McALLEN — For many of the top girls wrestlers in District 16-5A, the district meet is not even a bump in the road.
The road to the Region IV-5A meet was smooth and freshly paved when they hit the mats Thursday and Friday at McAllen High School.
McAllen Memorial’s Serenity De La Garza, a state champion in 2022, cruised to her district title at 138 pounds. The state champ only needed 16 seconds in her semifinal match and picked technical fall to win the championship.
“It was OK,” she said. “There is not a lot of people in my weight class.”
McAllen Memorial’s Eternity De La Garza agreed with her sister about the competition in the weight class. The Mustangs’ wrestlers are on a different level, and it showed Friday. Eternity De La Garza won her two matches by pin to take the 165-pound title.
“I expected more out of it,” she said.
The senior wanted another match or two, she added. The state runner-up in 2022 was happy with her final opponent, a state qualifier like herself.
“That match helped me a lot, she was strong and knew what she was doing,” Eternity De La Garza said.
McAllen High’s Bronwyn Sadlier finished all three of her matches with pins — nobody made it past a minute against Sadlier. The sophomore had ice on her ankle after wrestling with a sprain that she sustained a week ago.
Sadlier had to use her non-dominant side, one of the reasons she moved in for the kill early, she said.
“I want to get off of it as soon as possible for region,” she said.
La Joya Juarez-Lincoln’s Brooklyn Garza is another wrestler with her eyes on the regional and state meets. The senior is 37-0 and picked up three pins in three matches in McAllen.
“So far I think I have improved really well, a lot, since summer,” she said.
Garza made it to state as an alternate in 2022. The 126-pound senior said it was frustrating being there but not being able to wrestle. Garza’s teammate Yamilex Hernandez, also a senior, picked up a district title at 185.
La Joya Palmview’s Yvette Rojas took home the 235-pound title, Sharyland High’s Yarisbeth Zarate won at 152 pounds and McAllen High’s Kara Hidalgo won with three pins at 132.
The district title was decided in the lower weight classes.
The PSJA Memorial girls edged out McAllen Memorial 148 to 143.5, with McAllen High in a close third at 140 points.
The Wolverines that played a pivotal role are senior Valerie Arellano at 100 pounds, 114-pound senior Mia Lozano and junior Naomi Moreno at 120 pounds. All won district titles.
Rio Grande City’s Vivien Canales broke up the sweep of the first four weight classes by beating sophomore Saria Osuna in the 107-pound weight class.
“Hard work pays off,” PSJA Memorial wrestling head coach Tomas Moreno said about the girls winning the district title. “I know that sounds cliche, but that is what it is. A lot of them have big dreams, and we are just trying to help them achieve them.”
The Region IV-5A wrestling meet is set for Feb. 10-11 at the Delco Activity Center in Austin.