By MARIO AGUIRRE | STAFF WRITER
The Region IV-5A and 6A wrestling meets get under way today in Austin and San Antonio, respectively, with Rio Grande City and La Joya Juarez-Lincoln taking the largest number of competitors from the Valley.
Rio Grande City, which won the boys and girls District 16-5A championship last week, is sending 19 wrestlers, including 13 boys, for the two-day competition. Juarez-Lincoln’s boys, which won the 16-6A meet last week, make up a large portion (9 of 13) of the wrestlers the program is sending today.
RGC has six wrestlers (three boys, three girls) who won their respective weight classes last week and will lead their respective group. Rupert Bautista (126-pound weight class, 37-12 season record), Michael Garcia (160, 12-7) and Manny Gonzalez (195, 30-4) headline the boys. Alouette Gonzalez (95, 33-0), Lizbette Lara (119, 21-12) and Mabel Villarreal (148, 19-6) anchor the girls.
Juarez-Lincoln features district winners Edgar Delgado (220, 27-0), Andres Gonzalez (160, 19-1), Rene Loredo (195, 24-2) and Esequiel Rodriguez (145, 27-2) from a boys team that won its second consecutive district title last weekend and their fifth in the last eight years.
McAllen Rowe and Weslaco High qualified the second-biggest batch among 6A teams with nine wrestlers apiece.
Francisco Tirado, who holds a 26-2 record this season after winning the 120-pound title at district, leads a Rowe boys team consisting of seven wrestlers. Teammate Zachery Pelshaw, who crowned in the 285 class, looks to improve on his 21-7 mark.
Weslaco has five girls in the fold from its district-title winning team, featuring Mariah Torres (110, 25-0), Rulyanne Rodriguez (119, 31-4) and Vanessa Ibarra (148, 32-0).
PSJA North and La Joya Palmview qualified eight wrestlers each. La Joya High, McAllen Memorial and PSJA Memorial are sending seven apiece to the regional tournament. And McAllen High and San Benito have six each.
Edinburg High (5), Weslaco East (5), Edinburg North (3), Edinburg Economedes (3) and Mission High (1) will also be represented.
In 5A, Sharyland High and Grulla are taking the biggest group outside of RGC with 11 apiece. Sharyland has nine boys from its team that finish second at district, featuring 16-5A championships Luis Hinojosa (120, 40-1), Ruy Troche (145, 42-2) and David Rodriguez (285, 40-1), and Ana Palido (165, 19-7) on the girls side.
Grulla has more balance with six girls and five boys. The Lady Gators finished third at district, while their male counterparts came in fifth place. Grulla’s Safira Perez (102, 14-2) and Yasmin Flores (138, 17-3) lead the girls side, while Victor Segura (113, 38-0), Leo Tanguma (132, 14-3) and Angel Zuniga (152, 24-4) look to pace the boys.
Edinburg Vela and PSJA High are sending 10 wrestlers each. Mission Veterans qualified nine, including five girls. And Sharyland Pioneer, in only its first year, has eight, all of those boys.
Donna North (4), PSJA Southwest (2), Donna High (1) and Roma (1) will also be represented.