State/Wrestling Ending and Reflection

We'll my wrestling season has come to a close, and I couldn't have asked it to end in any better fashion. I, along with 7 of my team mates qualified for the UIL Texas State Wrestling Tournament. That's the most we've ever sent and more than almost any other team there.

Our qualifiers were, Chase Betzer (130), Me (135), Jim Gianakopolous (140), Sawyer Morris (145), Peyton Burns (152), Alex Hershey (160), Grant Perry (171), and David Durham (215). For you that aren't familiar with the weight classes, that's 7 in a row that were all state qualifiers. We had a murderers row of middle weights.

The team preformed so well. Me, Hershey and Jim were eliminated on the first day, but we were all just happy to be there. David and Sawyer got 6th, (Sawyer was suffering from injuries, he's going to have to have surgery on both shoulders. I am supremely confident if he was healthy he would've been a state champion). Chase Betzer got 3rd, only loosing to the 65-0, 3X state Champ Erik Spjut. GP placed 2nd, an accomplishment all the more impressive given that he was injured with torn ligaments in his knee for over half the season. An excellent year to cap off his senior season. And Peyton Burns in the most exciting finals match of the tournament scored a last second reversal to put him up by one point to beat the heavy favorite for the State Title.

(Also my friend and fellow 135 pounder Bryan Osorio ended his season undefeated and State Champion. Crongrats Bryan!)

As a whole, the team placed third in the tournament, the highest we have ever placed, beating cross town rivals Bowie and Vista Ridge. I am so proud of my team. They are among the best friends I have, and I have grown so much with them over the last four years. I only see great things in their futures. Of those eight state qualifiers, five are coming back. Watch out next year!

But now, as my wrestling career comes to a close, I am filled with mixed emotion. I am glad that I don't have to practice for so long, hurting all the time, watching what I eat, and having more free time.

But I am really going to miss so much of the sport. Its been such a huge part of my life, I've learned to love so much of it. I'm going to miss the taste of blood in my mouth after I just got hit. I'll miss being drenched heat to toe in sweat after busting my butt for the last 2.5 hours, and walking out into the cold December weather. I'll miss coming home from tournaments covered in cuts and bruises, completely exhausted, and knowing that I kicked butt and took names that day.

But most of all I'm going to miss my teammates. Those guys were the best, I loved every minute I spent with them. We worked hard and pushed each other to be the best we could, and that's why we ended the year as one of the best teams in the state, a team of champions. We hurt, we sweat and bleed together. I feel like Shakespeare's King Henry V, in his speech when thinking of my team.

"We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me,
Shall be my brother"

I'll love those guys. Best of luck to them all.

State Brackets

The brackets for the State Tournament came out the other day. I got a really awesome spot, and hopefully one that will help me place.

Here's a link to the brackets.

Here's a link to the list of state qualifiers.

Also they came out with updated state rankings, with all the guys that have made it to state. I cracked the top 10 and #9! Here's the link.

But man, its so cool to finally be here. To be among the best getting ready. I remember when I was a freshman at tournaments, watching state qualifiers wrestle and just how cool those guys were. I remember talking about those guys, and how they were almost legendary, and now to be a part of that group is really cool. It's neat looking back and realizing how far I have come. I'm really nervous for this weekend, but I am also enjoying the ride, taking in every little bit that I can. Man, I cant wait for this weekend!

Regionals

This weekend I had my regional meet, to decide who from our region would go on to state. To make state you needed to place in the top 4. I was really nervous in the week leading up to it. It was all that I could think about. My whole wrestling career came down to this one tournament. Everything that I had worked for all came down to this one weekend. It was really intense.

I ended up getting seeded 6th. It was actually the first time that I had been seeded in an tournament in Texas believe it or not, so I'll take it.

The first match I had was against a champion out of a district in the valley. I cant remember what school he was from but his record was 20-4. I was pumped and ready to go, and I was up 13-2 when I pinned him in the third period.

Later that day I wrestled another champion from the valley. This guy was the third seed, and was undefeated this year. He was really tall and lanky, so he was a good prep for the kid from Madison, who I would have to wrestle if we both won our matches. I handed this kid his first loss, a 6-1 decision.

That ended the first day of the tournament, and I was in the semi-finals. If I won my next match I was in the finals, and had my spot to state guaranteed. My next match was against my biggest rival of my career, the kid from Madison who had beaten me 4 times earlier this season. He was the second seed and had only lost twice all year. I was nervous, but I was ready. I knew that I was going to have to go through him to make it, so I had been training all month getting ready to wrestle him. I had gone over film, drilled specific moves, and did all that I could to prepare myself for that match.

The second day came, and in line for weighing in, all the Madison guy could talk about was how pumped he was to wrestle Osorio (the number one kid in the state, also the guy who beat me in my district final, who is undefeated). Our match was one of the first of the morning. Everything went flawlessly. My game plan went exactly as planned. I knew what he was going to do and wresetled accordingly. I finally beat him 11-4 when it mattered the most, got that monkey off my back, and punched my ticket to state!

In the finals I got to wrestle Osorio from Vista Ridge, a rematch from our district finals. Osorio is a really nice kid, and one of the best wrestlers I have ever seen. I wrestled my best against him, but he still beat me 14-6. Osorio is a really nice guy and one of the best wrestlers that I have ever seen. There isnt anyone in the state that can compete with him, and I hope that the finishes undefeated and finally earns that state title that he deserves.

I am so happy to have finally made it to state, after being sick my sophmore year, and injured my junior year. It's been my goal for as long as I can remember, and the feeling of accomplishing it is undescribable. I worked so hard to get here, and am so greatful for my fellow teammates, and coaches who pushed me to do so. And I am so thankful to God, who put me in a position, and blessed me with the ability to accomplish my dream. It has been one heck of a senior season.

But it aint over yet. STATE!

(a note about the record, apparently I screwed up in the way I figured my record, so my actual UIL record, and my own personal record have been different. So I'll go ahead and post my UIL record, since thats what they use for seeding and such)

RECORD: 32-12; 18 pins

Ohio and Districts

I havent had a whole lot of time to blog, but I'll go ahead and give a quick update, and write more when I get a chance.

I wrestled at a tournament in Ohio which was a great experience. I did really well, pinning my first two opponents. I then beat the next kid 7-6. In the finals I had a nail bitter that ended in regulation 6-6, but he scored first in OT to win. But I will take second at an Ohio tournament.

Now I wrestled in districts. This is where it gets real. I have to place in the top 2 to move on to region. I wrestled pretty well, but my stomach was turned in knots knowing that I couldnt loose if I wanted to obtain my goal of making state. I pinned my first two kids, then wrestled the number one kid again from vista ridge. I wrestled well, but of course he still beat me. I hadnt wrestled the kid who got 3rd so he got to wrestle me for the spot to go to region. Man did that make me nervous! But I pinned him too, so now I placed 2nd and have punched my card to region! Now I have to place in the top 4 in region to make state. It will be a tough road, but I'll do my best.

RECORD: 25-12; 17 pins. NEXT: Region Tournament, SA Texas Blossom Center

Senior Night

Well tonight was my last duel that I would ever wrestle, and last match I would ever wrestle at Westlake. We wrestled Cedar Park, who is in our district and I was excited to get some more district experience. It was also our senior night, and we got to recognize all of our seniors. We really were an excellent class. Our class and the year right under us are the ones that put Westlake wrestling on the map and set the standard higher. I'm really grateful for the opprotunity I've had to compete and train with such fine individuals.

The duel was pretty much a blow out for us, we won 60-12. I wrestled up at 140 because they didnt have a 135, and I pinned the guy in the first period. A fitting way to end my career at Westlake wouldn't you say?

It is wierd that my wrestling career is coming to an end. It has been such a huge part of my life, and its almost over. I wont wrestle competitively in college, however I do plan on sticking with the sport in whatever way I can. But it is still an odd feeling. I'm really gonna miss it.

But I cant focus on that right now, the season isn't over and I still have my goal of making state to accomplish. Tomorrow we are traveling up to Ohio to wrestle a tournament in Marion. It will be intense going up against Ohio wrestlers, but I'll do my best to represent my state proudly. Remember, dont mess with Texas!

Record: 19-10; 12 pins Next: MARION OHIO TOURNAMENT!

Dallas and Leander

Well, this year our team had planned on going to the State Duel Tournament in Amarillo. But unfortunately we weren't invited this year, because there were only a limited amount of spots for Region IV teams, only the top two could go, and we were number three. But oh well, I got to experience all that last year.

So instead we went to a duel event in Dallas where we got to wrestle teams from up there. It was a lot of fun, and our team looked incredibly strong. We won each duel by a significant margin. Our closest match had a deficit of at least 30 points.

But first we wrestled Lewisville. I was still not 100% up to speed yet, a little stiff and slow from the early morning, and I went out and didnt wrestle my best at all. I was up 2-1 when the kid hit a Peterson, and got 5 points for it, and won the match 6-2. I feel like I could've beat this kid. So I was unhappy coming off the mat, and coach told me, "Hey not to bad against a kid who was ranked in the state." I checked the rankings, and sure enough he was up there. So that was a nice confidence booster to know that I can role with those guys.

Then we wrestled Mkinney North, who was hosting the tournament. Again the team wrestled great, and we won. I was hungry for a win after my last match, so I went out, and I pinned him.

Then I pinned my next guy too, I think he was from Springdale not sure.

Our next opponent was Hebron, and I looked at my next guy, and he had on his state hoodie from when he went last year. I went out and I wrestled him tough. It was a close match, going back and forth between us. I was down 8-5 with about 45 seconds left, when he got in deep on a single. So out of desperation, I hit a broomstick which couldn't have worked any better. He went down straight to his back, with me on top, giving me the 5 points and the win 10-8. He was the first state caliber wrestler that I have beaten this year, so I was really excited. Hopefully he wont be the last.

The next Thursday we wrestled Leander, a team in our district. It was good to go out there and get a feel for who else is there. Again the team looked dominant, and we won 75-6. I pinned my opponent in the second period. So things are looking really good for Westlake Wrestling.

The new team state rankings have come out too. We are 7th in the state right now, with Vista Ridge at 5th, and Bowie at 4th. Thats a real testament to how far wrestling has come in Austin. For complete rankings click here.

RECORD: 18-10; 11 pins. NEXT: Cedar Park, @ Westlake, LAST HOME WRESTLING EVENT!

New Rankings

Just in case any one was wondering the Region IV rankings have been updated. I feel to 5th, because a wrestler from Bryan who had been wrestling 140 dropped down to 135. There is also other information about the wrestlers records, victories and defeats, and placings at tournaments. My record info isnt 100% accurate, so I'm sure the others isnt either, but its pretty close. Should be an exciting region tournament.

Click here for the link.

Bowie & Centex

Well, I had been waiting for this Bowie duel all year. Westlake has never beaten Bowie in a duel before, but the last few years have been really close, and it looked like this was going to be or chance.

My opponent was is 2nd in the region right behind Osorio. He is an accomplished wrestler who went to state last year. I was really pumped up to go against him. Right off the bat I took him down twice. I let him know that I was here to wrestle. It was a good match, but down the stretch I got a little gassed, and he came out on top, 11-7. The team didnt fare very well, calls didnt go our way, and we just didnt wrestle very well all together. The final was 42-19. Here are the complete results, and a link to a news article about the duel.

Then this last weekend was the Centex tournament. It was a two day tournament and had huge implications for my chances at making state this year. Centex is basically the regional tournament, that I have to place in the top four to qualify to go to state. However there were also some teams from Dallas and Houston that came as well. So it's a big deal, and lots of the matches will effect my seedings for the regional tournament. But unfortunately for this one, I got a lousy seed again. Something that I have become all to familiar with this season.

So on friday, my first match was against a kid from San Antonio Johnson. We was pretty good, but I wrestled pretty well, and beat him 9-2. I rode him much better than I had before, and felt pretty good about it.

My second match was against that same Madison kid that I have already wrestled against twice. Each time I'm getting closer and closer, but I couldnt quite pull it out. This was another one of those times. He ended up winning 11-6 I beleive. So I get kicked into the consolations.

Next was a nice kid from Georgetown, which is in my district. I hadnt really wrestled alot of people in this district, so this was a good chance to see what some of the competition was like. I pinned him in the first period. He's a nice kid though, I talked to him a bit before the match, and wish him best of luck for the rest of the season.

And the fourth and final match of the first day came against a kid from Austin LBJ. I had to wait a while for him to show up because there was a misunderstanding with the LBJ coach, and he told his kids they could go home. But we waited for them to get back and I wrestled him. I was ready to go home, so I stuck him in the second.

Saturday morning came, and I started it off by wrestling a guy from Dallas Jesuit. He was a good wrestler, and I was only up by a few points in the third till I took him down and caught him in a front headlock cradle. I pinned him with 1 second left in the match.

After him, I wrestled the New Braunfels guy that I wrestled earlier at the Russ Pederson meet. I really like him, he's a nice guy and a solid wrestler. We had a tight match, but I pulled it out 5-2.

And then in the semi-finals for the consolation bracket, I got to wrestle that good old San Antonio Madison guy again. 4th times a charm right? This was by far the best I ever wrestled him. I took him down on a real shot for the first time, and didnt have to much of a problem escaping. He was only up by one point with about 40 seconds to with me on top, so I cut him to try to get the takedown for the tie. Again, I took my shot and he did the funky things that he always does, and he ended up getting the takedown. So I am right there with him, and hope to finally come out on top when it matters most. The final was 10-6.

So that put ended my day in the consolation semi's for 5-6th place. But the first Johnson kid that I beat made it all the way to the consolation semi's too. So that puts me at 5th place, one less than I need to be for state. But the kid who got second isnt in my region, so take him away and that puts me at fourth. And I am really close to being able to beat the Bowie and Madison kid who got 4th and 3rd at this tournament. So I'm right where I need to be.

The team as a whole did awesome! We got second overall with alot of holes in our line up, and having some guys wrestle up some weight classes. For more detailed results click here.

I was very pleased with the way I wrestled. My shots have improved astronomically, and my escapes are becoming more fluid and consistent. I'm really feeling like I'm wrestling the best I have and hope that I'll continue to get better as the season continues.

RECORD: 14-9; 8 pins