By STEFAN MODRICH, Staff Writer
LOS FRESNOS — The PSJA High girls came two weight classes shy of a clean sweep en route to winning the District 16-6A championship alongside the host Los Fresnos boys Friday at the Los Fresnos United dome.
“I was very happy with all of our wrestlers’ performances, especially our girls” PSJA High coach Joey Villanueva said. “We did the same thing last year. It’s all a credit to them, they put in the work. I just try to lead them their way, and they do what they do best.”
All but two seniors are expected to return to next year’s PSJA High squad, which featured gold medalists Karen Marroquin (102 pounds), Nayeli Hernandez (110), Teresa Solis (119), Priscilla Luevano (138) and Jessica Villanueva (185).
Villanueva was named District 16-6A coach of the year, alongside his counterpart in the boys division, Los Fresnos coach Kevin Nguyen.
“I’m very happy and excited for all the kids who placed,” Nguyen said. “We qualified the entire boys team to regionals, and the entire girls team qualified as well.”
The Los Fresnos boys were led by Roman Rodriguez (120), who improved to 23-1 with his victory by pinfall over PSJA High’s Maximiliano Barrera in 3:31.
“It was a little more strategic, but I had to be a little more aggressive, too,” Rodriguez said of his final match. “(Barrera) is a shooter, he goes for the legs a lot, so I would have to scramble out of it.”
Thiago Almieda (106) won one of the closest matches of the day in the final round, edging San Benito’s Ismael Lerma by a score of 12-11 and recording a fall in 1:30.
Other winners for the Falcons were Fabian Sosa (126), Ahram Solis (145), Noah Trevino (160), Sam Hernandez (195) and Leeroy Guerrero (220).
The Lady Falcons’ Karen Waters (215) clinched a regional berth with a 32-second pinfall victory over Dulce Perez of Donna North.
“I used the technique I always use,” Waters said. “I just had a lot more drive towards it. … I was ready for that district title. I put a little more effort in it, and I wanted to win.”
The San Benito Lady Hounds were led by Yamilex Perez (165), whose overall record now stands at 21-2. Perez beat PSJA High’s Arlette Recio to qualify for the regional meet.
“I was really proud of the amount of effort I was putting into everything,” Perez said. “I’m really excited for next week for (the regional meet).”
The Class 6A regional meet is scheduled to take place Feb. 14-15 at Littleton Gymnasium in San Antonio.