On the weekend of February 4th, the Jesuit Ranger Wrestling Team took part in the Region III, District 18 wrestling tournament at Wylie East High School. Led by Coach Menard and Coach Brown, the Rangers finished third overall, a very impressive feat considering that the District 18 is considered by most to be the toughest district in the region.
Even more impressive for the Rangers was that, out of the fourteen possible weight classes, Jesuit only wrestled with ten
wrestlers because they do not have any wrestlers for the four other weight classes. Yet, even with this disadvantage, they were still able to finish in third.
Nine out of the ten Ranger wrestlers finished in at least the top four of their respective weight classes. “Wrestling is always exciting and this tournament was crazy with close calls and matches that were highly competitive,” exclaimed assistant coach Tony Brown.
Many Rangers won individual honors as well. Senior captain Antonio Martinez ‘12 and junior captain Zach Pearson ‘13 both got third place in their weight classes, while Ryan Mediano ‘13, Josh Thibodeaux ‘13, and Henry Harms ‘14 each got fourth place. Beating Deandre Brumfield of Lake Highlands, Nick Barker ’14 got first place in his division and was named Most Outstanding Wrestler of District 18.
After being asked about the performance of Will Davis ’12, Coach Menard was ecstatic, saying, “Will Davis was unseeded and went out and beat the number 1 seed in the semifinals by a pin after being down 5 points, AND then he went on to beat the number 2 seed in the finals by a pin!”
A third wrestler made it to the finals, too. Facing Biak Thang from Lake Highlands, Nic Bellegarde ’12 lost in the championship round on a last second, extremely controversial call. “The official called a takedown in overtime, but there was no control, which is needed to guarantee a takedown.
The match should have continued,” explained Coach Menard, adding, “The official talked with me later, and even admitted his call was questionable.” Junior wrestler Ryan Mediano said, “Coach always tells us ‘to keep the official out of it and win big,’ but sometimes things just don’t work out that way. It’s too bad for Nic.”
Because Bellegarde, Davis, and Barker all at least reached the finals, they all advanced to the regional meet this past weekend on February 11 in Katy, Texas. “It was a great honor to have three of our teammates advance to Katy for the regionals. As a team, we all take pride in the accomplishments of our other teammates. I was really happy for those guys,” said Josh Thibodeaux. Nic Bellegarde, getting another shot at Biak Thang, lost again in the rematch, but he still finished in sixth place. He was the only Ranger to place at the regionals meet.
After a great season, the returning wrestlers are already beginning to prepare for next season. “I cannot wait to get back to work and get ready for next year. I can already taste it,” said Zach Pearson.
For more on how Jesuit Wrestling fared this year, see attached article about the Berkner tournament from a few weeks ago.
https://jesuitroundup.org/?p=5413
