The Houston Report:
Preseason Outlook and “Looking Back on Last Year’s Unreal Season”

By Russell Pate
ITW Staff Writer

When last year arrived it appeared that Houston would be in a rebuilding year. The class of 2005, led by James Aston, had come and gone. It looked questionable whether 2006 would keep up the trend of South Texas gaining ground on the rest of the state. Looking back on the season, the answer is a resounding “yes.”

Last season saw depth on a scale that Bayou-area wrestling never had known before. To make the top-ten area teams became a meaningful accomplishment rather than a guarantee for anyone simply with a full lineup of fifteen wrestlers.

Here are a few highlights of last season.

• The first regional dual tournament was a great success. Klein, Klein Oak, and Cy Fair all earned the right to advance to the state dual tournament. (Cy Fair’s 4th place at Regions was very impressive from a team in its first year with a real high school coach.)

• The best story, however, was Cinco Ranch. The weekend was a turning point for a Cinco team that had struggled through a rebuilding mode all year. They finally brought it all together and had an undefeated run that catapulted them to a district title and top-five state finish – all in a team full of juniors.

• The Regional III Tournament was a Klein showcase! Klein and Klein Oak finished 2nd and 3rd, respectively both within points of victory. This great effort was followed up by strong state tournaments for both programs.

• Three Houston wrestlers brought home gold in Austin. Shane Doughman repeated, Matt Harris battled through adversity to win his first crown, and Kyle Jones continued a three-year run of Houston 215 lb. state champions (Sanders, Aston, Jones).

Looking Ahead – Powerhouse Dual Threats

2006-2007 looks right now like it will be a big year for area teams and Wrestlers, and this all starts with Cinco Ranch (http://cincowrestling.org/).

The Cougars placed 5th in the state last year and return not only every one of those points, but also 14 of their top 15 wrestlers overall. Only one wrestler graduated from last year’s team, and though they have the big guns to compete for a UIL State Title, there team strength may lie more in a dual lineup with more experience than anyone in the state. ITW has CR ranked second (to Highland Park) in the preseason UIL rankings.

Last year’s Junior heavy team was very inexperienced due to the awesome 05’ senior class they replaced. But by the end of the year, the newbies were making noise. Lots of noise.

Matt Harris began the season as one of those wrestlers without much varsity experience. He spent 2005 searching for a spot in the lineup behind a run of Cinco All-State wrestlers. When he finally got down to his spot at 140, he ran into a pair of state place winners at the district tournament and was unable to qualify for Regionals.

Last year began with Matt as a great potential talent, but he wasn’t seen on any state champion watch lists. However, Cinco Ranch wrestlers win. That’s what they do. That’s what they expect to do. That’s what they’ve always done.

So when you are one of the best in the Cinco Ranch room, you don’t lack confidence regardless of what you have or have not done. Add to that the fact that Harris is a competitor (just ask those who line up against him on the football field), and you have a kid ready to explode onto the scene. And Explode he did.

His first Tournament out of football saw him against New Orleans Jesuit (The Woodlands at the time) All-State wrestler Chris Molder, and Harris took it to him. This win quickly landed him on the rankings, but people continued to overlook him as a serious title contender (yours truly included).

Even after a Regional Finals win over three-time state qualifier Zach Nichols of Westside, he was still not picked by most to medal, let alone win the whole enchilada. But impressive wins over highly-regarded Aaron Pelletier and then Jeremy Watson in the Quarterfinals landed him in the finals.

Those two wins, both close, hard-fought decisions against more experienced opponents would have been impressive by anyone, but for a kid in his first time under the bright state lights of UIL state, it was awesome.

First timers don’t often fair well in Austin, but some special wrestlers, ones with ice water in their veins, thrive under the same lights that make others wilt. These wins made Harris look like he could be one of those guys.

The finals however took it a big step further. Harris trailed top ranked Brent Pardinek late in the match, but calmly scored a go-ahead takedown in the final minute. The seconds ticked away and he was a champion.

A storybook ending. Or, was it?

The referees conferred and made a technically-correct decision to pull Harris out of the stands 20 minutes after his hand was raised. His shoes were thrown over the railing to him. No way could he regain his focus. Or could he?

And then amidst a wildly-chanting crowd, he calmly re-wrestled the final 30 seconds. This time scoring 1/10 of a second before the buzzer to win it again! This was a case of a young man who would not be denied. Not just that night, but also all season. He started in the middle of the pack and ended up running away with the whole thing. And he was just a junior in his first full varsity season.

His improvement in 2006 was awesome and stands as a testament to his coach and himself. If he stays hungry and has the same type of improvement this year then JR needs to install him right now as the top Public School Wrestler and Recruit in the state of Texas.

Cinco Ranch meanwhile will be aiming for a pair of titles. Helping Harris will be Jamie Sheets (2004 champ, 2005 qualifier, 4th last year at 140), Will McNair (state runner-up last year at 180), and Nick Waltman (returning qualifier at 103).

The UIL title will take a few things going their way, but the Dual title is theirs for the taking. Not only do they return the whole team from last year, they will have the tournament in their own backyard, as the State Dual Tournament will take place in the new Merrell Center (http://merrellcenter.com/), the Katy district arena. That’s hot!

Here is a look at a possible lineup for Cinco, although I would expect them to use their depth to make lots of adjustments for duals over the year.

103/112 should be handled by JV kids or Kids program frosh
119 Nick Waltman, 12 (state qualifier, 39-7)
125 Will Tarallo, 11 (20-18)
130
135 Nick Tanory, 11 (22- 18, Regional Qualifier)
140 Brad Bartholomew, 11 (25- 19) / Morris, 10
145 Jamie Sheets, 12 (39- 4, 4th at state)
152 ???
160 Will Morris, 11 (10- 5, La. State Placer in 05’)
171 Matt Harris, 12, (45- 1, 1st at state)
180 ???
180/189 Will McNair, 12 (38- 4 2nd at State)
215 Matt Stewart, 11 (27- 12)
275 John Gioffre, 11 (23- 14)

Author’s Note: My aim with this column is to produce 100% positive media coverage for kids who don’t otherwise receive it. I have no desire to be “hard hitting”. I also cannot be everywhere at once. If you think I am wrong, tell me by responding to the column. I won’t take it personal. I’m not the authority on wrestling, I’m just a guy who knows how good Houston wrestling is, and wants everyone else to see it too.

Houston Power Rankings

1. Cinco Ranch (cincowrestling.org/): Have as much returning as anyone in the state, they are competitors for the UIL state title and favorites for the dual title.
2. Cy Fair: A big senior group with tons of youth experience that now enters second year with full-time high school coach.
3. Klein (kleinwrestling.com ): Best equipped to handle graduations due to their great depth, should be a top dual team again.
4. Woodlands (teacherweb.com/TX/TheWoodlandsHighSchool/Wrestling/ ): As always these guys could be anywhere in the top five depending on when you catch them.
5. Katy Taylor (mustangwrestler.com/): Loaded with juniors they could be the team to beat in 08’, can wrestle with anyone in a dual.
6. Klein Oak (kleinoakwrestling.com ): They graduated as much as anyone but they will stay near the top.
7. Houston Westside (geocities.com/sarchives/westside/): Also graduated a lot but have a lot returning as well.
8. Katy (katyathleticboosterclub.org/katywrestlingboys.htm ): They bring back almost the whole team and will need it in their district,
9. Mayde Creek (geocities.com/maydecreekwrestling ): Should be about like last year.
10. Brazoswood (www.angelfire.com/tx/bwoodwrestling/index.html): Very good depth for a developing program.
11. Beaumont Westbrook: Have been growing steadily for years.
12. Klein Collins: After years of building they graduated a lot and now rebuild for the first time.
13. Morton Ranch: Made big strides last year and the school has seniors for the first time ever now.
14. Friendswood: Will they drop after the loss of their coach?
15. St. Thomas: Lost their elite guys to graduation but still has some tough kids.

And Stay tuned for the full Houston Pre-Season Report Starting November 1st and leading up to the start of wrestling. If there is a story that you want to hear, or information you have to contribute, post a comment or email me at houston_wrestling@hotmail.com .