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