The best wrestlers in all of Texas are gathering at the Curtis Center in Garland, Texas on February 14-15. There, they will compete in the hardest tournament since the Texas Outlaw, the 2014 UIL Wrestling State Tournament. There, they will meet considerable opponents such as undefeated Kai Holland of Katy Seven Lakes, who Varsity wrestler Shane Ross ’15 will be wrestling in round one. In order to defeat these opponents, the Jesuit varsity wrestlers have been training non-stop since their qualifying at the Regional tournament at Allen.
Both wrestling to their seed, varsity wrestlers Shane Ross ’15 and Nick Barker ’14 both placed second in their weight classes, the 126 and 120 pound weight classes respectively, at the Regional tournament on February 1, earning them spots in the State tournament.
Coach Menard “was happy because nobody else was seeded and [almost everyone] got some wins.” In fact, Seniors Erik Kirkegard and Henry Harms both made it to the second day of competition before losing their first round matches on day two. Wrestling against many challenging and difficult opponents, the wrestlers represented Jesuit very well.
In order to prepare for such a difficult challenge, Shane states, “Right now, we’re doing a lot of hard conditioning and a lot of live wrestling.” Because they are only one weight class apart and of relatively similar skill, Nick and Shane make excellent training partners, pushing each other to their limits. Shane commented that he and Nick are trying to “become the best wrestlers we can be in two weeks.” His expectations set high, Shane’s “going to try to win it because that’s why I’m here.” Backing the two wrestlers up, Ryan Menard, the head wrestling coach at Jesuit, stated that “any given day, Nick could be in the State championship, and not just placing, but winning it. The same goes for Shane. There are three or four guys who are considered elite, and they are in that group.”
As the wrestling season closes down, Coach Menard urges students to visit the wrestling room to give wrestling a try: “I’m hoping that we can get some guys that haven’t tried wrestling before to come in and give it a try.” Â Although the current season is almost over, the Free Style season will pick up a week before Spring break. So, it’s a great time to get into the sport.
The state tournament will be held at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, TX, and the matches there ought to be amazing, as it’s the pinnacle of high school wrestling in Texas. At the very least, make sure to wish your Jesuit wrestlers good luck!
