Luke Burgess
The Region 4-6A wrestling tournament will take place on February 9th and 10th in San Antonio at the Blossom Center. Forty different teams will be represented, bringing 224 total wrestlers. Only fifty-six of those wrestlers will advance to the state tournament next week.
Team Breakdown
Vandegrift and Lake Travis will be the two main teams to watch as they are the two teams that have won this region in the last few years. Lake Travis enters with the most ranked wrestlers with eight, followed by Vandegrift with seven, followed by Dripping Springs with six and Hutto has five. Vandegrift, Lake Travis, and Dripping Springs all had six district champions last week, so we will most likely see lots of district champions from these three teams wrestling each other in the semis or finals. The amount of champions these teams have and maybe more importantly those wrestling back for third will determine who comes out victorious.
Below are predictions for each weight class, possible matches, placements, etc.
106
Quarterfinals to watch
- #14 Braiden Bartlett vs David Hughes
- #19 Geronimo Hernandez vs Jose Mota
Projected Semifinals
- #17 Raymond Buenteo vs #14 Braiden Bartlett
- #3 Jackson Shipley vs #19 Geronimo Hernandez
Projected Finals
#3 Jackson Shipley vs #14 Braiden Bartlett
Projected Placements
- 1st – #3 Jackson Shipley, Dripping Springs
- 2nd – #14 Braiden Bartlett, Lake Travis
- 3rd – #19 Geronimo Hernandez, S.A. Churchill
- 4th – #17 Raymond Buenteo, S.A. Madison
I believe Sophomore Jackson Shipley will get things done here with not too much friction. He will most likely cruise to the semifinals where he could wrestle his first ranked opponent, but that shouldn’t give him much trouble as he is the only top-ten-ranked wrestler in this bracket. We could see the first Dripping Springs vs. Lake Travis match in the finals if Braiden Bartlett can make it there. Shipley and Bartlett have wrestled three times this year all ending in favor of Shipley, two by first-period pin. The possible underdog to look for here is David Hughes from Harker Heights.
113
Quarterfinal to watch
Tommy Yanez vs Jesus Martinez
Projected Semifinals
- #13 Garrett Patterson vs Jesus Martinez
- #12 Curtis White vs #7 Charlie Trujillo
Projected Finals
#7 Charlie Trujillo vs #13 Garrett Patterson
Projected Placements
- 1st – #7 Charlie Trujillo, Vandegrift
- 2nd – #13 Garrett Patterson, S.A. Johnson
- 3rd – #12 Curtis White, S.A. Churchill
- 4th – Jesus Martinez, La Joya
I believe Vandegrift will crown their first champion here at 113. Charlie Trujillo will make his way to the semifinals pretty easily where he will meet his first challenge Curtis White from San Antonio Churchill. I believe Trujillo is the victor in that match and will face Garrett Patterson in the finals. I think Curtis White will bounce back to third place very easily after a decision loss to Trujillo….
