McALLEN — Sharyland High’s Alberto Mendoza had a look of determination and a black eye on his face Thursday at the District 16-5A wrestling meet at McAllen High School.
Mendoza’s 42nd win of the season, and only match of the day, put the senior into the semifinals of the District 16-5A meet today at McAllen High School. Mendoza won by securing a pin in four minutes and 26 seconds.
Mendoza, a district champion at 126 pounds in 2022, is wrestling at 138 pounds this season. If Mendoza beats Roma’s Kasiel Anguiano, he is slated to face either PSJA Memorial’s Juan Escobedo or McAllen Rowe’s Brandon Davis in the finals.
Escobedo is 27-1.
“I am pretty confident,” Mendoza said. “I have been practicing every day for this moment.”
Mendoza, a state qualifier in 2022, is ranked No. 2 in state and is proud of his season so far, he said.
“He is one of the best kids I have ever coached, if not the best,” Sharyland High head wrestling coach Sam Mangum said. “He is tough, coming in ranked second in state, he is doing great.”
The Rattlers are trailing the Sharyland Pioneer Diamondbacks in the race for the district title. Sharyland Pioneer has 94.5 points, Sharyland High has 76 points and La Joya Juarez-Lincoln is third with 69 points.
“We just got to come out (today) and win some of those semifinal matches,” Mangum said.
A possible match that could have points on the line between the two schools in Sharyland is in the 132-pound weight class. Rattlers freshman Nicholas Torres had two pins inside a minute to advance to the semifinals.
Torres has to beat Rio Grande City’s Aiden Valdovinos. and Sharyland Pioneer’s Noah Ramos needs to beat La Joya Juarez-Lincoln’s Alfonso Zamudio Lopez to set up the meeting.
Spectators do not have to wait for the finals to catch a Sharyland duel. Sharyland Pioneer’s Michael Perales and Sharyland High’s Isaac Carrasco meet in the semifinals at 157 pounds.
Third-place La Joya Juarez-Lincoln has a few wrestlers in the semifinals, including returning state qualifier Julian Navarro. The senior wrestles PSJA North’s Seth Zepeda at 190 pounds in the semifinals, after both wrestlers picked up two pins Thursday.
“I felt pretty good after cutting weight,” Navarro said. “Not too nervous or anything like that. Just cool, calm and collected.”
Navarro wants to leave a legacy at the program, he said. There are plenty of other wrestlers on the mats at McHi also looking to leave behind legacies.
Rio Grande City’s Aiden Stafford at 215 pounds and Greg Vela at 150 picked up a pin each. The pair are highly ranked in state and have more than 40 wins on the season.
PSJA Memorial’s Isacc Garza, at 175, has only one loss on the season. His teammate, Erick Duran, does not have a loss, and if he and Sharyland High’s Paolo Miranda win their semifinal matches, they could meet up in a possible thrilling championship match at 126.
Roma’s Eleazar Gutierrez at 144 pounds and Sharyland Pioneer’s Sebastian Contreras at 113 pounds are also wrestlers to watch today at McAllen High School. The wrestlers are scheduled to weigh in at 9 a.m. today.