By MARIO AGUIRRE | STAFF WRITER
The Valley will be represented by 52 individuals, in addition to 32 alternates, when the UIL state championship gets under way Friday at Cypress.
The two-day event at the Berry Center (Cypress-Fairbanks ISD) will feature 21 Valley wrestlers from Class 6A (eight boys, 13 girls) and 31 from 5A (14 boys, 17 girls). As for the alternates, each class will have 16 individuals on hand, should other wrestlers earn disqualifications, generally by failing to make weight.
Rio Grande City qualified the biggest batch of any Valley program with 12 wrestlers (three alternates), nine from the girls team coming off a District 16-5A title and Region IV-5A championship. RGC became the Valley’s first girls wrestling team (and second Valley program ever) to win a regional wrestling title, even without a single first-place winner last week.
The boys team fared the same, with three third-place finishers and three others who came in fifth and will advance as alternates. The Rattlers also won the 16-5A boys title and finished fifth at regionals.
Alouette Gonzalez, who was one of three Valley wrestlers to place at state last year, will make a return trip to the competition. The 95-pound RGC wrestler came in third last year, and finished as the runner-up at regionals last week.
Grulla, which competes in Class 5A, came in sixth place in the boys division last week and will take three wrestlers to state, including one alternate. Victor Segura, who won the 113-pound weight division last week, and Jose Angel Zuniga (152) will represent the Gators.
Sharyland Pioneer, the ninth-best team at regionals last week, has Matthew Faucette (113) and Dominique Rodriguez (170) scheduled to compete Friday.
The Valley is most heavily represented in the girls 5A category, where it finished in the top three at regionals. Mission Veterans Memorial finished as runner-ups for a second year in a row, and Edinburg Vela placed third. Grulla came in 10th.
Klarissa Blanco, who won the 185-pound division at regionals, leads a Mission Veterans team that is taking two wrestlers and two alternates. Teammate Mariah Gonzalez, the runner-up in the 165 class, will also join her.
Edinburg Vela has five wrestlers (one alternate), led by Miranda Melchor, the 215 champion at regionals. Alexis Altamira (118, third place), Petra Felix (148, fourth place) and Aylin Salinas (185, third place) will also represent the Lady SaberCats.
La Joya Juarez-Lincoln will lead the Valley’s biggest 6A batch with six wrestlers and three alternates. The boys, which finished 12th at regionals (tops among Valley programs), are led by Pedro Perez (145) and Rene Beas (182). The Lady Huskies are led by Jesenia Gaytan, winner of the 215 class at regionals.
Leslie Oliva, who placed second at regionals in the 95-pound weight class, makes a return trip to state. Last year, the Juarez-Lincoln wrestler was the runner-up in her division, leading all Valley wrestlers.
Weslaco High, which led all Valley girls program at regionals by finishing sixth, qualified two wrestlers. Rulyanne Rodriguez (128) and Mariah Torres (110) won their respective weight classes.
McAllen High, the seventh-place team as regionals, qualified two wrestlers, including Emma Salazar (165, first place), and an alternate. Blythe Romero, who was the runner-up in the 138 division, will also go.
McAllen Memorial, the only other Valley girls team to finish in the top 10, will be represented by Amanda Alvarado, who beat Romero to win the 138 title.