Russell Pate

This past weekend was a first for Houston. The area hosted 2 large tournaments in the same weekend, with The Woodlands Invitational and the Chicken Wing Classic at Westside. Both featured the area’s top teams, as well as tough competition from around the state and Louisiana. Not too long ago Houston lacked two such tournaments in a season, now a Houston wrestling fan was faced with choosing which to watch.

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Houston Metropolitan Championships

Russell Pate

It was a great 2 days at Klein Oak as 41 teams came together for an early season tangle. The Woodlands was the dominant team of the tournament, scoring an impressive 233 points, while their JV finished 18th overall (14th out of the Houston schools). A very deep Dallas Jesuit team finished 2nd despite having only 2 in the finals. New Orleans Jesuit finished 3rd by placing 9 of the 11 wrestlers they entered. But the surprise of the tournament was Cy Fair, never a factor in previous years, putting 4 wrestlers in the finals and topping 200 points to finish 4th.

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Midweek Dual Recap/ Saturday Preview

Russell Pate

Houston saw the start of the wrestling season last night with duals going on all over the area. Here are some of the highlights.

#5 Cinco Ranch took on #15 Friendswood in a great season opener. Cinco proved that just because they graduated a lot, they are not going to go away silently. Friendswood coach Bill Baker commented that, “As usual, Dushane has his kids in great shape and wrestling tough.”
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Change, Change, Change

By Russell Pate
houston_wrestling@hotmail.com

Houston Wrestling is definitely singing this song heading into the 2005-06 season. Gone is the biggest and most successful senior class the area has ever seen. Adios to State Champions James Aston (to Ohio State), Matt Cole (to Oklahoma), and Jimmy Benavides, along with a number of other state finalists and place winners. Many top teams from a year ago face the question whether they will reload or rebuild. And now a look at ten burning questions that loom large heading into the season.

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