If it’s the first weekend in January that New Year’s Day does not fall on, then it is must be time for the CFISD wrestling tournament. It is the largest open tournament in Texas. This year’s version includes 97 teams, and a whopping 953 participants. If you add in the girls, the tournament totals 1,513 student wrestlers. Sixteen mats for a day and a half gives the District Athletic Department a great fundraiser, as well as a run-through for the UIL championships that will take place six weeks later.
In addition to the participating Texas wrestlers, both 5A and 6A, there were eighteen wrestlers from four Louisiana high schools and 10 wrestlers from Douglas County HS in Castlerock, Colorado.
Photos by: Brian S. Doyle
All rankings listed are based on WrestlingTexas.com December 23rd rankings.
Starting off the Boys’ finals, is an epic 106 lb. match between current #1 ranked 6A Hector Ortiz form El Paso Eastwood, who is going up against last year’s 6A 106 state champion, Dylan Ota, who is ranked #2 at 113 lbs., making the move down a weight thanks to the 3 lb. weight allowance. Time will tell if he is able to stay there. My feeling is he will.
Ota beat 6A #7 Kingston Stephens and 5A #9 Esteban Vela on his way to the finals. Ortiz was unscored upon in his four matches leading up to the finals, and had defeated 6A #11 Jeremiah Garcia and 6A #13 Fernando Morales to get to challenge Ota for the Gold. Neither wrestler had to go the distance for their wins, that would change in this match.
The first period was significant in that neither wrestler was able to get a takedown, but that wasn’t because their offense was lacking. In fact, it was their defense against the other’s offense was which stood out.
Ortiz chose bottom to start the second. After scoring an escape on a stand and turn-in, Ota tied up Ortiz’ left arm with an over-hook right above the elbow, and Ortiz tried to do a quick turn to his right, hoping to catch Ota’s right leg, but he was unable to get his left arm completely free, and Ota was able to follow behind for the takedown. While sitting, Ortiz turned to his left, but Ota caught him leaning a little bit too far back, and was able to pull him back by the chin, and get 4 back points. Ortiz managed to get off his back and the pair rolled a few feet and Ortiz was on his back again, only this time he was not awarded back points, even after a table conference. Ota leads 7-1 going into the third period, and chooses bottom. For the first 0:45, Ortiz tried to turn Ota with a power half, unfortunately he was doing it while on his hip, which took away a lot of his leverage, and to add it, Ota had a lock on one of Ortiz’ legs. The ref eventually called a stalemate. A restart saw Ortiz spend the last 1:15 unable to get a hold on Ota that would enable him to turn him. Ota was content to milk the clock, even when it looked like he could get an escape, he remained locked up while facing Ortiz. The 106 lb. title goes to Ota on a 7-1 decision.
One thing I did notice is that Ota’s post-tournament record is listed at 24-3, with two of those losses coming to out-of-state opponents at the Mid-American Nationals. His only loss to a Texas wrestler was to Cayden Campbell of Allen, a SV-3-0 decision in November. A possible matchup in February? Or will one leave the weight and go down to 106 lbs.?
At 113 lbs., all of the top eight seeds advanced to the quarterfinals. Of those eight, the top four made it to the Semifinals. The first seed Garrett Patterson (25-2) of San Antonio Johnson, the #10 ranked 120 lb. 6A wrestler met 4th seed, Diego Morales Ayala (21-2) of Cy Falls who is #20 at 120 lbs. On the bottom half of the bracket, 2nd seed Carson Ota (17-5) of Southlake Carroll, #14 at 120 lbs., hooked up with Shawn Coffel (29-3) of Cibolo Steele. Coffel is the #15 113 lb. wrestler in 6A.
Patterson made it to the finals with his fourth win of the tournament without a point scored against him, by pinning Morales-Ayala in 3:32. He would face Ota, who defeated freshman Coffel by an 11-5 decision.
In the final match, Patterson was no match for the elder Ota brother, as he lost an 11-1 major decision. After first period scoreless tie, Patterson spent almost a minute and a half with a figure 4 body ride. Ota was able to get out of it and racked up an escape, and then took him down in the final 0:13 of the second period with an under/over combined with a back trip. Patterson was able to escape in the third, but Ota got a takedown and nearfall in the final minute of the third period. In the first two weight classes, the Ota brothers were responsible for earning 34% of the Southlake Carroll final point count (71 of 209).
With Carson Ota and Garrett Patterson having moved down to 113 lbs., Brandon Carrillo was the lone, top ten, 6A ranked wrestler left in the field at 120 lbs. Carrillo, a 3X state qualifier, and 2X state placer, cruised through the bracket with two pins, two tech falls, and a major decision to set up his match with Cody Welch from Bryan. Welch received a forfeit win over George Rodriguez of Uvalde in the quarterfinals. Not sure why, but possible reason was that Rodriguez busted his weight Saturday morning at weigh-ins. Taking advantage of that, Welch defeated another unranked wrestler, Xavier Duran of South Grand Prairie in the semis to make it to the finals.
It is said there is no substitute for experience, but when you add skill, hard work, and repetition, you might see a successful wrestler. Carrillo showed that in this match. Before the first minute of the initial period was up, Carrillo got a sweep left-leg single at the edge of the mat. He was able to get his 3 points after getting Welch’s head and bringing him into a near cradle before they were whistled for going out of bounds. In the second period Welch chose neutral, and Carrillo got another single-leg takedown. With a strong ride, and a weakening Welch, Carrillo was able catch a cradle and go over the top with it, getting a 3-point nearfall.
Going into the 3rd period, Carrillo held a 13-0 lead, and it was his turn to choose neutral. Welch was able to get a single, but got caught underneath and a stalemate was called. At the restart whistle, Carrillo shot immediately and got a single. Guess which leg? Yep, the left one. Welch went to the mat on his bottom, Carrillo got the 3, and he won the match by a 16-0 Tech Fall at 4:34.
126 lbs. had the #1 seed, Aiden Baker (19-2) of Mission Sharyland, who is the #1 ranked wrestler in 5A. Baker qualified for State last year at 126 lbs. The #2 seed, Corbin Porter 6A #8 (15-1) of Copperas Cove. Porter defeated #17 Caden Simonetti and 5A #2 Aiden Rodriguez of Corpus Christi Veteran to get his spot in the final round. Baker had four pins on his way to the Semis where he Tech Fall’d the 4th seed, 6A #10 Jordan Rodriguez of Cy Falls.
Baker opened up with a double leg takedown twenty seconds into the match, and turned Porter with an armbar for a NF4. Porter chose neutral and Baker did it again, but this time he got the takedown and put Porter on his back for the 126 lb. gold medal at 2:26
With 77 wrestlers signed up for the 132 lb. bracket, it would take six victories to claim the title. Gaining six victories in this bracket would be a tall order, as there were 16 ranked wrestlers in the. All but the top seed, Aiden Peterson of Richmond Foster (27-1) made it to the quarterfinals. Peterson was 6A #11 ranked at 138 lbs., and was upset by Braden Trang of SLC. Andrew Huerta the 6A #9 ranked, and 8th seed beat Trang in the ¼ finals, then beat the 5th seed, 6A #9 Ashton Gamboa of Cy Ranch to earn his spot in the finals. Huerta also defeated 5A #9 Nathan Chino of CC King and 6A #14. The other finals spot was filled by Wesley Patterson of San Antonio Johnson. Patterson was the #2 seed and 6A #4 in 132 lbs. Patterson had five pins enroute to the finals.
Huerta wrestled most of the neutral position on one knee, which Patterson did not look comfortable with. Huerta was able to convert a single on Patterson’s left leg for three points despite a defensive wizard. Patterson escaped and after a few parries back and forth, Patterson looked to have a clean double shot, but Huerta was able to effectively defend when Patterson kept his head down and did not complete the move, Huerta turned it into a takedown of his own, then turned Patterson and ended the match with a pin at 1:40. This is Huerta’s 4th tournament title of the season.
The 138 lb. final match pitted top-seeded 6A #4 Keagan Sieracki (18-3) of Southlake Carroll against 2nd seed, 6A #8 Micah McCaskill (25-2) of San Antonio Churchill. Sieracki is the only finalist who placed at the UIL State tournament, finishing 2nd in the 5A 126 lb. weight class for Salado, before transferring to SLC. These two wrestlers worked their way to the finals through 70 other wrestlers including 14 other ranked wrestlers.
Neither wrestler was successful in getting a takedown in the first period. Sieracki chose bottom and stood and turned two circles before getting free for his escape within twenty seconds. Both wrestlers remained active during the period, but still could not bring the other down. The third period saw Sieracki’s ability to cover and ride his opponent for 120 seconds to gain a 1-0 decision, the closest of the finals.
At 144 lbs., the finalists were the top seed, 5A #3 Nicholas Torres (17-2) of Mission Sharyland, and 3rd seed, 6A #6 (150) Diego Lopez of Katy Tompkins. Torres got on the board first after shrugging Lopez by for the takedown at the end of the period, but he got too high, and Lopez reversed him seconds later.
Torres chose bottom, and as Lopez was turning him over with an armbar, Torres kept rolling and spun behind for a reversal. Lopez stood, and Torres cut him loose. Lopez went deep with a single, came behind and hooked a leg, and got his 3 when Torres gave up on the wizard. The period ended with Lopez up 6-5. Lopez started the third period on bottom. Lopez was able to escape to increase the lead to 7-5. The two wrestlers were tied up with their knees on the mat, Lopez had an underhook, but Torres had a firm grip on that elbow. A stalemate was called, and at the restart, Torres got Lopez’ upper left leg with both hands, after a strong sprawl by Lopez, another stalemate was called. With short time, Lopez only needed to keep his distance, even having a stall call or two would not hurt him. But Torres was persistent on staying close. It even looked like Lopez had a chance at a takedown, but Torres scrambled with a purpose and got a takedown right before time expired. Torres with the decision, 8-7.
Visiting Texas from Lake Charles, Louisiana was the Sam Houston HS Broncos and the returning D2 138 lb. state champion, Caleb Lavine. Lavine (42-3) was the top seed in the 150 lb. weight class. Lavine is currently ranked #3 in Louisiana at 150 lbs. The top-ranked Texas wrestlers in this weight class were 2nd seed, 6A #5 Carter Canizaro of Klein Oak, 3rd seed, 5A #3 Bryce Palmer of Comal Smithson Valley, 4th seed, 5A #9 Dameion Rivas of Lampasas, and 6th seed, 6A #12 Cayden Miller of Katy Morton Ranch. Lavine made it through to the finals with two pins and 3 tech falls. Canizaro worked his way through the bracket with two pins, two tech falls, and a medical forfeit by 5A #3 Palmer.
In the finals match, Canizaro and Lavine had a quiet first period where despite both being very active, neither scored; Lavine broke the ice in the second period with a stand that Canizaro could not control, so he was cut for the escape in the first twenty seconds, but again, for the rest of the period, neither wrestler could take the other down. At one point, Lavine had Canizaro’s ankle, but he could not capitalize. Things were about to break loose in the third period. Canizaro had an escape, then the Louisiana state champ got a big takedown halfway through the period, going to a single from a tie-up. Lavine rode Canizaro for forty more seconds before he gave up a stalling point. Canizaro escaped with fifteen on the clock, and tried to get that last takedown, but Lavine took him down again as the match ended with Lavine winning a 7-3 decision. This was the second loss for Canizaro since the Super Early Entry Texas tournament to a ranked Louisiana wrestler. I’m sure we’ll see him on the podium come February.
At 157 lbs. Jared Remington (21-0) ruled supreme. On his way to the finals, he defeated 6A, #18 Jonathan Cotterman, 6A #4 John Collazo, and 6A #10 Tristan Forsman. His finals opponent was SLC’s 6A #3 Luke Burgar (25-2). Burgar defeated 6A #6 o his way to the title match.
Remington scored first with a single leg takedown, and rode Burgar out for the rest of the period. Burgar chose neutral in the second, shot and missed, and Remington caught an ankle, which turned into a takedown ten seconds later. Remington rode Burgar for another 0:50, the whistle was blown for a stall then Remington chose neutral for the restart, giving Burgar an escape point. Remington called for a neutral restart, giving up an escape point, and took Burgar down five seconds later after a missed throw. Burgar received a stall penalty point at the end of the period. Going into the third it was 9-2 in Remington’s favor. He chose down and reversed in less than ten seconds. He cut Burgar loose with 0:21 left and got another takedown to end the match with a 14-3 major decision.
The 165 lb. weight class had 2nd seed Logan Soileau (30-2) of Langham Creek, who is ranked 6A #5 and Cohen Beacom (28-2) 6A #16 165 lbs. and seeded #5 out of Buda Johnson. Beacom’s big win was a tight 3-2 decision over #1 seed and 5A #9, Preston Kepler. Soileau reached the finals with a big pin over #8 165 lb. Travis Rosa, who will be in the same District and Region 3 weight class as Soileau this post-season.
Soileau scored the only takedown of the first period, and rode Beacom for almost a minute before he scored an escape. Soileau deferred and Beacom chose bottom, and escaped while Soileau attempted to catch a cradle. Soileau got the takedown with a single and turned him over with an armbar for a NF-2. Beacom escaped again to close the second period with an 8-3 Soileau lead. Soileau chose neutral and the two wrestlers would stay that way for almost a minute before Soileau scored the last points of the match with his third takedown. He would close out on top with an 11-3 major decision.
At 175 lbs., there were 15 ranked wrestlers in competition for the title. All eight of the semifinalists were ranked on WrestlingTexas.com, with the 9th seed, Dayne Garcia-Storm of Round Rock, being the only wrestler not in the top 8 seeds. Ironically, he was the highest ranked wrestler at 6A #3. I believe he was seeded lower because all of the other wrestlers qualified for the UIL tournament last year and he did not.
In the preliminaries, Garcia-Storm pinned #11 David Nava of Clear Lake, and then, the top seed, #16 Eduard Pugachov of Cy Fair in the Quarters. He then then had a 14-7 win over # 6, Sean Perez of Humble in the Semis, to reach the Finals. He would meet #4 Jack Ringger of Prosper. Ringger pinned both 5A #4 Torrance Adkins of San Antonio Veterans Memorial in the Quarterfinals, and #6 Jermarion Moore in the Semis.
Garcia-Storm shot a single, switched to a double and got the takedown in the first 0:30. He used a leg ride to try to get a turn, but they went out of bounds. On the restart, Ringger got one point for an escape when he was cut loose after standing. Ringger got in on an ankle pick, but Garcia-Storm’s ability to scramble landed him on top of Ringger, and he was able to get the ref’s hand to slap the mat just before the buzzer sounded. The official time of the pin was 1:58.
The 190 lb. championship pitted two undefeated wrestlers, 6A #3 Jeremy Alo-Perry (6-0) of Katy Jordan against 5A #3 Roman Nino (27-0) of Corpus Christi Calallen. Alo-Perry, last year’s UIL 4th place finisher, used four pins to get to the finals, while Nino had two falls and two TFs.
In the finals match, the wrestlers went two minutes without scoring a point. Nino chose bottom and scored his escape within 0:04. It wasn’t until four seconds were left in the period when Nino tried a move and pulled Alo-Perry back on top of him, giving up a last second takedown. Alo-Perry was up 3-1, and chose bottom to start the third period. Alo-Perry spent most of the first period without moving that much, and Nino could not get into any position to have a possibility of turning him. A stalling point was awarded with 1:04 left in the period, making it 3-2. Another minute went by with Alo-Perry’s head on the mat before he “woke up” and got a reversal with one second left, to win a 5-3 decision. I’m not sure how long a ref is supposed to wait until he awards another point for stalling, but I believe it should have been at least 3-3 before that last reversal.
At 215 lbs., Rade Ostrander and Timothy Merchant of Cy Springs met for the 215 lb. title. Ostrander is the returning 215 CFISD champ, as well as the 6A 215 lb. runner-up, and #1 ranked 6A wrestler in the state. Merchant was ranked 6A #4 in the last rankings of 2024.
Needless to say, but Ostrander is a beast of a wrestler. He snapped down Merchant and spun around for his takedown before using a tight waist and arm control to roll him over for a NF-4. Merchant was able to stand and escape. Merchant shot and got a single leg up in the air, but could not get any further with it. Ostrander was able to break loose and spin for three points and again tilt Merchant for another NF-4. Ostrander up, 14-1 into the second period, and he chose neutral. He ended the match with a shrug takedown, 17-1 tech fall at 2:17.
At 285 lbs. top seed and 6A # 6 Grant Bahnsen of Clear Lake faced 2nd seed 6A #8 Nathaniel Surley of Bryan. Bahnsen finished 6th in State last season, while Surley was the Region 2 champ, but did not place at state. To make a long story short, both wrestlers scored an escape while it was their turn on bottom, leading to overtime. During Overtime 1, Bahnsen scored a takedown, ending the match with a 4-1 decision victory for the championship. This was also Bahnsen’s 100th high school victory.
Most Outstanding Wrestler:
Jared Remington, the 157 lb. champion from League City Clear Creek HS, extended his 2024-25 season record to 23-0. He made a statement by moving down from 165 lbs. for the first time this year, and defeating wrestlers who were ranked #17 (TF), #4 (Inj.), #10 (TF), and #3 (MD). Three of those wrestlers have qualified for the State tournament previously. Will he stay at 157? Time will tell.
Top Ten Team Scoring:
- Southlake Carroll 209.0
- San Antonio Johnson 173.5
- El Paso Eastwood 163.0
- San Antonio Churchill 148.0
- Klein 142.0
- Cypress Falls 131.5
- Houston Clear Lake 130.0
- Klein Oak 123.0
- Mission Sharyland 120.5
- Corpus Christi Veteran Mem. 109.0
Individual Scoring:
106 lbs.
1st Place – Dylan Ota of Southlake Carroll
2nd Place – Hector Ortiz of El Paso Eastwood
3rd Place – Isaiah Deleon of Corpus Christi King
4th Place – Christian Aranda of Klein Oak
5th Place – Fernando Morales of Houston Clear Lake
6th Place – Kingston Stephens of Dallas Jesuit College Prep School
7th Place – Esteban Vela of Corpus Christi Veterans Memorial
8th Place – Jeremiah Garcia of San Antonio Johnson
113 lbs.
1st Place – Dylan Ota of Southlake Carroll
2nd Place – Hector Ortiz of El Paso Eastwood
3rd Place – Isaiah Deleon of Corpus Christi King
4th Place – Christian Aranda of Klein Oak
5th Place – Fernando Morales of Houston Clear Lake
6th Place – Kingston Stephens of Dallas Jesuit College Prep School
7th Place – Esteban Vela of Corpus Christi Veterans Memorial
8th Place – Jeremiah Garcia of San Antonio Johnson
120 lbs.
1st Place – Brandon Carrillo of Klein
2nd Place – Cody Welch of Bryan
3rd Place – Caleb Hennig of Cedar Park Vista Ridge
4th Place – Derrick Collins of Conroe Oak Ridge
5th Place – Leslie Hall of Lamar Fulshear
6th Place – Xavier Duran of South Grand Prairie
7th Place – Fonzy Fernandez of El Paso Eastwood
8th Place – Collin Tingley of Cypress Wood
126 lbs.
1st Place – Aiden Baker of Mission Sharyland
2nd Place – Corbin Porter of Copperas Cove
3rd Place – Jordan Rodriguez of Cypress Falls
4th Place – Jaden Montez of Conroe
5th Place – Robert Huffman of Lewisville The Colony
6th Place – Aidan Rodriguez of Corpus Christi Veterans Memorial
7th Place – Andres Dealba of San Antonio Johnson
8th Place – Joaquin De la Garza of San Antonio Veterans Memorial
132 lbs.
1st Place – Aiden Baker of Mission Sharyland
2nd Place – Corbin Porter of Copperas Cove
3rd Place – Jordan Rodriguez of Cypress Falls
4th Place – Jaden Montez of Conroe
5th Place – Robert Huffman of Lewisville The Colony
6th Place – Aidan Rodriguez of Corpus Christi Veterans Memorial
7th Place – Andres Dealba of San Antonio Johnson
8th Place – Joaquin De la Garza of San Antonio Veterans Memorial
138 lbs.
1st Place – Keagan Sieracki of Southlake Carroll
2nd Place – Micah McCaskill of San Antonio Churchill
3rd Place – Dimitri Bao-Washington of Cypress Falls
4th Place – Vincent Allen of Conroe Grand Oaks
5th Place – Daniel Morriss of Buda Johnson
6th Place – Carlos Rodriguez of Uvalde
7th Place – Ali Salem of Katy Taylor
8th Place – Giovanni Luera of Schertz Clemens
144 lbs.
1st Place – Nicholas Torres of Mission Sharyland
2nd Place – Diego Lopez of Katy Tompkins
3rd Place – Robert Planes of Jersey Village
4th Place – Tyson Gibson of Southlake Carroll
5th Place – Grant Schnieders of San Antonio Reagan
6th Place – Nicholas Law of San Antonio Churchill
7th Place – Keefer Strange of Cy-Fair
8th Place – Sebastian Santibanez of Bridgeland
150 lbs.
1st Place – Nicholas Torres of Mission Sharyland
2nd Place – Diego Lopez of Katy Tompkins
3rd Place – Robert Planes of Jersey Village
4th Place – Tyson Gibson of Southlake Carroll
5th Place – Grant Schnieders of San Antonio Reagan
6th Place – Nicholas Law of San Antonio Churchill
7th Place – Keefer Strange of Cy-Fair
8th Place – Sebastian Santibanez of Bridgeland
157 lbs.
1st Place – Jared Remington of League City Clear Creek
2nd Place – Luke Burgar of Southlake Carroll
3rd Place – Graham Kilpper of Lewisville Flower Mound
4th Place – Quinn Barrera of Corpus Christi Veterans Memorial
5th Place – Daniel Rendon of San Antonio Roosevelt
6th Place – Tristan Forsman of Houston Clear Lake
7th Place – Erick Moultry of Cypress Ranch
8th Place – Jayden Cardona of Klein Oak
165 lbs.
1st Place – Logan Soileau of Langham Creek
2nd Place – Cohen Beacom of Buda Johnson
3rd Place – Travis Rosa of Cypress Creek
4th Place – Declan Kelts of San Antonio Churchill
5th Place – Keagan Justus of Prosper
6th Place – Preston Kepler of Comal Smithson Valley
7th Place – Breyden Jefferies-Arndt of Bridgeland
8th Place – Aidan Henderson of Lewisville Flower Mound
175 lbs.
1st Place – Dayne Garcia-stormer of Round Rock
2nd Place – Jack Ringger of Prosper
3rd Place – Sean Perez of Humble
4th Place – Jemarion Moore of Houston Westside
5th Place – Abrar Alam of Plano East
6th Place – Connor Luksa of San Antonio Johnson
7th Place – Nicholas Oji of Cypress Falls
8th Place – Grant Rogers of Katy Morton Ranch
190 lbs.
1st Place – Jeremy Alo-perry of Katy Jordan
2nd Place – Roman Nino of Corpus Christi Carroll
3rd Place – Pasquale Maurici of Austin Westlake
4th Place – Kane Rosario of Katy Seven Lakes
5th Place – Lee Harrell of Conroe The Woodlands
6th Place – Kayden Smith of Cy-Fair
7th Place – Jamarkus Campbell of Klein Collins
8th Place – Thomas Orendorff of Katy Tompkins
215 lbs.
1st Place – Jeremy Alo-perry of Katy Jordan
2nd Place – Roman Nino of Corpus Christi Carroll
3rd Place – Pasquale Maurici of Austin Westlake
4th Place – Kane Rosario of Katy Seven Lakes
5th Place – Lee Harrell of Conroe The Woodlands
6th Place – Kayden Smith of Cy-Fair
7th Place – Jamarkus Campbell of Klein Collins
8th Place – Thomas Orendorff of Katy Tompkins
285 lbs.
1st Place – Grant Bahnsen of Houston Clear Lake
2nd Place – Nathaniel Surley of Bryan
3rd Place – Strider Williams of Leander Rouse
4th Place – Miller Marsh of New Braunfels
5th Place – Ke`shawn Jones of League City Clear Creek
6th Place – Aaden Menard of Cypress Springs
7th Place – Samuel Smith of Cypress Woods
8th Place – Colt Fisher of Sam Houston
