I won’t write a traditional state wrap here, as it has been done so well by so many already. Instead I will write a season wrap, including a look at wrestling in Houston as a whole, a look at each of our 3 state champions, and a quick glance ahead to 2007.

Let me begin my season wrap by saying that Houston Wrestling offers the best High School Coaching in the state.

Houston wrestling has been talked about the last few weeks, and ideas have been floated regarding its strength, and whether this was an “up” year. After watching the Houston performance in the state tournament, I can’t answer if it was an up year, but I can say this, Houston Wrestling offers the best High School Coaching in the state.

A deep look at the last few year’s state performance bears out this seemingly wild claim. Now don’t mistake me, Dallas wrestling is far superior to Houston wrestling, and I would go as far as to say that I would choose Dallas over the rest of the state combined, both in depth and in top wrestlers. However, the performance of Houston HIGH SCHOOL wrestling cannot be compared apples to apples with Dallas. The last few years reveal a trend in which the strength of Houston’s High School programs is displayed.

Wrestling in the Houston area exists with almost a total lack of youth wrestling. This is not a knock on the solid Spring Klein and CUMC programs, but most teams in the area have a total lack of youth wrestling. Not only is Dallas light years ahead, but panhandle and Austin Youth wrestling are also probably superior.

Consider this, out of every Houston area wrestler who competed this past weekend, there was exactly 1 returning state place winner, Shane Doughman. That’s right, just one. This is why I started off this season with an article titled “Change, Change, Change.” The area had lost so much that it was bound to be a down year. Recent results show a number of Dallas, Austin, and Panhandle wreslters achieving great success as underclassmen. These young guns then form the backbone of powerhouse teams for the next 2 to 3 seasons. On the other hand, the best Houston teams each year are typically made up of talented Seniors who are just beginning to peak and reach the State level. The Houston teams are built on high participation numbers and consistent coaching more than youth Wrestling and Fargo Participation. This is the amazing thing about Houston’s growing success the past few years, the names change every year. Last year Strake Jesuit burst onto the state scene with a large group of seniors, only to disappear this year. This year saw Klein emerge as a state Power with multiple state qualifiers and place winners, but with som many of them being seniors what does the future hold?

For supremely coached teams like Klein, Klein Oak, Bryan, and Westside, much like the Houston area, the names may change but the results will remain the same. Houston Coaches have as little to work with as anybody, yet instead of complaints or pleas for Dallas’ respect (like some areas of the state), Houston’s coaches simply go to work and let that respect come. And as area youth wrestling catches up and the number of programs continues to rise (7 new Houston teams in 07), the state as a whole can only benefit.

State Champions

Shane Doughman, Klein Oak, 119 lbs
Doughman won his 2nd state champion and made himself the 3rd most decorated Texas wrestler in the senior class of 2006 (Ben Ashmore and Fredercik Rowsey). His work ethic is awesome, but what seemed to make Shane Great was his ability to elevate himself to the level of the competition. With the great need at the NCAA level for 125 lb. wrestlers, Shane will be a huge blessing wherever he lands. Once he is immersed into a college room, his will to win should lead him places few Texans have gone.

Kyle Jones, Klein Collins, 215
The first Houston Report of the year listed Collins as a team ready to break through under coach Kenny Rucker, and with 2 state qualifers and the schools first state champion, I would say that happened. In the greatest compliment I can think to pay somebody, Jones was for lack of a better word a “poor man’s” James Aston. Again this is a pure compliment, as I never thought I would be able to see that combination of size and athleticism again so soon. Jones was perhaps the best defensive wrestler in the state, bar none. He is never out of position, and is almost impossible to take down. As he continues to develop as a technical wrestler he will be a force to be reckoned with. He has only scratched the surface of his ability, and in the right circumstances, he could easily flourish in a college room, facing top competition on a regular basis. On a pure potential basis, he has the ability to do things at the next level that nobody in Texas not named Ben Ashmore can accomplish.

Matt Harris, Cinco Ranch, 160 lbs.
“Matt Harris wins 2nd state Championship… and First”
This could have been the headline, but it is a shame that the controversy at the end is what people remember most about the 160 state finals. The truth is that the headline should have been about the amazing story of the Cinco Ranch 2 sport star who won his first state title this year after not even making it past the district tournament last year (he was stuck behind a pair of Senior State qualifiers).

Harris represents a team that was supposed to be rebuilding after graduating one of the toughest senior classes in recent history (Champion Benavides, finalist and 2X qualifier Roman, place winner Vasquez, and 2X qualifier Ruland amongst others). Cinco Ranch finished out of the money multiple times in the early going this season. They lost duals to teams they have beaten for years. At Christmas it looked like this was the year to beat Cinco if you were ever going to do it. However, after another district title and a top 5 state finish (something the previous senior laden team failed to do), it is time to look at Coach Dushane for what he is, one of the state’s best Coaches, and probably the best developer of talent. Cinco Ranch is a factory, they produce High School wrestlers, and it just so happens that next year’s team might be their best output ever. They graduate exactly one wrestler from this year’s State Duals lineup, and though solid, he was not one of their best. They return a state champion, a state finalist, a state place winner (and former state champ), a state qualifier, along with their next 10 best wrestlers. If they are able to keep their heads screwed on right after reading articles like this, they should enter the season as favorites not just for next February in Austin, but for wherever the State dual Tournament is held (Katy’s new facility perhaps). So I guess I sum up Houston Wrestling like this…

The names change (for everyone but Cinco Ranch) but the results remain the same.