Jesuit’s Big Wrestling Tournament, the Ranger Classic

Hundreds pour into the Jesuit basketball gym. On the center mat, Varsity wrestler and Jesuit junior Shane Ross takes his stance against the opposing Flower Mound wrestler in the 128 pound finals of the Ranger Classic. Practically a bulk of pure muscle, even Shane’s looks are intimidating, donning a large black mask to protect the cut above his eye. As the bell rings, the two wrestlers lock with each other, each attempting to outmaneuver and overwhelm the other. As the match continues, Shane’s superior skill begins to pay off, as he defeats his opponent, claiming first place in the tournament.

Over the four day MLK break, students from all over the state gathered at Jesuit to take part in Jesuit’s wrestling tournament, the Ranger Classic. Wrestlers everywhere from private schools such as Bishop Lynch to large 5A schools such as Flower Mound participated in the event. Wrestlers from every weight class competed in large tournamnet brackets separated by JV and Varsity.

On Varsity,  Ross in the 126 pound category and Nick Barker ’14 in the 120 pound category took home first place. On JV, Dylan Yhapp ’15 took home first place in the 126 pound category, and Matthew Schonberg ’16 placed second in the 132 pound weight class. All in all, head coach Ryan Menard mentioned that, “There were a lot of the top teams at the tournament, and the competition was tough.” Despite a few outstanding wrestlers, the team unfortunately had an off day, but Coach Menard still believes that nine of the ten varsity wrestlers will still be in the top four seeds at the district competition, and many of them will make it at least to the regional tournament, some even further than that.

Obviously, placing in these competitions is extremely difficult and rigorous work.  Yhapp said that in order to get first place, he had to “get plenty of sleep, eat right, and attend practice every day!” This level of commitment goes beyond that of other sports. Not only do these wrestlers train daily, but they also limit what they eat, sacrificing many luxuries such as ice cream or candy in order to stay in peak physical condition. Yhapp hopes that by continuing his regimen, he will be able to win first place at the district tournament this year, a realistic goal given his dedication since his freshman year back in 2011. Matthew Schonberg ’16 made similar comments, noting that the key to success is through practice. In his second year of wrestling, Schonberg has shown significant progress in the last year and a half. When he came in as a freshman, he performed only averagely, but now he has begun to do better and better, placing at prestigous events such as this one. He says that he feels as though he’s gained a sense of confidence that he was missing earlier in his career.  Sure of his abilities, Schonberg aspires to do even better, hoping, like Dylan, to claim first in the district tournament.

Overall, the Ranger Classic was a great success. Everything went very smoothly thanks to the hard work and effort put in by both the students and the parents. Praising the parent base, Coach Menard mentioned,  “Our parent base is phenomenal with their time and effort and planning. I heard a lot of comments from visitors, wrestlers, and refs.” The team has had a great year. So, don’t forget to congratulate the wrestlers and wish them luck  during the regional tournament.