TexasWrestling
by: Ray Shoaf
The 6A Boys State Championships are upon us and this year is gonna have some great drama that we are accustomed to at the State Tournament. The team race will be a 2 horse race with Allen going for its 9th consecutive UIL Team Title and heavy hitter Arlington Martin looks geared toward taking it from Allen. El Paso Franklin, Katy, Southlake Carroll, Rockwall, and Keller will be doing their part to place in the top 3 as well.
Allen brings 13 wrestlers, Arlington Martin brings 11 wrestlers, with Allen/Martin match ups coming early at 120, 132, 138, 145, 152, 160, 170, 195,. 8 matches potentially happening in the quarter or semifinals, obviously the wrestlers have to do their part to get there, others in the brackets will have a say about it. Below is a preview of the top 10 ranked wrestlers per last week rankings, am sure there will be some changes when they come out this Wednesday.
106
The 2 top wrestlers starting us out is #1 ranked Dominic Chavez of Arlington Martin and #2 Braxton Brown of Allen. #3 ranked Parker Decker of Keller has lost already to Chavez but can he find a way to get passt Brown and Chavez for the top podium spot? #4 Jackson Crandall of Katy has a previous loss to Brown but has been coming on strong last 2 weeks winning over previous top ranked #5 Christian Lopez of Houston Westside. Chavez and Crandall are on the top side of the bracket, Brown and Decker are are the bottom side of the bracket. #8 Kalen Napier of Weatherford, #7 Gabe Gamez of San Antonio MacArthur, and #6 Zachery Gomez of El Paso Pebble Hills bring up the other top ranked wrestlers.
113
This weight got all messed up with a couple of freshman coming on strong late and beating/placing over top ranked wrestlers. #6 Jayden Two Lance of Arlington Martin and #7 Jude Camacho of Houston Cyp-Ranch both placed higher than top ranked wrestlers with Two Lance defeating #1 ranked wrestler Preston Decker of Keller this past weekend, Decker already has a win over #3 ranked Gabe Martinez of Allen this year at the Outlaw tournament. #2 ranked Noah Gochberg of Austin Vandegrift hasn’t faced any of the above wrestlers this year to my knowledge. Gochberg and Two Lance are on the bottom side of the bracket and could face in the semi finals. Martinez and Decker are in the top bracket with Camacho having to go through Decker to get to Martinez.
120
This weight, in my opinion, is the toughest at state this year. The top 7 ranked wrestlers are all state placers/Champs/ and qualifiers with #10 Mason Woodard of Weatherford beating #2 Kobe Nelms at Region 1. #6 John Geiger has a win over #3 Jordan Strmiska, #2 Nelms has a win over #4 Noah Yeamans of Allen, Strmiska has 2 wins over #5 Christian Moreno of Austin Bowie, last year’s state champ, and I haven’t even talked about #7 Daniel Hernandez of Westside, #8 Jordan Haskins of Lewisville. #1 Luke Garcia hasn’t lost to any of the mentioned wrestlers and is on the top side of the bracket. No clear favorites here.
126
#1 Logan Brown of Allen and #2 Isaiah Delgado of El Paso Eastwood, Brown has been voted #1 last couple of ranking polls. Delgado is a 2 time state champ and Brown is a 2x finalist and a 3rd state placer and they are on opposite sides of the brackets. #3 Adian Rodriguez of El Paso Franklin and #5 Yahya Maqavi of San Antonio Reagan will have to go through Brown on the top side. While #4 Luke Sloan of Austin Vandegrift and #6 Joseph Segura who is undefeated thus far from League City Clear Falls will have to go through Delgado on the bottom side.
132
#1 James Green of El Paso Franklin is on the top side here with #5 Adam Maestas of McKinney Boyd, and #7 Garrett Orlando of Houston Cy-Fair a couple of top ranked wrestlers to go through. the bottom side has the #2,3,4 wrestlers all bunched up. #2 Conner Manderfeld could get #4 Conner Wilson of Allen in the quarter finals and the winner potentially seeing #3 Jesse Diaz of Tascosa if late comer #13 Abel Vasquez of Klein Oak dont continue his winning ways or #11 freshman DeShawn Cosby dont get the upset before hand.
138
The #1 and #2 wrestlers are split here for a potential true final. #1 Trent Dooley of Allen is on the top side of the bracket and will have to deal with #8 Timmy Johnson-Thompson of League City Clear Creek before he gets to a possible #4 Brett Taylor of Arlington Martin in the Semi Finals. #2 Joaquin Bautista of Houston Cyp-Lakes is on the bottom half of the bracket and could meet the winner of #3 Aaron Goldman vs #6 Adrian Zubia Jr of El Paso Franklin in the quarterfinals before getting to #5 Brian Najera of El Paso Coronado or #11 and region 4 champ Enrique Munguia of San Antonio Johnson.
145
Returning state champ #1 ranked Daniel Manibog is in the top bracket here and the clear favorite to repeat. #2 Zach Carpenter of Arlington Martin who lost in the region 1 finals to #5 Kaleb Jewett of El Paso Franklin will have the #3 Elise Brown-Ton of Allen and #4 Steven Gamez of San Antonio MacArthur to go through to reach the finals. Jewett is on the top side with Manibog.
152
#2 Cameron Haddock of Southlake Carroll avenged his earlier in the season loss to #1 Eric Two Lance of Arlington Martin in the region 1 finals last week. #3 Ryan Ierubino didn’t make it out of regionals, (we did not get confirmation, but speculation is that he was attempting to wrestling ill or injured – he was definitely WAY less than 100%). The rest of the field looks to be pretty even with it being anyone’s quest to make the semi finals against Haddock or Two Lance.
160
This weight is set up to possibly have a rematch of last years 160 finals where #1 Juwan Robison of Allen came from behind with 2 cheap tilts “if I remember right” to defeat #2 Samuel Mora of Amarillo Tascosa . Mora is on the top side of the bracket with #4 DJ Owcarz of Woodlands College Park and Robison is on the bottom side with #3 Joseph Rodriguez of Keller Fossil Ridge .
170
Can anyone stop #1 ranked Braedan Redlin on his quest for only the 3rd 4x state championship in UIL history? Redlin has been on a different level all year and already has a win by fall over #3 Kyle Kretzer who is on the bottom side with him, so a possible revenge match in the making. #2 Adam Kilgore of Arlington Bowie is on the top side of the bracket. #4 up and coming freshman stand out Eli Sheeren of Klein may have what it takes to beat Kilgore but he will have to make the semifinals to have a chance, that’s if Kilgore makes his way there as well.
182
With AJ Ferrari moving up to 195, this weight becomes wide open. #1 Kimball Christenson of Woodlands College Park got beat by #2 Zyire Ardoin of Cinco Ranch this past weekend at region 3 finals. #3 Nathan Grimes of Keller Timber Creek has been on a roll beating undefeated #5 Tereus Henry of El Paso Montwood at region 1 finals. #8 Nathan Dooley of Allen pinned his way through region 2 finals championship and hasn’t been seen this year wrestling behind Ferrari. Could Dooley be the dark horse? If so he will have to go through either Christenson or Grimes on the top side of the bracket. Ardoin will have the #4 Nathan Alvarez of San Antonio Roosevelt region 4 champ on the bottom side with him and Henry.
195
#1 AJ Ferrari. Barring injury or something other stupid I think we can all agree he is the clear favorite here with everyone else fighting for 2nd. I know that isn’t giving much respect to the other 15 state qualifiers but let’s be real. Ferrari is on the top side of the bracket. On the bottom side is #2 Jake Johnson of Southlake Carroll, #3 Jake Carrillo of Flowermound, #4 Kelby Davis of Vista Ridge, #5 Ty Meara of Lake Highlands, #7 Josh Wilson of Houston Cy-Fair, #8 Jack Allen of Cinco Ranch, and #10 Jonathon Carranza of South Grand Prairie to round out the top 10 ranked wrestlers. Bottom side will be a battle for sure.
220
Based on the diverse opinions of coaches poll voters and the tight head-to-head match-ups – you may see more parity in the top tier of the 220 weight class than any other. There are easily six contenders with a legitimate shot at taking it all. Austin Westlake’s Randall Pulido is undefeated with close head-to-head victories over #2 Sean Delmonte of Rockwall and #5 Timmy Dendy of Cy Woods. Some voters have Delmonte as #1, despite his one loss (against the undefeated Pulido). Jacob Doddridge sat at #1 most of the season but has not faced any of the other top 5 contenders in 6A, with his losses coming against 5A wrestlers and out of state. #4 Isaac Barron split his season series against Dendy, the last coming after three overtime periods in the regional finals, putting Barron in the top half of the bracket with Delmonte. With Pulido, Dendy, Singleton of Rockwall Heath and Doddridge, the bottom half of this bracket is downright brutal!
285
Again the #1 & #2 are on opposite sides of the bracket. #1 Desmon Williams of Rockwall Heath has given #2 George Marsh of New Braunfels his only loss this year. Marsh is on the top side of the bracket with #3 Elijah Fernandez of El Paso Eastwood, #5 Johnny Green of Allen, #6 Donavan Ford of De Soto, and #7 Baylor Walker of Tascosa. Williams on the bottom side will have #4 DJ Ousley of Arlington Martin if he gets by #9 Blade McConnell of South Grand Prairie.
Wrestling Texas will have complete coverage as always this weekend, see you there.
