The Jesuit Rangers Wrestling team began the 2014 campaign in very exciting fashion this past Wednesday, November 12th, with many of the squad’s wrestlers notching a win in a preseason dual match against The Colony.
For a good portion of the team, Wednesday’s dual marked the very beginning of their blossoming wrestling careers. “For five out of the six guys that competed for JV that night, it was their very first match,” recounted Head Coach Ryan Menard. While they didn’t find immediate success, as four out of the five ended up losing their matches, Menard was proud of the way they competed given their circumstances, arguing that once they become a little more acclimated to the sport, the wins should begin to accumulate.
“There’s a ton of skills that are involved in the sport and the basic fundamentals are what win matches. Focusing on those things in the practice room, we can show a lot more technique but it’s important to reinforce the basic fundamentals because that’s how you win matches,” reflected Menard.
However, for one wrestling newcomer, the transition is coming a lot more naturally. Junior Ryan Black made his Jesuit Wrestling debut for the varsity side, ultimately losing to his more experienced opponent. Despite the loss, Menard was very impressed with Black’s natural talent, commenting, “Ryan has been performing really well in the practice room and it’s obvious that he’s got some skills.” Team captain Shane Ross ’15 echoed his coach’s praise, saying, “Ryan truly proved his potential as a future varsity prospect.”
Ryan reflected on the excitement surrounding his much anticipated opening match, disclosing,” [The match] was a fantastic experience and an achievement unlike anything else I’ve encountered during my athletic career at Jesuit.” He will be switching off between JV and varsity during his inaugural season.
The more experienced wrestlers had an easier go at it than did the youngsters. Four out of the six slated varsity wrestlers, including junior Gustavo Saucedo and seniors Shane Ross, Michael Ingram, and Raegan Mathes, were able to defeat their foes from The Colony. Junior Matt Schonberg also handled his JV opponent with ease to bring home a victory.
However, despite this success, Jesuit was forced to forfeit a lot of its matches due to low numbers and a lack of certain weight classes, which certainly hurts considering the team competed viably against a “good program” with “a lot of numbers” in The Colony. “It’s like playing a basketball game without a post and a point guard,” lamented Menard.
Jesuit will not let its lack of wrestlers define the program, though. Choosing instead to focus on the positives, Ross cited the team’s cardiovascular fitness and technique as positives in their performance.
In addition, the Wrestling team also competed in the Arlington Invitational tournament this weekend, going against tough competition from all over the metroplex and the state. Some schools that participated include Tascosa from Amarillo, Doyline from Louisiana, and perennial powerhouse Arlington Martin, one of the top ranked teams in the state who also ended up winning the invitational. The tournament, the first invitational of the year, proved valuable in the early moments of the season. “You get to see some of the best wrestlers that your team will eventually run into moving on into state,” commented Menard.
Jesuit performed admirably in the tournament; every varsity wrestler got at least one win throughout the course of the tournament. Shane Ross went undefeated, earning first place in the varsity bracket, while senior Michael Ingram, who Menard described as “very impressive,” placed fourth after unfortunately losing some hard-fought matches.
“It feels great to open the season with a tournament victory,” said Ross, fresh off of a second place finish at State. Menard, though proud of Ross’ admirable performance, didn’t show much emotion when asked how significant Ross’ victory was, answering simply, “Expectations are pretty high for Shane.”
However, Menard did commend Ross’ overall approach to the tournament. “His teammates believe every time he competes, he’s got an opportunity to win, and I know he certainly believes that as well. It’s good for the other guys to see how he competes. He doesn’t get distracted or down when things don’t possibly go his way.”
The JV squad also performed better than they did on Wednesday, shaking off the first time jitters to put in some praiseworthy performances. Ryan Black won the JV tournament easily: “He wrestled two matches for a total of 45 seconds,” recalled Menard. Schonberg also earned co-champion honors. Newcomer Ethan Arthur ’17 went 2-1 to earn second place, while first-time wrestler Chris Artigues ’15 came in 4th.
“It felt really good to start the season strong. It has given me a lot of confidence to know that I have the ability to pin my way threw a tournament and win first place without much resistance on the JV side of things, but now I need to transition to varsity and keep that going over there,” said Schonberg on his first-place performance.
“It’s a good way to start,” Menard declared, happy with his team’s opening performance. “The guys are excited, and I’m excited for them, so the tone was good. What I like is, win or lose, they were all competitive and they all know that there is always room from improvement, from the top to the bottom,” he concluded in typical coaching fashion.
The team will look to replicate their successful results at this weekend’s Heath Invitational.
