Five Rio Grande Valley wrestlers kept their unbeaten seasons alive by winning their respective weight class Saturday during the UIL Region IV Class 5A and 6A tournaments.
Sharyland High’s Paolo Miranda (22-0) and Rio Grande City’s Rene Treviño (23-0) won their Class 5A title match in the 106pound and 126-pound classes, respectively, while Sharyland Pioneer’s Emily Treviño (23-0) and McAllen Memorial’s Serenity De La Garza (20-0) earned first place in the Class 5A girls 119 and 138 divisions, respectively. La Joya High senior Judith Rivas improved to 6-0 by winning the Class 6A regional crown at 185 pounds.
The tournaments were held Friday and Saturday, with Class 5A at the AISD Burger Activity Center in Austin while Class 6A at the Littleton Gymnasium in San Antonio.
Twenty-four area wrestlers finished in the top three of their respective weight classes to advance to the state tournament, from April 23-24, at the Berry Center in Cypress.
Miranda, a sophomore and the District 16-5Achampion, rolled through the competition in hisweight class, earning pins is all three matches.
He defeated Mark Libiran of Corpus Christi Veterans in the final with a fall at the 4:19 mark.
RGC’s Treviño, a senior and 16-5A champion, clinched the 126-pound class with a tight 4-3 decision over Uvalde’s Reynaldo Perez, the District 14-5A champion.
Pioneer’s Treviño pinned all three opponents she faced, winning the regional title with a fall in 4:56 over Corpus Christi King’s Sirena Hale in the final.
De La Garza, a sophomore and The Monitor’s Co-Newcomer Female Wrestler of the Year last year, won her second straight regional title at 138. She claimed a 15-3 major decision over Comal Canyon senior Alyssa Almanzar. De La Garza started her freshman year with an 18-0 record before losing her first and ended the year 40-7 for McAllen Memorial. De La Garza is 20-0 this year.
Also advancing from the girls Class 5A regional tournament were Rio Grande City’s Elizabeth Gonzales (Sr., 95 pounds), Sharyland High’s Andrea Rubio (Sr., 95), PSJA Southwest’s Graciela Reyes (Sr., 102), Sharyland Pioneer’s Alejandra Briere (Sr., 110); Valley View’s Dafne Aguilar (Sr., 119), McAllen High’s Mariana Bocanegra (Sr., 128), McAllen Memorial’s Ashton Burris (So., 185) and PSJA Memorial’s Lorena Torres (Jr., 185).
Advancing from the boys Class 5A regional tournament were Sharyland Pioneer’s Kenny Briere (Jr., 132), Sharyland High’s Noel Torres (Jr., 138) and Moses Rodriguez (Jr., 170) and PSJA Memorial’s Alberto Elizondo (Jr., 145).
Advancing from the girls Class 6A regional tournament were Edinburg Vela’s Danielle Silva (Fr., 110), PSJA High’s Priscilla Luevano (Sr., 138) and Jessica Villanueva (Jr., 165), and Edinburg North’s Ashley Sierra (Sr., 185).
Advancing from the boys Class 6A tournament were PSJA High’s Damian Aguilera (Jr., 106), Mission High’s Dante Lopez (Sr., 285) and Weslaco High’s Roman Saldaña (Jr., 285).