CYPRESS — On a frenzied day for the program as a whole, Sharyland Pioneer senior Angel Avila picked up two big wins and stormed into the state semifinals in the 126-pound division on Day 1 of the 2020 University Interscholastic League’s State Wrestling Championship on Friday at the Berry Center in Cypress.
Avila, the sixth-ranked wrestler in his weight class per WrestlingTexas.com, improved his overall record to 45-6 with his pair of victories: one quick and decisive, the other grueling and slow.
The Diamondbacks’ 126-pound star dominated his opening round opponent, Lancaster’s Jaden Machado (25-9) and pinned him in under a minute. Avila ran into his first test of the day in the quarterfinals with an intense duel against Katy Paetow’s John Abney.
Avila went the distance with Abney, but controlled the match throughout and emerged with a 9-5 decision.
“I’ve seen a kid that really wants it. I’ve seen a kid that is going to find a way to win, no matter what happens,” Sharyland Pioneer head coach Richard Eckley said. “He took some losses this year and there was never an excuse. There was never ever ‘Something went wrong blah blah blah.’ It was more like ‘All right that didn’t go well. Let’s go to the next one.’ He would get his butt kicked by a kid and say ‘Good match, thank you,’ because he wants to learn from it because he’s a competitor.”
Avila, the Valley’s lone wrestler still with a shot at a boys state title, was one of seven Diamondbacks who qualified and competed for the state championships, more than any other Rio Grande Valley program.
He’s also just one of a trio of Pioneer wrestlers to advance into Day 2 of competition alongside Ethan Garza (220) and Emily Trevino (119).
“It’s incredibly satisfying. When we came back from austin last week after we qualified all the kids, it was like head in the clouds time,” Eckley said. “If you had told me two months ago and especially not six months ago if you told me this is how we’d be ending our season, I would’ve called you a liar. I knew we had some talent, a good formula and some young kids coming in. The kids have done an amazing job.”
Donna High’s Precious Hernandez (25-1), also powered her way into the 5A girls semifinals with a pair of dominant performances to kick off her run at a state title.
Hernandez, the regional champion in the 215-pound division, manhandled her first round opponent from Dallas Wilmer-Hutchins by securing the victory with a pin just 1:59 into the bout. She improved in her second round match, dropping her opponent from Richmond Foster in a mere 1:32.
“It’s really exciting, especially for someone like me or someone Hispanic or someone from the Valley,” Hernandez said. “It doesn’t happen at all there. I just really want to make my community proud and my school.”
Hernandez will wrestle against Northwest’s Autumn Bradley (42-8), the Region II champion, at 10:30 a.m. today. Should she win her semifinal bout, Hernandez will become the first girls heavyweight wrestler from the Rio Grande Valley in history to compete in a state championship match.
Several 5A wrestlers on both the boys and girls sides were taken out in the early going.
In the boys 5A championship, that included Sharyland High’s Alberto Mendoza (106), PSJA Memorial’s Alberto Elizondo (120), Vanguard Academy’s Noel Torres (126), Rio Grande City’s Rene Trevino (132), Sharyland Pioneer’s Daniel Huerta (145), and Edcouch-Elsa’s Joel Garza (170) and Bobby Gonzalez (285), who were all eliminated in round two of their matches.
For the girls, Sharyland Pioneer’s Vanessa Ramirez (138), La Joya Palmview’s Judith Rivas (165) and PSJA Memorial’s Lorena Torres (185) all experienced similar early exits.
UIL rules state that after suffering their second defeat at the state championships, wrestlers are eliminated from the remainder of the competition.