It was a good year for Houston wrestling. Congratulations to the 2007 UIL State Champs Cinco Ranch. It was a gutsy team effort lead by outstanding performances by 2X State Champs Jamie Sheets and Matt Harris. I was impressed and I appreciate the great strides being made by Houston wrestling.

But let’s not delude ourselves. There is no parity between Houston and Dallas wrestling. That is still years away if it arrives at all. In what is rightfully regarded as an “up” year for Houston (in fact their best ever) and a “down” year for Dallas, five (5) State Champs hail from Houston compared to nine (9) State Champs from Dallas (the other was San Antonio’s Jimmy Petersen). Only one Houston State Champ, Erik Spjut, returns. Eric Simons, Danny Luttrell, Jeremy Sandoval, and Austin Cordova from Dallas all return for the 2007-08 campaign.

And let’s not forget a couple of small private school programs in Dallas that are not allowed to compete for UIL Honors – Bishop Lynch and St. Mark’s. Had they competed BL would have won the State team title and Luke Silver, Luke Ashmore, Johnny Koepp, Ben Grisz and perhaps a few others would have been prohibitive favorites for individual titles.

But that was then and this is now. A review of the Czar’s preseason rankings has 12 Dallas wrestlers ranked #1 to only two from Houston. JR’s top ten dual teams include eight Dallas teams and only one from Houston. Still last year was a watershed year for Houston and we in Dallas welcome the competition. The great thing about this sport is respect is earned on the mat not from a website.

Preview of 2007-08

Dallas Power Ratings
1. Bishop Lynch
2. Lake Highlands
3. Rockwall
4. St. Mark’s
5. Highland Park
6. Arlington Bowie
7. (tie) Coppell, Plano West and Euless Trinity

Bishop Lynch
I believe this will be BL’s strongest line-up top to bottom ever. The program has had superstars for the past 5 years but never depth making BL a tough as nails tournament team but a weakling in dual meets. All that changes this year. JR has already done the definitive preview on BL.

Lake Highlands
This pick might appear to be a stretch to some. But I say watch out for LH this year. They are an experienced senior-laden team led by State Champ Austin Cordova and 5th place finisher Josh Marx. Last year was shaping up to be very successful when LH was crippled by season ending injuries to four top wrestlers. All four are back and healthy. In addition to Cordova and Marx, look for strong performance and possible state births for Greg Mitchell (112/119), Luis Granados (119/125), Isaac Kinsella (125/130), Isaac Grieder (140/145), Zac Atkins (160), Charles Sheperd (171), Eric Guzman (180) and Nick White (285). If they stay healthy they should be able to compete with anyone.

Rockwall
This team is loaded at the lighter weights but there is a lot of inexperience at the upper weights. I suspect some of the upper weights will be tough kids and good wrestlers but in looking at the roster they are unknowns. But The Rock will have its version of murders’ row in the lower weights. From 112-125 Rockwall will run out some combination of Stephen Wurster (4th in State), Alex Cihak (State Qualifier) and Roderick Gaines (State Runner-up). Following at 130 and 135 are district champs Chris Carter and Erick Beitez and State Qualifier Austin Barnes.

St. Mark’s
This could be St. Mark’s best team in the last few years. And that is saying something since last year’s version was tough enough to take down any number of good UIL schools. All-world Ben Grisz is back for his senior season at 189/215. A Texan defeating Grisz would be on par with Appalachian State over Michigan. Also back are stand-outs David Henry (152) and Scott Hage (171). The rest of the line-up is full of returning starters including Eric Frick (125/130), Avi Chavda (135), Bill Sessions (140), Conner Youngblood (145), Jorge Estrada (180/189) and Ike Crews (215/285).

Highland Park
Coach Warren has some big shoes to fill. He takes over the most successful program in UIL wrestling history. Inexplicably after winning yet another Dual State Championship few predicted HP to contend for a UIL title. Yet they vanquished everybody save Cinco Ranch in the most exciting team race in UIL history that ended in a tie (with the Championship later awarded outright to CR for an eligibility violation). There is little reason to doubt HP won’t compete again at the highest level in 2007-2008. Unlike years past there is no sure-fire State Champ (ala Hobar, Rowsey or Anderson) to lead the team. But these returning starters give HP a solid nucleus: Tobin Fulton, Colin Montgomery, Tommy Schober, Briggs Montgomery, Chad Gallatin, Derek Burdick, Tom Klessing, Dan Sampson and Will Shellenberger.

Arlington Bowie
Bowie will be led by State placers Chris Brooks 5th at 171 and Marcus McGraw 4th at 189. Other experienced starters include Eric Martinez (103/112), Kris Demont (112/119), Ryan Hill (119/125), Amir Jalali (125/130), State qualifier Mark Goolsbay (140/145) and Mohammed Usman (215/285). In addition, Coach Mudgett says this team has by far the most depth of any he has had. Sounds to me like Bowie is reloading . They will challenge for a Regional championship and will be a force at Dual State and a top 5 contender at State.

Coppell
The new coaching staff will be building around State placers Dillon Horn 5th at 135 and Ben Robinson 2nd at 160.

Plano West
Sleeper pick. I don’t know much about this team but I do know this: they return four State qualifiers – Evan Burns (119), Daniel Stenstrom (125), Matt Hurwitz (130) and Peter Lindahl (State runner-up at 135).

Euless Trinity
Another team that looks to be on the rise is Trinity. They return State qualifiers Joey Vogelsberg (112), Cody Bye (125) and Deandra Carter (135).

And finally, after all the prognosticating, I’d like to leave you with something of real value. When asked what the goals for his wrestling program were, St. Mark’s Coach Ortega said: “My goals as a coach are to teach our wrestlers how to handle defeat with courage and victory with humility, how to have respect for their opponents and develop long lasting life lessons through the discipline wrestling presents, and perhaps win a few matches and tournaments along the way.”

Just when you think the wrestling at the Grapevine Duals can’t get any better, it does. There was no match this weekend between New Orleans Jesuit and Highland Park. But noone seemed to miss it. On Saturday in particular there were duals between top ranked teams everywhere you turned. Most were being decided by the very last matches. Top ranked wrestlers were battling each other. In some cases more than once. Upsets abounded. New stars were emerging. Top teams were establishing a pecking order. When the gym finally cleared NOJ reclaimed the Championship they have won three of the past five years. But to do so they had to survive not one but two intense duals with Arlington Bowie. And Bowie left absolutely no doubt that they were the best of the rest and a force to be reconded with in two weeks at the Texas State Duals Championships.

Pool Competition

Day One is pool competition. Some of the matches are a bit lopsided as the top seeds can usually roll up the scores on the lesser teams. But for the wrestlers themselves it is a tough grind of five matches in a single day with a weighin awaiting them the next morning.

There were no real surprises at the top of pools A, B and C where each of the top two seeds emerged with perfect 5-0 records. They were Allen, St. Mark’s, Highland Park, Carl Albert, New Orleans Jesuit and Arlington Bowie.
But #3 seed Rockwall shook up Pool D with wins over #1 The Woodlands 42-33 and #2 Lake Highlands 42-36.

Cinco Ranch with the disadvantage of being a #3 seed had to face both Bowie and NOJ on Day 1. The CR-Bowie match was a good one and the score seesawed back and forth with Bowie prevailing 36-32. We were treated to a match at 160 between two state champs – Brent Rogers (Bow) and Matt Harris (CR). Great match. Harris tied it with a takedown in the last 30 seconds and Rogers won it with an escape at the buzzer 7-6. Brad Atkinson (Bow) (who would go 10-0 this weekend) dropped to 140 and missed Jamie Sheets (CR) who stayed at 145. Both won by fall. At 171 undefeated Will Morriss (CR) met Chris Brooks (Bow). Great match tied 8-8 with 20 seconds remaining when Morriss hit the 5 point throw for the win. And then came Will McNair v. Marcus McGraw at 189. This time it was McGraw who got the early 5 point move and made it stand up for 7-3 win. Great match … have we said that before?

After a match with Dallas Jesuit, Cinco Ranch had to face off with NOJ. The match started at 112 and NOJ has some outstanding lightweights. Before CR could catch its breath, NOJ had recorded falls at 112, 119, 125, 130, 135 and 140 and the score stood 36-0. Time to pack it in for CR. Not a chance. Too much pride on this senior laden team for that. CR won at 145, Sheets got a fall at 152 and Harris got a major at 160. At 171, Morris gave it everything he had but suffered his first loss of the season to NOJ’s Michael Matthews 9-7. CR won at 180 and then Will McNair had an impressive 11-4 win over La State Champ Johnny Plamer at 189. In the end it was NOJ 50, CR 25. It was a brutal first day for CR, could they regroup on Day 2?

Day 2 began with each of the top two seeds squaring off in the final round of pool competition. These matches were absolutely wild. The enthusiasm was high. The gym seemed to be rocked by the cheering and shouting. HP beat Carl Albert by a single point. Allen beat St. Mark’s. And it was Bowie’s turn to face NOJ.

Bowie could not have asked for a better start as Marcus McGraw overpowered NOJ’s state champ Johnny Palmer 11-5. But in the next match Bowie felt they were the victim of a quick pin called for NOJ’s Speyrer against Usman. But Umeh picked up a TF at 285. Then the NOJ onslaught began as the match moved to 103. Any points saved would be valuable. Hill avoided a pin at 103 but NOJ got falls at both 112 and 119. Bowie hoped Shawn Klemm could break through with a win. He built a 4-0 lead against NOJ’s Gruezke but couldn’t make it stand up and he too fell 6-4. NOJ followed up with a TF at 130 and fall at 135. The score now stood at NOJ 35 Bowie 8 but Coach Mance had been up and down the bench imploring the troops to weather the storm at these lower weights and they could climb back into the match. The climb back began with Brad Atkinson at 140 as he scored a major decision. Then Okere won by fall and Roberts won 4-2. Bowie was back in it at 35-21 and still had Brent Rogers and Chris Brooks waiting in the wings. Bowie believed they would prevail. At 160 Rogers took the mat against NOJ’s Cobena. Tension was high and tempers flared when Rogers partially dislocated Cobena’s shoulder. Cobena continued for awhile but was forced to injury default.

Now the score was 35-27 with Chris Brooks up against a tough Michael Matthews from NOJ and then an almost certain win for Bowie at 180. In the 171 match Matthews picked up Brooks and “slammed” him on the takedown. It wasn’t vicious but it was illegal. Brooks was shaken and lay on the mat. If he couldn’t continue Bowie would get 6 points no questions asked and an almost certain win. But he wasn’t hurt and he and his coaches decided he would continue. Wrestlers or coaches with less integrity might have taken the easy way out. Chris Brooks lost the match 8-3 but won the respect of everyone who understood what was happening. Final NOJ 38 Bowie 33

When it was all said and done the top three seeds advanced from each of the pools with one exception. In Pool C, Trinity wrestled extremely well and knocked off everyone in their pool except HP and Carl Albert to advance to the Championship bracket.

Championship Rounds

As the Pool winners rested, the Championship rounds began with 2nd and 3rd place teams squaring off. Bowie easily turned back Dumas 69-16. Carl Albert dispatched The Woodlands 58-21. Trinity continued to impress with tough wrestling but fell to Lake Highlands 44-33. And Cinco Ranch drew yet another tough opponent in St Marks but turned them back 42-28. Two matches of note were Sheets (CR) with a solid victory over David Henry (SM) 7-4 and Will Morriss (CR) and Scott Hage wrestling into OT with Morriss winning 10-9.

Then it was time for Championship Quarterfinals. NOJ dismantled Carl Albert 54-15. Allen was pushed to the limit by Lake Highlands and trailed the entire match before picking up a fall and major at 215 and 285 to win 39-30. And Rockwall had CR on the ropes after Max White (R) won an impressive 7-4 decision over state champ Matt Harris and the Rock led 27-22. But four victories in the last 5 matches gave CR the 34-30 win.

And then there was Highland Park and Bowie. Last year the match with HP dropped Bowie into the consolation bracket. This match began at 103 and Tobin Fulton (HP) was shutting out Ryon Hill 11-0 when Hill turned him to his back and would not let go. The fall came at 5:41. This put Big Mo on the Bowie bench and they never looked back. Bowie just dominated the defending Grapevine, State Dual and UIL Champion. The most significant individual win besides Hill’s was by Brad Atkinson (B) who beat Chase Gallatin (HP) 5-2. When it was over Bowie had doubled up HP 52-26.

In the semi-finals it was a Bowie-CR rematch and NOJ taking on Allen. Three teams from Pool B of four remaining ended all arguments about the toughest pool. Bowie did not relish a rematch with a team it had so narrowly beaten the day before and who could blame them. This situation rarely faors the winner of the first match. And it was just as close the second time. We saw a Rogers (Bow) – Harris (CR) rematch won by Rogers 6-4 and a McGraw(Bow) – McNair(CR) rematch won by McNair 3-2. How about this for a match:
at 140, Atkinson gave Bowie the lead
at 145, Sheets gave CR the lead
at 152, Roberts gave Bowie the lead
at 160, Rogers extended the Bowie lead
at 171, Morriss gave the lead back to CR
at 180, Brooks gave Bowie the lead
at 189, McNair gave CR the lead
at 215, Usman gave Bowie the lead
at 285, Giaffre gave CR the lead
at 103, Hill gave Bowie the lead and the win
Final: Bowie 31, CR 26

The Allen-NOJ semi started at 112 and the Eagles had to be shell-shocked at what NOJ threw at them. A 15-1 major at 112, a fall at 119, a fall at 125, a 6-0 shutout at 130 and a 10-0 major at 135. The score stood at 23-0 before Smedley (A) could stop the bleeding with a fall. But the match was well in hand for NOJ. Still there remained the showdown at 103 between the undefeated #1 ranked junior Eric Simmons (A) and #1 ranked in LA sophmore Jonathon Dupre (NOJ). It was a good match. Dupre remained aggressive throughout but Simmons had a counter for everything and won it 8-2.

And while all this was going on, Lake Highlands handed Highland Park its second defeat 42-34.

The Finals

This time it was NOJ’s turn to dread the rematch with Bowie. As the match began it was obvious both sides – wrestlers, coaches and fans – were simply drained of energy and emotion from a long day filled with tough matches. The match progressed according to form. Beginning at 119, NOJ built a 22-0 lead on two falls and two tech falls. Then beginning with Atkinson at 140, Bowie picked up three wins, score 22-9. At 160 NOJ forfeited to Rogers, NOJ pinned at 171 and Bowie pinned at 180. Score NOJ 28-21. Then the rematch between Johnny Palmer (NOJ) and Marcus McGraw (Bow). Palmer who couldn’t finish a takedown the first time around got one in the first period. The wrestling was aggressive but clean. Emotion returned to the benches. Then the improbable occurred as Palmer slipped on a shot and Marcus made him pay in a hurry. If you blinked you missed it. McGraw got the fall and Bowie sensed upset. Emotion built as Usman (Bow) would not be taken down by Speyrer (NOJ). Sitting on a one point lead Speyrer got dinged for stalling as regulation ended and in overtime Usman got the takedown and the win. This was the first match with a different outcome from this morning. But one might be all Bowie needed. After Umeh worked hard for a fall in the final 15 seconds of the 285 match, Bowie led 36-28.

But protecting an 8 point lead against NOJ’s Jonathon Dupre and Kevin White would be a tall order. Although Hill had avoided bonus points the first time around, Dupre was on a mission this time. He went immediately to work with a takedown and turned Hill. Hill somehow avoided the fall but a few seconds later with a different pinning combination Dupre ended it in the first period. NOJ’s Kevin White also got a quick fall and NOJ had prevailed again … narrowly … 40-36. But much respect was earned all the way around. Fans, wrestlers and coaches who were going at it minutes earlier milled around to congratulate each other and talk about the excellent wrestling they had just experienced.

Meanwhile Cinco Ranch and Allen were in a tight battle for 3rd. At 103, CR’s Girgis gave Simmons (A) all he could handle for 5:45 before being pinned. Allen’s lead was short lived as Waltman (CR) won 9-5 at 112 to make the final score CR 36 Allen 35.

Final Thoughts

New Orleans Jesuit. It has been mentioned several times about how tough the NOJ lineup is from 103 through 135. Well just how good were these guys? Four of them – 2006 State Champ Kevin White at 112, Michael Gruezke at 125, Lee Redfern at 130 and 2006 State Champ Ben Capella went undefeated for 9 matches over two days. The other two suffered one loss each: Jonathon Dupre at 103 to Eric Simmons of Allen and Michael Wieser at 119 to Carl Albert’s superstar Comes 14-11 (Comes also beat Eric Spjut). And these guys not only won they usually got falls or tech falls. Simply winning would not have been enough to win this Championship. NOJ’s Michael Matthews at 171 also went undefeated.

Top Dual Teams. One man’s opinion. Arlington Bowie is right now the best dual team in Texas. Cinco Ranch and Allen are both in the top 5. I’d give the other two spots to Coppell and Bishop Lynch who performed well at Lone Star Duals. Opinions won’t matter in two weeks.

The Tournament. Exceptionally well run yet again. Coach Lujan and Coach Martin continue to carry on but I understand there was a whole new crew of volunteers. Kudos to these ladies led by Susan Jones. Excellent job. Everything was first class.

The New Year kicks off in a big way with the Dollarmur Grapevine Duals on January 5th and 6th. Showcasing the event will be the premier wrestling programs from Texas and Louisiana. Highland Park will be defending its 2006 title. New Orleans Jesuit wants to take home a 3rd title in the last 5 years at Grapevine. HP has won 5 of 8 UIL state championships since 1999 and is two time defending champions. NOJ has won 21 La. State Championships since 1972 and is three time defending champions.

In the last four years HP and NOJ have met at Grapevine and created a rivalry based on mutual respect, terrific wrestling and compelling drama. In 2003, the match was decided by two sophmore heavyweights who had not yet learned the heavyweight dance. The NOJ wrestler ended the match on his back but won 10-9. NOJ 37 HP 32. In 2004, HP needed a single win in the last four matches to secure a win. It was not to be. NOJ 34 HP 33. In 2005, NOJ had an awesome team that took it to a HP team that would win both State Duals and UIL. NOJ 50 HP 21. In 2006, the score was tied at 27 when HP took control and won the final four matches without yielding a single point. HP44 NOJ 27. Will they meet again in 2007? We can only hope so.

As compelling as the HP-NOJ rivalry is, the story this year may be the emergence of a half dozen programs who can stand toe-to-toe and slug it out against the likes of HP and NOJ. In the past many teams could compete and win a handful of matches but simply could not match the big boys up and down the line-up weight class by weight class. And to be a good dual team you simply can’t give away weights if want to be competitive on the 2nd day at Grapevine.

Simply stated a number of Texas programs are much more competitive in a Dual Meet format and five of the top eight Dual Meet teams will be at Grapevine (in bold)

Top Ten Dual Meet Teams
1. Bishop Lynch
2. Allen
3. Canyon Randall
4. Highland Park
5. Coppell
6. Cinco Ranch
7. Arlington Bowie
8. St. Marks
9. Arlington Martin
10. Cy-Fair

Format

28 teams are divided into four pools. On Friday each team will wrestle five matches against the other teams in its pool. The 6th and 7th round matches are Saturday morning. The top three teams from each pool advance into Saturday’s championship matches with the pool winners getting a well deserved bye in the first round. When this tournament gets down to eight teams the intensity really picks up and the semi-finals have given us two of the legendary showdowns between NOJ and Highland Park. Saturday afternoon is just some of the finest high school wrestling you can find in Texas.

Pool A

Allen, TX
St. Mark’s, TX
Dumas, TX
Colleyville, TX
Tahlequah, OK
The Colony, TX
Frisco, TX

Anyone that has been reading ITW should know that Allen is the hottest team going right now. They are winning everything in sight and truly have a well balanced team with tough wrestlers up and down the line-up. As we’ve said this is what it takes to knock off a HP or NOJ. St. Mark’s is a sneaky good program. There is a tendency to focus on their top wrestlers like superstar Ben Grisz or the sophmore sensation David Henry but I have watched this team several times and they do not give away any weights. They seem to always make it out of the Pool competition but then find the going tough. This year may be different. I know little about Dumas except that their kids wrestle tough every year but standouts – Torisk and Logan – have graduated. Colleyville is desperately looking for depth behind the brothers Sandoval. Tahlequah is always a threat to qualify for the championship round. The Colony and Frisco will be looking to gain experience and earn respect.

Pool B

Highland Park, TX
Carl Albert, OK
Houston Westside, TX
Keller, TX
SA Madison, TX
Westlake, TX
Trinity, TX

Defending champion Highland Park gets the #1 seed. We have already dissected their lineup in our preseason report. Coach Marzoula doesn’t let this bunch peak early but he will have them ready to go at Grapevine. This is a championship they want to defend. Carl Albert is a good Oklahoma program that has been to the finals at Grapevine before. If they get a #2 seed in this pool Coach Lujan must feel that they have one of their better teams. Westside is always tough. Keller has the Couch brothers and Lupardus but is looking for more depth. If Trinity is the last seed then this is a very strong pool. I have seen Trinity and they have some very talented wrestlers although maybe not quite enough. I believe they will win some duals.

Pool C

NO Jesuit, LA
Arlington Bowie, TX
Cinco Ranch, TX
Regis Jesuit, CO
Grapevine, TX
Dallas Jesuit, TX
Leander, TX

NOJ gets the #1 seed. They have been dominant in Louisiana again this year. And they went to the prestigous Tiger Invitational in North Carolina and took 3rd. But they are battling some injuries including a couple of defending State champs. They will need all hands on deck to win at Grapevine. In fact, first place in their pool is not a given this year. Arlington Bowie was hit hard by graduation but have filled all their holes and are wrestling well so far. They will need to turn it up a notch at Grapevine but I think they are capable of doing so. Cinco Ranch has not yet lived up to expectations largely do to a football playoff run that kept some key wrestlers off the mats for an extended period. All that rust should be knocked off now and there can be no excuses at Grapevine. We will finally see what CR has. It looks to be difficult for the other four teams to break into the top three but Grapevine is an up and coming program and all will get their chances on the mats.

Pool D

The Woodlands, TX
Lake Highlands, TX
Rockwall, TX
Elgin, OK
Vista Ridge, TX
Plano East, TX
Santa Fe, NM

Like Pool C, there appear to be three really strong teams at the top that will produce some very interesting duals. It would not surprise me if the pool winner has a loss. That’s how close I expect it to be between The WDL, LH and The Rock. It is actually hard to believe none of these three teams is in the Top Ten. But now is their chance to show the ranking gods whether they are a top program. The matches among these three should be excellent. Elgin could be a wild card as it is always dangerous to overlook an Okie team. Vista Ridge, Plano East and Santa Fe may not be on the level of the top three but they didn’t come to spectate and will be looking for an upset.

Another week at St. Marks’ and another well run tournament. Mike Grisz ran it right on time as promised. The hardware was distributed and the teams were clearing out the gym before 3pm. Parents were thrilled. An Oklahoma team came down and captured first place. But there were a handful of relatively unknown Dallas teams that had breakout tournaments and will need to be reckoned with as the season progresses. And there were an awful lot of individual wrestlers who made strong statements as well.

103
#1 seed Robert Myers LAM and #2 Roderick Gaines ROC easily made their way through the bracket without significant challenge to meet in the finals. In the finals match it was all Gaines who got the fall in 1:46. Erick frick STM was easily the best of the rest finishing 3rd.

112
#2 seed Stephen Wurster ROC dominated the weight class. He faced a tough kid from Edmond North (who beat Joey Vogelsberg TRI in OT) in the semi’s and methodically wore him down with a 9-0 major decision. Juan Dominguez CEN upset #1 seed Vincent Tenorio STM in the semi’s 2-0 in OT but he was no match for Wurster. Wurster pinned in Dominguez in 2:14 in the finals. In the consolation finals Joey Voglesberg got his revenge against the Edmond North wrestler with a very hard fought 6-5 decision.

119
#1 seed Chris Wilcox HEB and #2 seed Adam Purcell TRI (ranked 3 and 6 in ITW’s official rankings) looked to be the marque finals match of the tournament. But first Purcell had some work to do against a very tough kid from Edmond North. In a highly charged match that saw Purcell get a couple points ahead only to be tied by the EN wreslter, Adam prevailed with a very well wrestled 9-6 decision. Nick Rice EN would finish 3rd. Unfortunately the finals did not live up to its billing as Chris “caught” Adam on his back and stuck him in 1:30. It appeared to be a bad move by Adam but Chris made him pay. It is almost certain these two will meet again and I can assure you Adam will be ready and we’ll see six minutes of great wrestling.

125
#1 seed Kelby Wood from Edmond North was probably the Okie’s best wrestler. None of the Texas boys really gave him a match. He manhandled #2 Stephen Shinn in the finals with a fall in 47 seconds. Shinn had a great match with Jaquorie Sutton HEB in the semi’s. It was a see-saw match with non-stop action. The 15-7 final was decieving as Shinn scored 5 points at the end following a desperation throw missed by Sutton. Sutton hurt his ankle in this match and had to injury default to 6th place. Daniel Strenstrom PW would finish 3rd.

130
This weight was won by another Okie, Ryan Shults EN, who decisioned Nick Killip AZL 7-2 in the finals. Killip had two nice wins to make the finals. The first was a 3-1 decision over Shawn Klemm BOW in a match that Killip rode Klemm for the entire 3rd period. Then in the semi’s Killip outlasted a tough and determined Daric O’dell 9-6 in an exciting match. Klemm would take 3rd with a 5-0 decision over Mark McCabe JES. The most controversial match of the tournament saw #1 seed Ryan Benoit McK North get disqualified after leading Matt Hurwitz PW 12-4 in a quarter-final match.

135
#1 seed Austin Barnes ROC defeated Danny Reddin STM 9-2 in one semi. In the other semi Peter Lindahl PW and #2 seed Deandrea Carter TRI wrestled an exciting match with Lindahl winning 13-8. Then in an evenly matched finals Barnes decisioned Lindahl 5-3. Carter took 3rd with a 9-0 major of Reddin.

140
When you think of St. Mark’s studs, the name Bill Sessions doesn’t readily come to mind. That may change. Sessions completely destroyed the field at 140 with first period falls in the semi’s and finals. In the finals #1 seed Taylor Kissel AZL spent most of the 1:49 in Sessions’ cradles. Arman Asgari BOW defeated and EN wrestler 3-2 for 3rd.

145
#1 seed David Henry STM put on a takedown clinic against Kyle Redmond LAM in the semi’s winning 17-7. #2 seed Ryan Maldonado was beaten 9-1 by Okie Conner Robinson EN. In the finals, Henry had 3 takedowns and two cuts to lead 6-2 at the end of the first period . The second began with another cut and takedown by Henry and he looked to be cruising 8-4. The only problem with the “cut and shoot” when you can’t score on the mat is your advantage grows only a point at a time. Henry could not get another takedown in the second. They started on their feet for the 3rd period and it was the Okie who got the takedown and Henry was very much in a struggle with the EN wrestler working from top. But Henry held on to win it 8-6. Brad Atkinson BOW took 3rd by dismantling Maldonado 15-2 in the consolation finals.

152
#1 seed Marty Dick AZL had his hands full in the semis with Chris Brown HEB. The match is tied 2-2 after the second period. Dick is on bottom but can’t get anything going. Finally with 30 seconds remaining Dick gets the escape and makes it stand up for a 3-2 decision. In the other semi, Brian Phillips PE defeats Adam Roberts BOW 8-1. The finals is a wild see-saw match with Dick ahead 8-6 before pinning Phillips in 2:51. Chris Brown pins Adam Roberts in the consolation finals.

160
In a rematch from last week #1 seed Brent Rogers BOW easily defeats #2 Scott Hage STM 9-0. No flash, no controversy. Rogers just demonstates what should happen when a very good wrestler goes against an elite wrestler which Rogers is. In the semis, Hage and Parsons AZL were tied after the second period but Hage used a 3 point near fall to prevail 10-6. In the other semis, Rogers faced another very good wrestler, Max White ROC. White shot in and was on the verge of a clean takedown but even in a poor position Brent would not give up the takedown and kept scrambling and improving his position until he got a figure four on White’s head for a most unorthodox fall. I’m sure what Rogers was dishing out White had never seen in the practice room. White did storm through the wrestlebacks finishing 3rd with a 15-0 tech fall over an Edmond North wrestler.

171
The finals was a match-up of #1 seed Alejandro Juarez LAM and #2 Chris Brooks BOW. While it was not a dominating performance, Brooks could score and Juarez could not. The result was 7-1 victory for Brooks. Brooks continues to improve but is still a work in progress. Having Rogers as a workout partner should certainly help his development. Zach Gagnon McK North (pinned by Brooks in the semis) captured 3rd.

180
Gary Adams ROC lived up to his #1 seed. He is a big strong kid who wrestles physical and smart. His semifinal major of Greg Talley PE 11-3 and 5-0 shutout of an Edmond North wrestler in the finals were both examples of Adams imposing his will on his opponent. Kyle Dancy McK North wrestled back for 3rd.

189
It would be tempting to say Ben Grisz STM was a man among boys. But that wouldn’t be entirely accurate. In the finals Ben ran into Marcus McGraw BOW who is every bit as strong and athletic as Grisz (and an absolute terror on the football field). In the first period Marcus would not back down and it was rock’em socke’em action. Ben had a couple big throws but couldn’t land them on the mat. After two minutes: 0-0. Unfortunately for Marcus, Ben took down to begin the second period and quickly proved that he is an elite wrestler. The reversal came in 5 seconds, then some punishing leg riding and then Ben locked up a cradle to get the fall in 3:40. But I give Marcus some credit in this match as did the MOW voters who saw Ben wrestle a good enough opponent to vote him MOW (shared with Chris Wilcox and David Henry). Adrian Pena GP avenged a quarterfinal loss to Brent Holtrop CEN with a 4-3 win in the consolation finals.

215
In perhaps the most exciting finals of the afternoon #1 seed Ike Crews STM and Josh Spicer CEN battled for the championship. Crews worked his passby for the first takedown and a 2-1 lead after the first period. After the second period it was 4-3 Spicer. Crews escaped and they wrestled into the final minute tied at 4-4. Crews missed a throw and Spicer scored on a spin behind but Crews escpaed and pushed the action for the final 15 seconds. In the end it was Spicer 6-5.

285
#1 seed Branden Land, a big strong Okie heavyweight from Edmond North, looked to be untouchable as he pinned his way into the finals where he faced Bret Davis McK North. Davis seemingly came out of nowhere to pin both Will Plunkett STM in the quarters and #2 seed Ross Goen ROC in the semis. Davis wrestles aggressively and his finals bout was no exception. Unfortunatley against the bigger Okie he had trouble finishing his shots. Although he ultimately lost 12-4 it was a closer match than that as Davis kept the presuure on through the first two periods. This is a kid to watch. Goen took 3rd.

The Team Race

Congratulations to Edmond North who will take the 1st place hardware back across the Red River. It was great that they came and brought some tough wrestlers for the Texas boys to face. Behind Edmond North were the three Texas teams you would expect – 2. St. Mark’s, 3. Bowie and 4. Rockwall. St Mark’s really proved its worth as a tournament team. Bowie wrestled without three starters, two of whom didn’t make weight. It may have cost them second place. Rockwall isn’t sneaking up on anybody but showed they are for real.

What surprised me was the competitiveness of the remaining programs in the top 10. Trinity placed eight wrestlers in this tournament; Centennial placed five; Lamar placed six; Azle placed five, McKinney North and Hebron each placed four. Other than Azle all these programs are clearly on the rise. And those that were predicting the demise of Azle may want to reconsider. Azle clearly does not have the numbers of some programs but they still have some very good wrestlers.

Team Scores

1. Edmond North 249.00
2. St. Mark’s 223.50
3. Arlington Bowie 204.50
4. Rockwall 191.00
5. Trinity 144.00
6. Frisco Centennial 125.00
7. Arlington Lamar 110.50
8. Azle 95.50
9. McKinney North 92.50
10. Hebron 92.00
11. Plano East 72.00
12. Plano West 68.00
13. EP El Dorado 56.50
14. Jesuit 50.00
15. Frisco Wakeland 40.00
16. Paschal 37.00
17. Grand Prairie 35.50
18. Dallas Roosevelt 35.00
19. Trimble Tech 2.00
20. Bishop Dunne 0.00

Championship Matches

103 Roderick Gaines, Rockwall Fall Robert Myers, Arlington Lamar, 1.46
112 Stephen Wurster, Rockwall Fall Juan Dominquez, Frisco Centennial, 2.14
119 Chris Wilcox, Hebron Fall Adam Purcell, Trinity, 1.30
125 Kelby Wood, Edmond North Fall Stephen Shinn, Rockwall, .47
130 Ryan Shults, Edmond North Dec Nick Killip, Azle, 9-3
135 Austin Barnes, Rockwall Dec Peder Lindahl, Plano West, 5-3
140 Bill Sessions, St. Mark’s Fall Taylor Kissell, Azle, 1.49
145 David Henry, St. Mark’s Dec Conner Robinson, Edmond North, 8-6
152 Martin Dick, Azle Fall Brian Phillips, Plano East, 2.51
160 Brent Rogers, Arlington Bowie M-Dec Scott Hage, St. Mark’s, 9-0
171 Chris Brooks, Arlington Bowie Dec Alejandro Juarez, Arlington Lamar, 7-1
180 Gary Adams, Rockwall Dec Ryan Hansen, Edmond North, 5-0
189 Ben Grisz, St. Mark’s Fall Marcus McGraw, Arlington Bowie, 3.40
215 Josh Spicer, Frisco Centennial Dec Ike Crews, St. Mark’s, 6-5
285 Branden Land, Edmond North M-Dec Brett Davis, McKinney North, 12-4

Consolation Matches

103 Erick Frick, St. Mark’s Fall Luis Munoz, EP El Dorado, .22
112 Joey Voglesberg, Trinity Dec Jordan McGuire, Edmond North, 6-5
119 Nick Rice, Edmond North M-Dec Kenny Lee, Frisco Centennial, 19-5
125 Daniel Stenstrom, Plano West Dec Jessie Gonzales, McKinney North, 3-0
130 Shawn Klemm, Arlington Bowie Dec Mark McCabe, Jesuit, 5-0
135 Deandrea Carter, Trinity M-Dec Danny Reddin, St. Mark’s, 9-0
140 Arman Asgari, Arlington Bowie Dec Rob Wood, Edmond North, 3-2
145 Brad Atkinson, Arlington Bowie M-Dec Ryan Maldonado, Trinity, 15-2
152 Chris Brown, Hebron Fall Adam Roberts, Arlington Bowie, 4.04
160 Max White, Rockwall T-Fall Ian Scruggs, Edmond North, 15-0
171 Zach Gagnon, McKinney North Fall Ben Sheridan, Trinity, .24
180 Kyle Dancy, McKinney North Dec Barrett Galbraith, Arlington Bowie, 9-2
189 Adrian Pena, Grand Prairie Dec Brent Holtrop, Frisco Centennial, 4-3
215 Josh Bishop, Edmond North Dec Tucker Shaw, Jesuit, 8-3
285 Ross Goen, Rockwall Fall Patrick McConegly, Frisco Wakeland, .48

5th Place Matches

103 Cody Curtiss, Frisco Centennial Fall Steve Lee, Trinity, .43
112 Vincent Tenorio, St. Mark’s Fall Matt Jones, Arlington Lamar, 4.57
119 Eric Martinez, Arlington Bowie Dec Jeff Kearney, Azle, 3-1
125 Avi Chavda, St. Mark’s Dflt Jaquorie Sutton, Hebron
130 Matt Hurwitz, Plano West M-Dec Daric O’Dell, Trinity, 12-4
135 Travis Shaffer, Arlington Lamar Fall Preetam Sharma, Edmond North, 4.16
140 Alec Carrion, Plano East M-Dec Brandon Lockhart, Hebron, 12-2
145 Kyle Redmond, Arlington Lamar Fall Kole Richardson, Frisco Wakeland, 2.02
152 Jared Armstrong, Edmond North Dec Will Vogelsberg, Trinity, 4-2
160 Erik Parsons, Azle Fall Anthony Lopez, EP El Dorado, 4.28
171 Kyle Hormann, Edmond North Dec A. Amador, Dallas Roosevelt, 5-3
180 Jorge Estrada, St. Mark’s Fall Greg Talley, Plano East, .29
189 Pat Cioffi, Plano East Dflt Matthew Claggett, Rockwall
215 L. Joiner, Dallas Roosevelt Fall Prestin Brown, Grand Prairie, 1.20
285 Michael Weber, Arlington Lamar Fall Robert Umeh, Arlington Bowie, 1.20

The big dogs heading into this tournament figured to be Bowie and St. Mark’s. They proved why in a hurry. Bowie plowed through Jesuit 69-13, FWCD 90-0 and FM Marcus 68-9. And St. Mark’s dismantled Grand Prairie 74-6, Richardson 76-6 and Creekview 72-7 to face #1 seed Bowie in the finals.

The Finals

145 The dual started at 145 and right away we have a marque match-up between SM super sophmore David Henry and Brad Atkinson from Bowie. The first scramble goes to Henry as he finds a way to hit his fireman’s and get back points. The first period ends 4-1. In the second period good action with Atkinson scoring a reverse, then being reversed back. Atkinson escapes and the period ends 6-4. Henry gets an escape to open the third and leads 7-4. Bowie coaches are yelling Henry only has the one move… maybe … but he hits another fireman’s then cuts Atkinson with 45 seconds remaining. Henry gets a final takedown to make the score 11-5. SM 3 Bowie 0

152 Adam Roberts (B) dominated Conner Youngblood (SM) and earned a 13-1 major decision. Bowie 4 SM 3

160 Second marque match-up. State Champ Brent Rogers (B) bumps up to take on Scott Hage (SM) who seemingly came out of nowhere to beat #1 Johnny Luttrell last week en route to winning the 160 lb class at the Richardson Roundup. Unfortunately for Hage, Rogers is a takedown assassin and his weapon of choice is the low single. Off the whistle Rogers hits the low single for two points. Then a cut and another takedown. Then a second cut and another beautiful low single and its 6-2 after the first period. Rogers escapes to start the second, but Hage now starts taking some shots of his own. While he is not able to finish, he limits Rogers to a single takedown and is wrestling much better. More good wrestling from Hage in the third and a somewhat frustrated Rogers crosses from aggressive to unsportsmanlike and losses a point. The final is an 11-5 decision for Rogers.

A couple take-aways. Scott Hage is very good and made Rogers work after he completely dominated the early part of the match. Rogers is an elite wrestler. He is great to watch because of his skills and aggressiveness. But there is a line that can’t be crossed. Brent is plenty good enough to overcome an unsportsmanlike call if he chooses. But lots of Bowie wrestlers are taking their cues from their captain and they won’t be able to afford to cross the line.

171 SM forfeits. Dual score: Bowie 13 SM 3

180 Chris Brooks (B) bumps up to 180 to wrestle Jorge Estrada (SM). Very little action in this match. With only 10 seconds left, Brooks is up 3-0 and decides to cut Estrada. Strange decison to but it mildly since an Estrada takedown would tie the match. But it works out okay for Brooks who gets a takedown and near fall to win 7-1.

189 Bowie wants no part of Ben Grisz and forfeits. Dual score: Bowie 16 SM 9

215 Marcus McGraw (B) bumps up to wrestle Ike Crews (SM) who had previously beaten Jordan Spruiel (B). McGraw builds a 5-1 lead and a last ditch desperation throw by Crews lands him on his back where he gets stuck. Bowie 22 SM 9

275 Will Plunkett (SM) executes a nice hip throw – head lock on Robert Umeh at the beginning of the match and picks up a quick pin. Bowie 22 SM 15

103 Eric Frick (SM) gets a takedown in the first period on Ryon Hill (B) and makes it stand up for a 2-0 lead. A reversal to each wrestler in the second and a final reversal for Frick in the third and SM takes a 6-2 decision. Bowie 22 SM 18

112 Vincent Tenorio (SM) owns Kris Demont (B) in the first period and builds an 8-2 lead. Demont wrestles much better in the final two stanzas but the lead was too great. Tenorio rolls to a major decision 14-4. Match all square 22-22.

119 Eric Martinez (B) and AJ Turek (SM) were evenly matched and wrestled hard throughout. It was a one point match in the third period when Turek cut Martinez to try to tie the score with a takedown but it was Martinez who got the takedown and the win 9-5. Bowie 25 SM 22

125 Shawn Klemm (B) made quick work of Avi Chavda (SM) getting the first period fall with a figure four on the head. Bowie 31 SM 22

130 Ty Nguyen (SM) earned a hard fought 5-2 decision over Mychal Milburn (B). Bowie 31 SM 25

135 Mark Goolsbay (B) went out and sealed the deal for Bowie with a methodical 8-3 decision over Danny Reddin (SM). Bowie 34 SM 25

140 In the last match Bill Sessions (SM) decisioned Armon Asgari (B) 6-4.

Final score: Bowie 34 St. Mark’s 28

Teams Moving Up and Moving Down

Two teams to keep an eye on after extremely impressive showings: FM Marcus and Keller Central. They met for 3rd place and Central built a huge lead through the heavyweights but Marcus came roaring back through the lightweights to win 41-36. Both have line-ups filled almost entirely with unranked kids (Marcus does have Tyler Lee) but they are tough and know how to wrestle. Reminds me of the Flower Mound team of a couple years back. Keller Central pounded on Keller 50-33 and Colleyville Heritage 59-12 and then avenged a two point first round loss to Creekview 51-30. Marcus had a good 49-36 win over TCA who finished 5th.

Very disappointing tournament for Keller. Colleyville Heritage also fared poorly but were without the Sandoval brothers and not fielding a full lineup.

The first big DFW tournament of the year was held this Saturday at Arlington Martin. Years ago it was known as Southern Assault, then the Warrior Invitiational and now the “Tournament of Champions” There is good news and bad news for this tournament. It is not attracting the number of teams that is has in the past when even Houston teams were coming to compete. And to make matters worse, there were half a dozen no-shows this year. But on the positive side, five of Dewey’s Top Ten Dallas Teams were in attendance – Bishop Lynch, Highland Park, Keller, Colleyville Heritage and St. Mark’s – plus host Martin and last year’s surprise champion Azle. So what the tournament lacked in quanity it made up for with quality.

103
Tobin Fulton (HP) and Eric Frick (SM) make the finals with falls in their semis matches. The final is all Futon as he wins it by major decision 14-5. Jordan Adams (CH) wins with first period fall over jared Snapka (BL) for 3rd.

112
Only three wrestlers entered in this weight class and Scott Collins (BL) took it by wrestling just one match. In that match he thoroughly dominated Colby Valentine (AM) building a 10-1 lead before securing the fall in the 3rd period.

119
The finals looked to be a nice match-up between senior Vincent Tenorio (SM) and freshman Troy Silver (BL). But it was all Silver who pinned Tenorio in 1:58. Juan Dominguez (Cent) had a nice tourney hanging close with Tenorio losing 5-0 in the semis and dominating the conso finals with a 15-0 TF over Sang Dao (Seg).

125
Jeremy Sandoval (CH) wasn’t seriously challenged. He pinned Jason Mozley (AM) in 1:10 in the finals. Mozley is a move-in from Houston and a nice pick up for Martin. He upset Tommy Schober (HP) 9-4 in the semis. In the conso finals Tommy Sheils (BL) beat Schober 5-3 scoring the winning points as the match ended.

130
The match of the day was the 130 finals between studs Josh Sandoval (CH) and Dak Adamson (BL). The first 30 seconds was a fantastic non-stop scramble. When it ended Dak had 2 points. Then another wild scramble ensued with Dak picking up a 2 point near fall and Josh getting an escape. But the second period was all Dak. He smothered Josh with a leg ride and then caught him in a vicious head lock and it was over in 3:14. Zack Vick (HP) was the best of the rest.

135
This was my first time to see BL freshman Tanner Eitel. He is the real deal. He demolished a very tough wrestler, Clifton Thompson (AM), in the finals. Ahead 7-0 he secured the fall in 3:04. Note to ranking Czar: move this kid to the head of the class.

140
Chase Gallatin (HP) made the finals with a first period fall over Carlos Flores (CH). Justin Cedeno (AM) reached the finals with a first period fall over Bill Sessions (SM). In the finals Cedeno gave #1 ranked Gallatin everything he could handle. Gallatin had to work all the way through this match that was in doubt until the very end. Flores edged Sessions 9-8 for 3rd place.

145
Justin Armstrong (BL) rolled into the finals with an 18-3 TF over Taylor Clipper (AM) and David Henry (SM) had a hard fought 11-7 decision over Eric Sands (Az). These two sophmores met in the finals and put on quite a show. Henry scored first with his fireman’s then Armstrong came back to grab the lead only to see Henry storm back. After 6 minutes it was 5-5. In OT, Armstrong took the first shot and finished it for a 7-5 win. Clipper took 3rd with a sound 11-5 win over Sands.

Armstrong and Henry -only sophmores- may be as good as any 145 lber in the state not named Luke Ashmore.

152
Johnny Koepp (BL) should have had a cake walk through this weight class. It didn’t work out that way as he had a scare in the semis having to fight off his back in the first period to unheralded Connor Youngblood (SM) and trailing 5-4 at the end of the first period. Then there was some injury time out -although no discernable injury. Koepp managed to escape the funk and secure the fall 29 seconds into the 2nd period. In the finals he faced Jordan Couch (Kel) and while Koepp controlled the match he couldn’t put it out of reach until a flurry of back points at the very end to make it 14-2. While it is somewhat silly to criticize a first place finish, Johnny was not really on his game this weekend. I’m sure that will get corrected.

160
The news here is Bishop Lynch looks to have yet another stud. His name is Alex Munoz. A very good wrestler last year, he seems to have taken his game to the next level. He had a breakout tournament at the Challenge 32 in North Carolina and followed that up this weekend by dominating two tough opponents. First was Camron Couch (Kel) who is a very sound wrestler. While the score was 7-3 Munoz controlled the match. It was even more lopsided in the finals against Erik Parsons (Az) where Munoz methodically rolled up a 12-1 major decision. Mr. Munoz has arrived.

171
Kyle Anderson (HP) was not challenged rolling to easy tech falls 17-1 over Johnny Shaw (CH) in the semis and Joey Laster (AM) 15-0 in the finals. Note that Kyle isn’t even giving up escapes, he is scoring with tilts and near falls. Colleyville Heritage had to be pleased with Johnny Shaw’s effort culminating with a hard fought 7-5 descion over Andrew Ellis (BL) in the conso finals.

180
Another championship for Highland Park but this was not a cake walk like 171. Ted Gambordella (HP) had all he could handle in a seesaw finals match against Jeff Kirwan (AM). In the end Gambordella ekked out the 8-7 decision in a well wrestled match. Jorge Estrada (SM) who fell to Kirwan 5-1 in the semis wrestled back for 3rd place.

189
Ben Grisz (SM) was a man among boys. He had two matches and two first period falls. There are only a few wrestlers in Texas who can compete with Ben and none were here this weekend. Jayce Jenkins (AM) was second and John Mcfadden (Kel) third.

215
Mark Baumann (Cent) won this 4 man weight class with two falls.

285
Matt Lupardus (Kel) had only one match but he took full advantage of his opportunity putting on a show in a 19-4 blowout over Will Plunket (SM).

Observations

Bishop Lynch. This will be BL’s best team ever. They are clearly more solid at more weights than last year. They are absolutely loaded from 130 through 160. That’s six weight classes and seven wrestlers: Adamson, Eitel, Silver, Armstrong, Ashmore, Koepp, Munoz. Nice problem to have. It will be very interesting to see if they can improve on their 4th palce Beast of the East finish.

Arlington Martin. Surprise team of the early season. A solid performance on their home turf capturing 3rd place only a point and a half behind powerhouse Highland Park with no champions. But credit all those guys battling to take 2nds and 3rds. Martin also had a very close one-point loss to district rival Arlington. These guys may not have started the season in the Dallas Top Ten but they are proving that they belong.

Highland Park. An early season tournament and predictably HP is in early season form. As is usual for this team, they won’t peak early. They will get better as the season goes on. If you want to beat them you better get it done in 2006. When 2007 arrives so will the HP swagger.

Azle. How the mighty have fallen. Last year Azle ran away with this tournament soundly beating both HP and Bowie. This year a disappointing 8th place.

St. Mark’s/Colleyville/Keller. All have a few studs and a lot of wrestlers that need experience. This tournament gave a number of these kids a chance to prove themselves and many did. The better these teams develop their less experienced wrestlers the more competitive they will become during the year. All three programs are on the rise.

2006 Tournament of Champions
18-Nov-2006

Team Standings

1. Bishop Lynch 176.0
2. Highland Park 137.5
3. Martin 136.0
4. St. Mark’s 109.5
5. Colleyville 88.0
6. Keller 69.0
7. Centennial 42.5
8. Azle 38.0
9. Seguin 29.0
10. Irving 8.0
11. Arlington Hts 0.0

2006 Tournament of Champions
November 18, 2006

Final Results

103 Pound Weight Class
First Place (1) Tobin Fulton – Highland Park Maj Dec (14-5) (2) Eric Frick – St. Mark’s
Third Place Jordon Adams – Colleyville Fall (1:49) (3) Jared Snapka – Bishop Lynch

112 Pound Weight Class
First Place (1) Scott Collins – Bishop Lynch Fall (4:57) (2) Colby Valentine – Martin
Third Place (3) Michael Slack – Keller Bye () Bye

119 Pound Weight Class
First Place (2) Troy Silver – Bishop Lynch Fall (1:55) (1) Vincent Tenorio – St. Mark’s
Third Place Juan Dominguez – Centennial Tech (15-0) Sang Dao – Seguin

125 Pound Weight Class
First Place (1) Jeremy Sandoval – Colleyville Fall (1:10) (3) Jason Mozley – Martin
Third Place (4) Tommy Sheils – Bishop Lynch Dec (5-3) (2) Tommy Schober – Highland Park

130 Pound Weight Class
First Place (2) Dak Adamson – Bishop Lynch Fall (3:14) (1) Josh Sandoval – Colleyville
Third Place (3) Zach Vick – Highland Park Tech (20-3) Colt Gibson – Keller

135 Pound Weight Class
First Place (1) Tanner Eitel – Bishop Lynch Fall (3:04) (2) Cliffton Thompson – Martin
Third Place (4) Michael Hortman – Azle Fall (6:33) (5) Chad Gallatin – Highland Park

140 Pound Weight Class
First Place (1) Chase Gallatin – Highland Park Dec (7-4) (3) Justin Cedeno – Martin
Third Place Carlos Flores – Colleyville Dec (9-8) (2) Bill Sessions – St. Mark’s

145 Pound Weight Class
First Place (1) Justin Armstrong – Bishop Lynch Dec (7-5) (2) David Henry – St. Mark’s
Third Place (5) Taylor Clipper – Martin Dec (11-5) (3) Erik Sands – Azle

152 Pound Weight Class
First Place (1) Johnny Koepp – Bishop Lynch Maj Dec (14-2) (2) Jordan Couch – Keller
Third Place (3) Yusef Jasari – Martin Dec (8-4) Tom Klessig – Highland Park

160 Pound Weight Class
First Place (2) Alex Munoz – Bishop Lynch Maj Dec (12-1) (1) Erik Parsons – Azle
Third Place (3) Camron Couch – Keller Fall (3:14) (4) Alex Odom – Martin

171 Pound Weight Class
First Place (1) Kyle Anderson – Highland Park Tech (15-0) (3) Joey Laster – Martin
Third Place (4) Johnny Shaw – Colleyville Dec (7-5) (2) Andrew Ellis – Bishop Lynch

180 Pound Weight Class
First Place (1) Ted Gambordella – Highland Park Dec (8-7) (2) Jeff Kirwan – Martin
Third Place (3) Jorge Estrada – St. Mark’s Dec (9-4) Garyn Glodston – Irving

189 Pound Weight Class
First Place (1) Ben Grisz – St. Mark’s Fall (1:07) (2) Jayce Jenkins – Martin
Third Place John McFadden – Keller Fall (2:40) Justin Gentry – Seguin

215 Pound Weight Class
First Place Mark Baumann – Centennial Fall (3:00) Angel Sanchez – Seguin
Third Place (1) Adam Starks – Highland Park Fall (1:02) Julian Ham – Irving

285 Pound Weight Class
First Place (1) Matt Lupardus – Keller Tech (19-4) (2) Will Plunket – St. Mark’s
Third Place Bye Bye () Bye

The 2006-2007 wrestling season is right around the corner. There is excitement across the state as wrestling continues to grow and improve. We love to see such progress across the Lone Star State but the hot bed of wrestling continues to be the Big D. At the State tournament last year, six of the top 10 teams were from the Dallas area. I don’t expect that to change come February 2007.

In corresponding with the coaches of the teams profiled below, each coach firmly believed that this year’s team will be stronger than last year’s version. Some expect dramatic improvement. Many teams have enough depth to produce real competition for starting spots. A word of caution. Coaches warned that the lineups are very tentative. In many cases weight certification and wrestle-offs had not occurred as these potential lineups were being developed. In addition the way weight certification looks to play out this year, any number of wrestlers may be showing up in districts and Regionals at lower weights than they wrestled most of the year.

So lets get to it. Here’s my pre-season Top Ten Dallas teams. Eight are in UIL; two are private schools. All rankings are taken from the ITW Czar’s pre-season rankings. We’ll count them down in reverse order:

For today we have the 9th and 10th ranked teams in the DFW Metroplex.

10. Rockwall

There is reason to hope for a contender in Rockwall again. They grabbed the last spot in the Top Ten on the strength of five ranked wrestlers, albeit none ranked higher than 6th. Rockwall does have a nice mixture of
experience with a couple talented transfers (Stephen Wurster and Stephen Shinn). There is excitement. There is potential. But Coach Pohorsky had this to say about his team’s potential: “Potential is nice if it is met. We have to prove ourselves first. ”

Ranked: Stephen Wurster (7), Austin Cihak (7), Austin Barnes (7), Max White (6) and Ross Goen (6)

Counting on: Stephen Shinn, Thomas Davis and Robert Carter

Possible line-up:

103 Roderrick Gaines (9)
112 Stephen Wurster (11) – Prep State place winner
119 Alex Cihak – State Qualifier
125 Stephen Shinn (11) or Chris Carter
130 Austin Barnes – State Qualifier or Stephen Shinn
135 Avi Benitez or Austin Barnes
140 Avi Benitez or Erick Benitez
145 Erick Benitez
152 Simms Hazel
160 Max White – State Qualifier
171 Thomas Davis – Regional place winner or Robert Carter – Regional place winner
180 Gary Adams
189 Preston Warnick or Matthew Clagget
215 Stuart Kindred
275 Ross Goen

9. St. Marks

St. Marks is a small private school with a remarkable wrestling program. No one gets more out of his wrestlers than Coach Ortega. While they don’t have the numbers or the athletes of the public school programs, St. Mark’s wrestlers are rarely out-techniqued or out-conditioned. They are fun to watch because they stay aggressive for six minutes and due to their conditioning many opponents succumb in the 3rd period. They graduated four seniors and will start a nice mix of four seniors, seven juniors, three sophomores and a freshman. Always a tough dual team Coach Ortega feels they will be greatly improved this year in tournaments.

Ranked: Vincent Tenorio (6) and Ben Grisz (1)

Counting on: David Henry and Ike Crews

Possible Line-up:

103 Eric Frick (11)
112 Vincent Tenorio (12) – 2nd Prep State, 7th Prep Nationals
119 AJ Turek (10)
125 Avi Chavada (11)
130 Danny Reddin (12) – 3rd Prep State
135 Ross Granowski (12) – 3rd Prep State
140 Bill Sessions (11) – 2nd Prep State or Henry
145 David Henry (10) – 2nd Prep State
152 Conner Youngblood (11) or Ben Hudson (12)
160 Scott Haige (11) -2nd Prep State
171 Hayden Anderson (9)
180 Jorge Estrada (11) – 3rd Prep State
189 Ben Grisz (11) – 2X Prep State Champion, 3rd Prep Nationals, Fargo All-American
215 Ike Crews (11) – 3rd Prep State
275 Will Plunkett (12) – 3rd Prep State

8. Arlington Bowie

This team is in the mix every year and this season will be no exception. They lost a very talented senior class last year including Luke Brigmon, Chris Corry and Derick Moore. In 2006 Bowie finished a very respectable 7th at State but four of the five wrestlers Bowie brought to State have graduated. Only 145 lb State Champ Brent Rogers returns. A lot of kids are going to have to step up if Bowie wants to make another strong showing at State. The good news is the team is well stocked with seasoned wrestlers who could make that leap. The bad news is, after Rogers, it is all unrealized potential.

Ranked: Ryon Hill (6), Brent Rogers (2) and Marcus McGraw (6)

Counting on: Shawn Klemm, Brad Atkinson, Adam Roberts and Chris Brooks

Probable lineup:

103 Kris Demont or Ryon Hill (10) – 4th District
112 Ryon Hill or Eric Martinez (11)
119 Amir Jalali (10)
125 Shawn Klemm (12) -2nd District, 6th Regional
130 Undetermined
135 Mark Goolsbay (12)
140 Arman Agarsi (11)
145 Brad Atkinson (12) – 1st District, 5th Regional
152 Brent Rogers (12) – State Champ – 145
160 Adam Roberts (12) or David Okere (12)
171 Barrett Galbraith (12) or Chris Brooks (11) -2nd District
180 Brooks or Casey Bloomfield (12)
189 Marcus McGraw (11) 1st District and leads the area in tackles in football
215 Jordan Spruiel (12) 3rd District
275 Robert Umeh -4th District or Cameron Carr

7. Lake Highlands

This is a team that finished 22nd at State last year but is going to surprise some people this year. Top 10 at State is doable, although being realigned into Highland Park’s district is no bargain. Coach Grieder tells us he has a young team but that a number of his young wrestlers have experience and in particular freshman Isaac Kinsella and Isaac Grieder are likely starters that should have an immediate impact. The team will be anchored by senior Tim Harris and junior Austin Cordova who placed 5th and 4th respectively at State last year. Although after Cordova and Harris it’s all potential and promise, Coach Grieder has a way of getting the most out of such teams. If he does they may even be pushing Highland Park by the end of the year.

Ranked: Austin Cordova (2) and Tim Harris (2)

Counting on: Luis Granados, Josh Marx, Isaac Kinsella and Isaac Grieder

Probable lineup:

103 Drew Lorett (9)
112 Greg Mitchell (11)
119 Luis Granados (11) – Regional Qualifier
125 Isaac Kinsella (9) – age group State Champ and All American last year
130 AJ Rose (11) – Regional Qualifier
130 Tyler German (10)
135 Isaac Grieder (9) – experienced youth wrestler
140 Austin Cordova (11) – 4th in State at 135
145 Josh Marx (11) – Regional Qualifier
152 Tim Harris (12) – 5th in State at 152
160 Luke Grieder (12) – State Alternate or Zach Atkins (12) – Regional Qualifier
171 Charles Shepherd (11)
180 Eric Guzman (11)
189 Jake Shoemaker (12)
215 Michael Hammond (12)
275 Nick White (11)

6. Colleyville Heritage

Coach Traver gives us the same theme we hear from many of the other coaches. He knows what the Sandoval’s can do and what LaPosta is capable of. What he doesn’t know is what kind of contribution he is going to get from the rest of his team. If he can get a solid contribution from four to five other wrestlers the team will be very good. If not, then it is a team with several elite wrestlers (competing for State titles) but little else.

Ranked: Jeremy Sandoval (1), Josh Sandoval (1), Logan LaPosta (4)

Counting on: Jacob Endert, Carlos Flores, Tyler Herrera, Johnny Shaw and Matt Courtney

Projected lineup:

103 Jordan Adams (11)
112 up for grabs
119 Ryan Burrus (11)
125 Jeremy Sandoval (10) – State Champ at 112
130 Josh Sandoval (12) – 2X State Runner-up
135 Jacob Endert (10)
140 Carlos Flores (11)
145 Tyler Herrera (12)
152 Not set yet
160 Johnny Shaw (12)
171 Matt Courtney (12)
180 Logan LaPosta (12) – State Qualifier
189 Nelson Adams (9)
215 not set yet
275 2 candidates

5. Keller

Coach Schee is very excited about Keller’s chances to improve on last year’s 8th place finish at State. The team will be led by the Couch brothers – Jordan a State placer and Camron a Greco All-American at Fargo. Both have been dramatically improving through involvement with Dallas Dynamite. Hey it never hurts to have Brandon Slay as your pracice partner! And then there is senior Matt Lupardus who will make a serious run at the 275 title in Austin. Add to this core move-in Robert Poyser from Florida and some wrestlers with experience and a solid team is taking shape. But the key to success, especially in dual meets, will be whether some juniors who have now been in the program for several years can step-up. If they can, Keller will emerge from middle of the pack to contender.

Ranked: Jordan Couch (4), Camron Couch (6) and Matt Lupardus (3)

Counting on: Chase Groeke, Colt Gibson and Tim Mcalister

Probable lineup:

103 Ty Ledesma or Matt Powers
112 Chase Goeke (11)
119 Colt Gibson (11)
125 Barry Smithley (11) or Kashiff Solarin (11)
130 Charles MacMillan (9) or Justin Lewis (12)
135 Travis Irby (12)
140 Tim McAlister (11)
145 open
152 Jordan Couch (12) – 6th State at 140
160 Camron Couch (11) – Fargo Greco All-American
171 Robert Poysner (10) – Regional Qualifier in Florida or Austin Grant (10)
180 open
189 Jacob Moss (12)
215 Josh Doty (12)
275 Matt Lupardus (12) 3rd State at 215

4. Arlington

Coach Harmony thinks this will be his best team ever at Arlington. And I believe him. Arlington returns three of the four wrestlers they brought to State last year and earned a 13th place finish, including Danny Luttrell who was 3rd at 103 and Spencer Jernigan who was 2nd at 152. The team is also counting on solid seasons from a number of veteran seniors – Joey Cox (135), Drew Munson (152), Justin Delay (140), Brenden Schnieder (189) and Josh Favara (215) – as well as move-in Matt Tanguma (130) from Seguin and junior Ben Gala (145). And finally add to this potent mix the help of retired Oklahoma coaching legend Dan Province and Arlington could be the team to beat in the toughest District in the State.

Ranked: Danny Luttrell (1), Johnny Luttrell (1) and Spencer Jernigan (2) and Stephen Speer (6)

Counting on: Joey Cox, Drew Munson, Justin Delay, Brenden Schnieder, Josh Favara, Matt Tanguma and Ben Gala.

Projected lineup:

103 Austin Handcock (9)
112 Danny Luttrell (11)
119 Jacob Jeszak (10)
125 Open
130 Matt Tanguma (12)
135 Joey Cox (12)
140 Justin Delay (12) or Tommy Frazier (12)
145 Ben Gala (11) or Jared Bunton (11)
152 Drew Munson (12)
160 John Luttrell (12)
171 Spencer Jernigan (11)
180 Mike Dominguez (12)
189 Brendan Schneider (12) or Thadius Madison (10)
215 Josh Favara (12) (and four footballers)
275 Stephen Speer (12) or Andy Harmony (10)

3. Coppell

Like Highland Park, Coppell brought nine wrestlers to State and finished 3rd only a point and a half out of 2nd. They return three State qualifiers including 171 lb. State Champ Spencer Covey. But with six State qualifiers graduated we will learn how much depth the Coppell program has. There are a lot of quality wrestlers to replace especially in the upper weights where Assistant Football Coach Stralow is looking for some athletes to recruit into the wrestling room.

Ranked: Dillon Horn (3), Ben Robinson (4) and Spencer Covey (1)

Counting on: Kegan Joplin, Jordan Love, Matt Hansen, Jeff Wales and Justin Johnson.

Projected lineup:

103 not set
112 Kegan Joplin (11) – State Alternate
119 Austin Souders or Justin Johnston
125 Austin Souders or Justin Johnston
130/135 Jeff Wales
140 Dillon Horn (11) -4th State at 130
145/152 Jordan Love or Matt Hansen
160 Ben Robinson (11) – State Qualifier
171 not set
180 Spencer Covey (12) – State Champ at 171
189-215-275 – still on the football field (?)

2. Highland Park

Will HP 3-peat? The accolades abound for the two time defending UIL State Champions and Coach Marzoula who enters his 25th and final season at the helm of the HP juggernaut (and 30th season as head coach). The defending champs lose four State qualifiers (including State champion Rowsey) but return five other State qualifiers including two State placers – Chase Gallatin 2nd at 135 and Kyle Anderson 3rd at 152. This year’s team is very deep at the lower and middleweights with less depth at the heavier weights. They could once again bring 9 or maybe more wrestlers to State. They will be very tough to beat.

Ranked: Zack Vick (4), Chad Gallatin (5), Briggs Montgomery (6), Chase Gallatin (1), Kyle Anderson (3), Teddy Gambordella (2)

Counting on: Every other starter

Projected lineup:

103 Tobin Fulton (11) 3rd in District, member Junior National
Dual team, Fargo participant
103 Colin Montgomery (9) 8 years wrestling with the Scots wrestling
Club
112 Stephen Sharp (12) captain, 4-year starter, 5th in state @103
Freshman year, state qualifier @103 soph., lost to injury in December 2005
112 Chad Lake (10) part time starter @ 103
119 Michael Sharp (12) 3 year starter, missed 2nd half of last season, 2X regional qualifier
119 Konstantin Wachs (11) moved in from New Jersey last year, part time
starter @103 and 112 last year
119 Alex Flores (12) move in from W.T. White
125-130 Zach Vick (12) captain, 4-year starter, 2X state qualifier,
member Junior National Dual team and Fargo participant
125-130 Chris Solari (12) part time starter @119, Fargo
participant
125-130 Tommy Schober (10) regional qualifier @112
130-135 Chad Gallatin (10) member Cadet National Dual Team and Fargo
participant
130-135 Chase Lake (11) District Champ @ 119, regional
qualifier
135-140 Briggs Montgomery – State qualifier (will return after Christmas from surgery)
140 Chase Gallatin (12) captain, 4-year starter, State runner-up @135,
member Junior National Duals Team, Fargo participant
140 Madison Oden (10) move in from Houston St. Thomas
145-152 Spencer Ewing (12) part-time starter @140 last year
145-152 Derek Burdick (11) 3rd in District @140, Regional qualifier, participated at Fargo
152-160 Tom Klessig (10) part-time starter, qualified for Team Texas Cadets but could not go
152-160 Max Vilmar (10) missed last year with broken ankle, wrestled 4
years with Scots wrestling club
160-171 Kyle Anderson (12) captain, 3-year starter, 2X state qualifier,
3rd state @152 last year
171-180 Ted Gambordella (12) captain, 3X state qualifier, 3rd state
@171 2005, member Junior National Dual Team, participant at Fargo
171-180 Barret Howell (11) part time starter at 180,189, and 215
189-215 Dan Samson (11) part-time starter at 180 and 189
215 Adam Starks (12) starter at 215
285 Will Shellenberger (11) starter @275, 3rd in Districts

1. Bishop Lynch

BL burst onto the national scene last year with a 4th place finish at the very tough Beast of the East and runner-up at National Preps. With Ben and Luke Ashmore, the Adamson brothers, Luke Silver and Johnny Koepp tournament scoring was the team’s strength. Dual meets were their Achilles heel since there were mostly inexperienced wrestlers behind the elite. Gone are Ben Ashmore and Riley and Ace Adamson. But four nationally ranked wrestlers return and seven wrestlers are in the Czar’s preseason rankings.

Coach Mathews insists the 2006-2007 team will be much more competitive up and down the line-up than they were last year. Remember Bishop Lynch was second to St Marks at Prep State last year. In addition to the ranked wrestlers, BL returns a couple additional TX Prep Champions (Tommy Sheils and Scott Collins) plus freshman Troy Silver and Tanner Eitel, newcomers Alex Munoz and Evan Epstein and get Justin Armstrong back from injury. Simply stated this team is absolutely loaded with talent. In addition to being a stellar tournament team they will be much better in duals.

Ranked: Dak Adamson (2), Justin Armstrong/Tanner Eitel (4), Luke Silver (1), Luke Ashmore (1), Johnny Koepp (1), Alex Munoz (7) and Jake Hanley (5)

Counting on: Scott Collins, Troy Silver, Tommy Sheils, Andrew Ellis and Evan Epstein

Projected lineup:

103 Jared Snapka
112 Scott Collins (10) TX Prep Champ
119 Troy Silver (9)
125 Tommy Sheils (12) TX Prep Champ
130 Dak Adamson (11) TX Prep Champ, 3rd at National Preps
135 Tanner Eitel (9)/Justin Armstrong (10)
140 Luke Silver (12) 3X TX Prep Champ, 3rd at National Preps
145 Luke Ashmore (12) 3x TX Prep Champ, 2nd at National Preps, 2X Fargo Champ
152 Johnny Koepp (11) TX Prep Champ
160-Sean Rohe (12)/Alex Munoz (11)
171-Alex Munoz (11)/Sean Rohe (12)
180-Andrew Ellis (12) /Casey Collins (10)
189-Matt Houston
215-Jake Hanley (11)
285-Evan Epstein (11)

On Day 3 Team Texas finds itself in the Consolation Quarter-finals. Anything less than 3 straight wins will be a disappointment to a team that already had its share of disappointment over the first 2 days. But 3 straight wins is a tall order. The half of the team that wrestled Greco enters a 5th straight day of competition. Even the Freestyle only boys have seen 7 straight matches in 2 days against the best wrestlers in the nation. And because it is win or go home the pressure is on every match.

First up Kansas. This was a team where it was strength on strength. As usual Texas is in a hole after 98 and 105 (neither of Texas’ scheduled starters made weight – call this the greco deficit) but also as usual Brandon McDonald comes up big at 112, this time with a fall. Score: Kansas 8 Texas 6.

Really tough opponents at 119, 125 and 130. Both Sandovals lose tough matches and Ben Ashmore is in a dogfight with Oklahoma signee, Tyler Caldwell. Ben wins 2-0, 2-0. I’m sure these two will see much more of each other over the next 4-5 years. Unbelievably Kansas stretches the lead. Score: Kansas 16 Texas 10.

The Lukes (Silver and Ashmore) are in very tough matches but both win. Johnny Koepp wins by fall. Score: Texas 21 Kansas 17.

AJ Forsythe loses by fall but Taylor Torisk who seems to be getting the hang of freestyle wins by fall. But Fred Rowsey with yet another really tough opponent – Okie State signee Neil Erisman – is tagged with a loss. Score: Texas 27 Kansas 25.

The Texas upperweights were not been able to hold leads against Florida or NY. There is cause for concern. A bruised and battered Teddy Gambordella checks in at 189. But attrition has bitten Kansas too and Ted accepts a forfeit. No such luck at 215 where the other 189 – Robert Prigmore – battles gamely but comes up short. Troy Witt is asked to extend the Texans’ day by holding onto a 4 point lead. Troy secures the victory with a solid 3-0, 5-3 victory. Texas moves on. Final score: Texas 35 Kansas 29.

Next up Greco Champs Missouri. Two heroes in this match: the obvious and the not so obvious. The not-so obvious hero is 98-pounder Dante Reynolds. He is the “beneficiary” of the Greco deficit and as the only 98 on the team gets run out for every match. The team, the coaches and Dante couldn’t have imagined him with anything but a back-up role. Probably at most wrestle once or twice, but he was thrust into the starting lineup and understandably struggled with opponents at this level.

Most matches were over quickly and he was pinned or teched without adding a team point. He could have gotten down and gone through the motions. He didn’t. He rose to the challenge and lost 2-8, 3-6 earning a team point and starting off with only a two point deficit instead of 4 or 5. Think about that effort when you read the final score. Can a kid who didn’t win a match on the mat be a hero? Yeah, he sure can!

From there the match proceeded according to plan with the strong Texas middleweights building a huge lead. Score after 145: Texas 29 Missouri 10. Then the wheels flew off the Texas wagon. Losses followed at 152, 160, 171 and 189 in matches that were really not close. And at 275 for Missouri was a kid who had not lost in 5 days either Greco or Freestyle. Big Mo was comfortably seated on the Missouri bench.

Only one man stood in Missouri’s way of sending the Texas boys home with their tail between their legs with a bitter day-three loss. The bruised and battered Teddy Gambordella wrestling at 215. Now Missouri has a stable of 215s – really there are three 215s on thier lineup and of course none for Texas. Needless to say they run out the biggest and baddest of the bunch. One Dakota Greenhaw — he towers over Teddy and outweighs him by 30 pounds – and it is all muscle. Four months ago Ted was 171. I bet Dakota hasn’t seen 171 since 6th grade, and that was before hit went to Grandma’s for Sunday dinner.

The match begins and Dakota takes complete control with a takedown and a couple turns. What happened next is the stuff that legends are made of. A spark went off. Teddy didn’t want to go home . . . didn’t want to let teammates down and came battling back against this behemoth despite grimacing in pain with bruised (or worse) ribs.

Something inside Ted said, no, not today. Not on my team. Not Texas. I am not going down today. He took the first period 7-6. Dakota then threw Ted around like a rag doll in the 2nd period to win 6-0. And Dakota scored a takedown in the third but he couldn’t get a turn. Sensing he was in better condition, and having the heart of a lion, Ted battled until he tied the score and Dakota couldn’t answer the bell. Down goes Kansas. Up goes Texas. The battle of San Jacinto all over again. I wouldn’t take bets on Teddy’s chances in a rematch, but on this day it was Ted Gambordella’s broad shoulders that Team Texas rode into the consolation finals. Final score: Texas 34 Missouri 32.

Consolation Finals – Texas v Minnesota

These guys were very good but Texas caught a few breaks. First Minn had no 98 and so the Greco deficit was eliminated. Dante gets a win, a long-lasting, heartfelt win for this heroic little warrior! They were tough in middleweights and the match really seesawed. The climactic point was Luke Ashmore’s match against a very tough, highly ranked Jake Deitchler. It was a real battle with emotions high on both sides. Luke won 1-0, 3-3, 2-1 and then raised his arms to supporters in the upper deck which was taken by Minn coaches as disrespect and some bad blood ensued. Luke is a demonstrative wrestler but not disrespectful. He was misread by the Minn coaches. Luke is to Team Texas what Michael Irvin was to the Cowboys. He is the emotional leader. When emotion was needed it was usually Luke to supply it.

But after wins by Silver, Luke Ashmore and Koepp, the advantage was only 7 points. Score: Texas 23 Minn 16.

Would the upperweights let this one slip away? Forsythe caught a break with an injury default at 152. But then Torisk and Rowsey sealed the deal with two wins. For once the pressure was off Robert, Teddy and Troy. Score: Texas 34 Minn 18.

Texas would earn only one more point but it was all inconsequential; the match was over. The best scene was seeing Coach Lujan come over to Ted warming up and ready to go to war once again and tell him he could have a seat. He had done enough. Make no mistake about it. Had Gambodella been asked to climb the highest mountain for his team, he would have done it. That’s what champions do. Team Texas had won four straight gruelling matches and was Consolation Champions.

Congratulations to all Team Texas wrestlers and coaches on best ever finishes in Greco and Freestyle.

The theme for Day 2 is survival. There are two more rounds in Pool A and then it becomes win or go home in the Consolation bracket. Coach Lujan asks the team to guard against a letdown. AA status is gone but it would be a helluva ride from here to a Consolation Championship.

First up is New York. This figured to be a toss-up based on a common opponent: Florida beat Texas 32 -31 and beat New York 31-29. And it proved to be just that. Texas gets a slow start losing 98 and 103 but then Brandon McDonald wins at 112. Score: NY 7 Texas 4

Jeremy and Josh Sandoval loose to very tough kids from New York but neither was teched and they both scored to earn points. And in between Ben Ashmore picked up a fall. This means Texas outscored NY by a point (7-6) even though NY won two of the three matches. A lesson learned from Day 1 – get at least a point from each match. Score: NY 13 Texas 11

At 135, Luke Silver earned a hard fought 3-1, 2-1 victory over a very tough P.J. Gillespie. Luke Ashmore followed with a shutout and Johnny Koepp took a tough 3 period loss. But the BL studs had given Texas the lead. Score: Texas 18 NY 17

Losses at 152 and 160 could not be completely erased by Rowdy Fred Rowsey’s 6-0, 3-1 win at 171 and the lead seesawed back to NY. Score NY 25 Texas 22.

So it would again come down to the last 3 weights. At 189 and 215 Texas has but two wrestlers – both 189s- Teddy Gambordella and Robert Prigmore. Both take turns at 215. Both wrestled Greco. Robert has survived pretty well so far but Greco has taken a heavy toll on Ted. He is wrestling on guts and determination. Ted busted his butt at 189 but guts and determination couldn’t quite earn the win as he fell short 3-1, 1-4, 1-4. But Prigmore rose to the occassion again with a 6-0, 2-0 shutout. Once again the final bout would decide the match. Troy Witt did not look good losing the first period 0-1 but he discarded the heavyweight dance and went all outin period 2. But he came up short 3-7.
Final Score: NY 31 Texas 27

This loss stung but honestly it wasn’t as costly as the Florida loss. Both NY and Texas would be in the Consolation bracket – on opposite sides – could they meet again?

In the final Pool match Texas easily dispatched an outmanned California Gold (B team) by the score of 46-21. The boys then had a much needed 5 hour rest until the beginning of the Consolation Round at 7pm.

The opponent in Consolation Round 1 was Washington. Texas grabbed big mo with a win at 105 and rode a winning streak all the way through 171. Washington ran out several tough kids during the streak but Salinas, McDonald , both Sandovals, both Ashmores, Silver, Koepp, Forsythe, Logan and Rowsey all won – 11 wins in a row and the score stood 42-7. Texas did not win another match and in fact could have forfeited at 189 and 215 to give the battered bodies of Prigmore and Gambordella time to rest. Wasn’t happening. Both these warriors took the mat but lost tough, hard fought matches. In my opinion this was easily the best match Team Texas has wrestled in Freestyle. If they can bring some more of that tomorrow, it could be a very interesting day.

The fortunes of Team Texas took a dramatic turn for the worst on the first day of Junior Freestyle. Day 1 of Junior Greco found Team Texas as high as a kite with a stunning upset victory over California. But oh how different does it feel after the first day of Freestyle as Team Texas hopes for AA status are effectively gone.

Hopes for a first ever All American status in Freestyle had to be soaring when Team Texas considered it would be adding the considerable talents of Ben and Luke Ashmore, Luke Silver, Johnny Koepp, Jeremy Sandoval, AJ Forsythe, Jason Logan, and Fred Rowsey to the AA Greco Team that finished 4th. There were some Greco boys that would not compete in Freestyle -most notably Brent Rogers (MVP Greco performance) and Whitten White and Ace Adamson due to injuries. But perhaps most devastingly, Taylor Salinas and Danny Luttrell who had wrestled every significant Greco match at 98 and 103 respectively, were now at 103 and 112. It was not so much that they “missed” weight but were “allowed” to move up in the hopes of a better Greco performance. What may have marginally helped the Greco squad proved to be the achilles heel for the Junior Freestyle team. There will be many questions about that decision.

In looking at the Junior Freestyle pools it was obvious that the path to AA would almost certainly require a victory over Florida. Florida was the #8 seed; Texas the #9 seed. A very powerful Illinois Team was also in Pool A and the overall #1 seed. Team Texas started with #16 North Dakota and it was not really a contest as Team Texas coasted 49-15.

It was good to have a warm up as the AA match with Florida was next. Make no mistake Team Texas knew what was at stake even this early in the the tournament. Coach Will Rowe walked up and down the bench exhorting the wrestlers that only a win against Florida would earn them AA status.

Texas v Florida

The match started ominously as Dante Reynolds lost by tech fall at 98, Salinas was overmatched at 103 and Danny Luttrell was unable to avoid the fall at the hands of Florida stud Grazales. Score: Florida 12 Texas 1.

Jeremy Sandoval demolished his opponent at 119 by 7-1 and 7-0. Ben Ashmore up next and seconds into the match was (almost) flat on his back. Down 4-0, Ben recovered to win the first period 11-4 and then erase the Florida point with a fall in the second period. Josh Sandoval followed Ben with what also appeared to be a confirmed fall but after discussion was overrulled. Josh would tech his outclassed opponent but like Jeremy before the shut out eluded him. It was hard to comprehend at this stage just how critical every point would prove. Score: Florida 14 Texas 14.

At 135 and 140, Luke Silver and Luke Ashmore dominate their opponents but can earn neither a TF nor a shut out. At 145, Johnny Koepp then has a hard fought 5-3, 3-6, 2-0 decision. So for these 3 weights Texas outscores Florida 9-3. While Texas appears to be dominating on the mat (having just won 6 matches in a row) Florida keeps picking up points in defeat to stay within reach. Score Texas 23 Florida 17.

At 152, AJ Forsythe is on the short end of a 1-3 score in the first period when there is blood time. It turns into injury time as the Florida wrestler is obviously dazed. The trainer says no mas (clearly the right decision) and after about 5 minutes of protesting by the Florida coaches the decision stands and 5 points to Texas for Injury Default. At 160, Taylor Torisk is in a wild match but he is clearly outscoring his opponent. The score appears to be 8-4 Taylor when there is a long referees conference and the score inexplicably changes to 9-8 with Taylor on the short end. When action resumes Torisk gets called with a phantom pin. It seemed almost like a make up call for the prior injury default. At 171, Rowsey overpowers his opponent but the Florida kid manages to both score and avoid a tech, 7-0, 7-3 (anyone see a pattern here?) Score: Texas 31 Florida 23

3 matches left. Florida rolls out 2 studs (Green and Lester) and another quality wrestler. Prigmore, Gambordella and Witt hung very tough but incredibly could not manage a point against any of the Florida boys. As it turned out a single point would have given Texas the match on criteria (8 wins to 7) … but it was not to be on this day…

Final Score: Florida 32 Texas 31

There can be an awful lot of “what ifs” and second-guessing in a match of this magnitude which ends in such a heart-wrenching defeat. Obviously credit goes to the Florida boys. I believe Texas was the better team but Florida wrestled better today. They earned team points in every single match (with the exception of Ben’s pin and the Inj Def and even those 2 kids scored) even when up against a superior opponent. If Team Texas could say that they would have won. Still there was not a Texas wrestler who didn’t give his all on the mat.

But the biggest “what if” is how this dual ends if Salinas wrestled 98 and Luttrell 105 as they were scheduled to do. Can there really be much doubt Texas beats Florida and gets to the AA round? I don’t think so. Again, I don’t think this is a case of wrestlers missing weight but being told to forget making weight for FS for the sake of the Greco team. I don’t know, it seems like a real disservice to the boys on the Freestyle team.

While Team Texas licked their wounds in a 53-13 pounding of North Carolina in Round 3, it looked like the boys from New York may be doing one huge favor for Team Texas by upsetting Florida. After the 152 match, the score was New York 27 Florida 13. Florida then proceeded to reel off 5 straight victories including a tech fall by Green who bumped up to 215 and a second straight clinching victory by Lester at 275. Another incredible come from way behind victory by Florida 31-29.

Team Texas ended a tough day getting pounded by Illinois. Texas was never emotionally into this match and it showed. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes I would not have believed Texas could throw both Ashmores, both Sandovals, Silver, Koepp, Logan, Rowsey and more at an opponent and not win a single match. It happened. Texas lost 53-11 and 5 of the points were earned by forfeit. I seriously doubt anybody will beat this Illinois team.

Tomorrow is another day. Team Texas needs to regroup and run the table. There is not another team they face that they cannot beat if they bring their A game.