This past weekend, February 7th, four Varsity wrestlers participated in the UIL District 9-6A meet at Skyline High School. The Rangers found great success in this postseason tournament, as three out of the four were able to advance far enough in the tournament to qualify for this weekend’s UIL 6A Region II meet at Allen and have a chance at a State title: seniors Shane Ross, Dylan Yhap, and Reagan Mathes.
In order to qualify for the Regional meet, each wrestler had to place in the top four of his respective weight class. The same criterion is needed to advance to the State meet on February 20th- a top four finish in the 16-man, double-elimination style bracket at Regionals.
This year, Jesuit sent three guys less than in years past. Ryan Black ’16 and Chris Artigues ’15 would have competed in the tournament if it weren’t for injuries that sidelined them for the rest of the year. Similarly, Gustavo Saucedo ’16, who qualified for Regionals last year as a sophomore, couldn’t wrestle at Districts due to a family matter. However, the team still managed to fulfill expectations.
Shane, fully recovered from a pectoral injury, cruised through the 132-pound weight class, one of the toughest in the area, to win first place and Most Valuable Lightweight Wrestler honors.
He was certainly proud of his stellar performance, but downplayed the result as to not inflate his ego and provide a distraction to his success at Regionals, where he will meet some of the best wrestlers in the DFW metroplex, including four returning State tournament placers. “I was honored to be presented with the Most Outstanding Wrestler award at the district tournament, but this weekend is a new week and I must clear my mind of past accolades and solely look towards the future. I will be confident, but still know that I have to prove myself and that nothing will be given to me.”
Shane will look to repeat his domination as the third seed in the Regionals tournament in order to secure a spot in the State meet, where he will look to avenge last year’s second-place finish. But he won’t let this dream get to his head:”I hope to become a state champion this year, but am right now only worried about my next match. I will be taking this journey one match at a time.”
Head coach Ryan Menard commended Ross’ superb skill not just in this tournament, but as a whole, calling his MVP accolade “pretty exciting” and continuing, “He’s had quite a few of those over the past couple of years.” Menard expects Ross to have no trouble qualifying for State, saying that “all he needs to do is perform at his seed to advance, and I think that he will perform above his seed.”
Additionally, fellow senior Dylan Yhap placed second in the 138-pound weight class after officially beginning the season only weeks ago. He has managed to quickly and successfully make the transition back into the sport and become a serious contender for a bid to the State meet.
Menard feels confident that Dylan will be able to win matches at Regionals and surprise people despite not being seeded headed into the meet. “Potentially he could have a couple upsets and possibly sneak in, which would be great. He has the skills to get in, but he will have to compete to his highest potential.”
Furthermore, Mathes, rounding out the list of Regional qualifiers, grabbed the fourth and final spot in the Regional tournament after grinding out some difficult matches to advance in the 145-pound weight class. Reagan had to wrestle an extra match against the fifth-place finisher in order to keep his spot at Regionals, but he was able to substantiate his place in the meet by defeating him. “He’s got a pretty good shot at winning some matches [at the Regional tournament]. Anything can happen,” commented Menard.
Senior Antonio Hernandez also competed in the meet, but was unable to win enough matches to qualify for this weekend and continue his postseason. Hernandez, who wasn’t seeded going into the tournament, quickly pinned his first opponent in the 285-pound weight class, but unfortunately lost in the next match to the eventual first-place finisher from Lake Highlands. He was unable to redeem his chances at a Regionals appearance in the second draw, losing his next match, and the Berkner opponent whom he pinned earlier snuck back into the top four, leaving Hernandez one place short of advancing with his teammates. Menard knew “it was going to be a tough haul” for Antonio, but it certainly was a valiant effort.
Ross had very positive things to say about his teammates’ efforts at the tournament and looks forward to hopefully seeing them along with himself together at the State meet. “I was very proud of my teammates’ performances this weekend and feel that we are very prepared to dominate our competition at the regional tournament on Friday.”
In addition to the four Varsity wrestlers who competed, Derek Dumbrigue ’18 wrestled in the meet on the JV side and managed to place fourth in his weight class, quite an accomplishment for the freshman.
Menard honed in on the prestige of earning a spot in these February tournaments, commenting on the rewarding and validating experience: “It’s a great opportunity. When we start training at the beginning of the year, we set our sights on the postseason. I think everyone would like to have that feather under their cap.”
Good luck to these three senior wrestlers this weekend. We hope to see each of them advance to State and cap off their Jesuit wrestling careers with a bang.
