournament is set for Feb. 10-11 at Delco Activity Center in Austin.