BRYAN ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT

Bryan wins another district wrestling title, Ellison finishes in third place Posted On: Sunday, Feb. 7 2010 05:35

Treating wrestling like a year-round sport, Bryan continued its flat-outdominance of District 25, overwhelming the Central Texas area once again.

With eight individual champions, and 12 of its 15wrestlers placing at least third, the Vikings steamrolled rival A&M Consolidated and the Killeen-area schools to claim their fourth straight boys title and third since joining the district.

"Bryan's the team everyone's gunning for," said Shoemaker coach Ken Soloff."Ellison, for the boys, is always the best hope out of Killeen. But Bryan's got a good program, (they) are well-coached and they wrestle well."

Along with the eight champions, the Bryan boys advanced a district-leading 10 total wrestlers to the Region IV meet next weekend in San Antonio, while Consolidated advanced seven to edge reigning runner-up Ellison for second place by 0.5 points (214 to 213.5).

Shoemaker,which hosted the tournament, finished fourth with one wrestler advancing. Killeen, who entered the tournament with only nine wrestlers, will be taking five to the region meet next Friday and Saturday.

"I thought knocking (Bryan) off would take a lot of luck and some hard work, but while the hard work paid off, the luck was never there," said Ellison coach Dean Schaub, who's Eagles have finished second to Bryan each of the past two seasons.

On the girls side, the Shoemaker Lady Grey Wolves finished first to knock off defending district Champion Ellison by six points (143 to 137), after a single point separated the two last season. Despite the Lady Eagles claiming six individual champions, the Lady grey Wolves won thanks to four second-place finishers to go with their four champions. The third-place Lady Knights advanced three wrestlers to the regional meet after one competitor finished third but moved on after winning a wrestle-back challenge. Consolidated and Bryan each had one female wrestler advance.

"For the last five or six years, Ellison's been our stiffest competition,but Shoemaker's kind of taken over the girls program, and not just the area but Region IV as well," Soloff said.

Leading the Vikings' charge were lightweights Fabian Diaz (103) and Logan Meekma (112), who pinned Heights wrestlers Royce Carpenter and Nate Tuthill, respectively, as Bryan swept through the first Four Chmpionship bouts before A&M grappler Jon Shugart pinned Ellison's Aaron Gilbert at 130 pounds to break the early run.

But the Vikings picked up one match later as the state-ranked Victor Thomas(135) and Kevin White (140) pinned Shoemaker's Troy Felder and Ellison's Kevin Caba, respectively. Consolidated then won back-to-back matches as Jacob Wilson upset top-seeded Tracey Hodges of Bryan at 145and Garrett Goodman pinned Killeen 152-pounder Anthony Solomon.

Bryan takes first at District 25 meet:KILLEEN -- Bryan won its fourth straight district title at the District 25 meet Saturday at Killeen Shoemaker.

Winning eight of 15 weight classes, Bryan scored 272.5 points for first. Consol had 214 points, while Ellison took third at 213.5.

Bryan's Fabian Diaz won his weight class at 103 pounds along with teammates Logan Meekma (112), Edgar Davila (119), Gabriel Jimenez(125), Victor Thomas (135), Kevin White (140), David Jones (215) and Kendall Gilbert (heavyweight).

Bryan's Tracey Hodges (145) and Denzel Brown (189) also qualified for the Region IV meet by taking second. Bryan's Zach Escobar (130) and Saul Ramirez (152) are alternates after finishing third.

The two-day Region IV meet will open Friday at the Blossom Athletic complex in San Antonio. The top four in each weight class will advance to the state meet set for Feb. 26-27 at the Delco Center in Austin.

With the Crosstown Showdown and the District 12-5A on the horizon, Bryan rested a few wrestlers but had no trouble beating Copperas Cove 61-23 on Thursday in 12-5A action.

"It was a good win," Bryan head coach Mike Zito said. "A lot of young guys got some mat time, and overall we took care of business."

Bryan's Edgar Davila (119 pounds), Zach Escobar (130), Blake Cyrus(145) and Kendall Gilbert (heavyweight) each had pins, while Fabian Diaz (103), Logan Meekma (112), Victor Thomas (135), Jose Martinez(140), Tracey Hodges (152), Denzel Brown (189) and David Jones (215)won their matches for the Vikings.

The Bryan boys wrestling team finished sixth in the 28-teamHurricane Classic on Saturday at Klein Collins High School.

Also for Bryan, Logan Meekma took second at 112; Edgar Davila (119)placed third; Zach Escobar (125) and Tracy Hodges (145) fourth; KendallGilbert (heavyweight) fifth and David Jones (215) sixth.

The Bryan boys wrestling team beat Killeen Shoemaker and Harker Heights on Thursday in a District 12-5A quad meet hosted by A&M Consolidated.

Bryan beat Shoemaker 63-15. Bryan's Rafael Aguilar at 103 pounds, Edgar Davila (119), Victor Thomas (135), Kevin White (140), Tracy Hodges(145), Blake Cyrus (152), David Jones (215) and Kendall Gilbert (heavyweight) recorded pins. Winning matches for the Vikings were Fabian Diaz (112), Gabe Jimenez (125), Zach Escobar (130) and Denzel Brown (189).

Against Harker Heights, Bryan won 63-21 while Diaz (112), Davila (119),White (140), Hodges (145), Brown (189) and Jones (215) recorded pins.Wins were earned by Aguilar (103), Trey Pierce (125), Jimenez (130),Thomas (135) and Gilbert (heavyweight).

Bryan finishes third at Katy Seven Lakes: KATY -- The shorthanded Bryan Vikings finished third Saturday at the nine-team Katy Seven Lakes dual.

Bryan (15-4), with several wrestlers missing because of injuries and one for disciplinary reasons, used some JV call-ups and forfeited four individual matches in each dual match.

The Vikings opened with a 39-36 victory over Houston Strake Jesuit.Edgar Davila at 119 pounds, Gabe Jiminez (125), Tracy Hodges (152) and David Jones (215) earned pins for Bryan. Fabian Diaz (103), Zach Escobar (130), Kevin White (140) and Blake Cyrus (145) won their matches.

Bryan then beat Houston Kinkaid 51-27. Diaz (112), Davila (119),Jiminez (125), Escobar (130), Nathan Jiminez (135), White (140), Hodges(145) and Cyrus (152) had pins, while Rafael Aguilar (103) won on points.

The Vikings lost their last two matches, the first a 45-32 setback against Brazoswood. Pins came from Diaz (103), Gabe Jiminez (125) and Cyrus (152). Davila (119), Escobar (135), White (140) and Hodges (145)won on points.

In the Vikings' finale, Houston Episcopal won 45-27. Pins were recorded by Davila (119), Gabe Jiminez (125), Nathan Jiminez (135) and Denzel Brown (189). Winners were Aguilar (103), White (140), Cyrus (145) and Hodges (152).

Bryan beats Conroe, Oak Ridge: The Bryan boys wrestling team beat Conroe 69-15 and Oak Ridge 54-18 in a quad meet with A&M Consolidated at Viking Gym. Bryan Lost only 4 matches between the 2 duals!

Bryan got pins from Fabian Diaz at 103 pounds, Gabriel Jimenez at 125, Zach Escobar at 130, Kevin White at 140, Blake Cyrus at 145, Tracey Hodges at 152, David Jones at 215 and Edgar Davila at 125.

Davila was wrestling up a weight class from his normal 119, where he also picked up a win. Jimenez also had a pin at 130 while Escobar had a pin at 135.

Also picking up wins for Bryan were Logan Meekma at 112, Tracy Hodges(152), Jose Martinez (135), Victor Mireles (171), Fabian Diaz (103) and heavyweight Kendall Gilbert.

The Vikings defeated Consol 69-15(only losing one match!), beat Killeen Ellison 47-25 and finished with a 51-23 victory over Clear Brook.

Six Bryan wrestlers won all three of their matches. The mastery was led by 285-pounder Kendal Gilbert and 140-pounder Kevin White, who each registered three pins. The Vikings' Fabian Diaz (103), Logan Meekma(112), Edgar Davila (119) and Victor Thomas (135) also won three matches apiece.

The Vikings got two victories from Gabe Jimenez (125), Zach Escobar(130), Tracey Hodges (145), Victor Mireles (171) and David Jones (215).

Bryan used its depth to put eight wrestlers in the top four, allowing the Vikings to hold off Katy Morton Ranch to take the team championship at the tournament. Morton Ranch had a 3-1 edge in bracket winners, but the Vikings put seven wrestlers in second, third and fourth to finish with 174.5 points. Morton Ranch scored 170.

The Vikings won their home tournament, the largest in the state, for the second consecutive year. Kevin White led the Bryan contingent by winning his half of the bracket at 140 pounds, while the Vikes got second-place finishes from Zach Escobar, Gabriel Jimenez and Tracey Hodges.

"We may not have had as many people as Morton Ranch in the SuperFinals, but we had more points from the lower part of the bracket, kids taking second, third, fourth and fifth," Bryan coach Mike Zito said."The competition was deep. We had a lot of state-ranked kids in the tournament, a lot of medalists from last season."

The Doc Hes tournament was a wrestling extravaganza, with more than1,300 wrestlers in four divisions flooding all three Bryan High gymnasiums and the Silver Cafeteria. The varsity boys competition in the main gym featured five mats with steady action for nearly 13 hours.

A span of 15 minutes during the afternoon demonstrated the magnitude of the event. The coach from St. Thomas in Houston found himself in the middle of the gym floor, trying to watch and direct as four of his wrestlers competed at the same time on different mats. One of his entries was pinned by Bryan's Jimenez in the third round at 130 pounds.

Bryan got a boost from a new entry at 125 pounds, with Escobar joining the lineup and winning two of three matches to take second. Hodges went3-1 to claim the silver at 145 pounds.

"Zach Escobar was a surprise," Zito said. "Tracey was in a tough weightclass. He only had three losses [on the season], and he got the No. 8seed."

White won three matches to emerge in first place in his half of the140-pound division, pushing his season mark to 20-0. White dropped the Super Final match 12-7 to Colton Thomas of Klein Collins, who will compete in a different region than Bryan in the UIL postseason.

The Vikings' third-place finishers were Fabian Diaz (103 pounds) and Victor Thomas (135). Bryan got fourth places from Logan Meekma (112)and Saul Ramirez (152). Ramirez took a tight final match against Consol's Garrett Goodman, who went 3-2 in the tourney.

The Bryan wrestling team earned 172.5 points to dominate a 30-team, two-day meet at San Antonio L.B.J. on Saturday.

Bryan wrestlers won three classes, including Logan Meekma at 112 pounds, Kevin White (140) and Kendall Gilbert (heavyweight). Edgar Davila won silver at 119. Bryan's Fabian Diaz (103), Tracey Hodges(145) and Victor Thomas (135) each won bronze medals, while Gabe Jimenez (130) finished fourth.

For Bryan's JV boys, Rafael Aguilar, Blake Cyrus and David Jones each won gold medals. Zach Bernal and Victor Mireles took silver. Trey Pierce and Nathan Jimenez won bronze, and Felepe Diaz placed fourth.

The Vikings will host the Doc Hes Classic next Saturday at Bryan High.The event is expected to draw 1,400 wrestlers from 44 schools.

Bryan wrestlers with pins against Connally were Edgar Davila (119-pounddivision), Gabe Jimenez (135), Victor Thomas (140), Kevin White (145),Tracey Hodges (152), Saul Ramirez (160) and Kendall Gilbert (285).Vikings getting wins were Fabian Diaz (103), Logan Meekma (112) and Nathan Jimenez (130). Bryan's lone girl, Victoria Huitt, earned a pin.

Bryan pins against Cedar Park were by Diaz, Thomas, White and Hodges, with wins by Meekma, Davila, Jimenez, Ramirez and Gilbert.

Bryan split a tri-meet at The Woodlands on Wednesday, beating the hosts(46-22), but Houston St. Thomas defeated the Vikings (40-27) with the help of three forfeits where Bryan didn't have a wrestler for that weight. St. Thomas were given 18 pts for the 3 forfeits, winning the match by 13.

Bryan pins against TW were by Diaz, Meekma and Davila, with wins by Thomas, White, Hodges, Ramirez and Gilbert. Hodges had the lone pin against St. Thomas with wins by Diaz, Meekma, White, Ramirez, Denzel Brown (215) and Gilbert.

Bryan JV wrestlers getting wins over TW and St. Thomas were Zach Bernal, Blake Cyrus and Victor Mireles with David Jones getting two pins. Servando Salinas added a win.

The Bryan wrestling team won three matches Tuesday in a quad-meet with Vista Ridge, Cy-Fair and Georgetown at Viking Gym.

Bryan beat Vista Ridge on criteria after tying at 42-42. The Vikings won 8 of 15 matches for the overall victory. Bryan beat Georgetown 53-30 and Cy-Fair 51-30.

Bryan was wrestling without anyone qualified in the 171-, 180- and 189-pound weight classes, giving opponents 18 points at the beginning of each match.

Bryan's Edgar Davila (125), Tracey Hodges (152), Saul Ramirez (160) and Kendall Gilbert (285) each had three pins over the three matches. Fabian Diaz (112) had two pins and one victory, while Victor Thomas (140) had one pin and two wins. Logan Meekma (119) and Kevin White (145) each had two wins and one pin. Denzel Brown (215) had two pins, and Rafael Aguilar (103) had two wins. Gabe Jimenez (135) won one of his matches.

AUSTIN -- The Bryan boys wrestling team placed second out of 22 teams at the Capital City Classic on Saturday. The Vikings finished with 149.5 points, while champion Vista Ridge had 162.5.

Individually, Bryan's Kevin White claimed gold at 145 pounds. Bryan's runners-up were Logan Meekma (119), Victor Thomas (140), Tracey Hodges(152) and Denzel Brown (215). Fabian Diaz (112), Edgar Davila (125) and Kendall Gilbert (HWT) also placed 3rd.

Bryan's JV also competed at the Capital City Classic on Friday. They had two gold medalists and two silver medalists. Trey Pierce and Chris Moya both took first place. Felepe Diaz and David Jones took second. Servando Salinas, Blake Cyrus, Jeremy Bosquez, and Victor Mireles all took 4th place.

The Vikings will host Cy-Fair, Georgetown and Vista Ridge at 4 p.m. Tuesday. Wrestling will take place in gym 1. The JV will also be competing Tuesday and will be up in the wrestling gym beginning at 4pm.

Ten of 11 Bryan wrestlers won their matches to pace a 54-28 victory over Katy Taylor on Wednesday in the Vikings' season opener. Giving up 24 pts because of forfeits, Bryan Wrestlers dominated in the matches they were in. Katy Taylor is annually one of the most dominant teams in the Houston area.

Bryan's Rafael Aguilar won by pin at 103 pounds along with teammates Fabian Diaz (112 pounds), Logan Meekma (119), Gabe Jimenez (135),Victor Thomas (140), Servando Salinas (145) and Kevin White (152).Bryan's Edgar Davila won his match on points at 125 along with Denzel Brown (215) and heavyweight David Jones.

Any student who is interested in wrestling this year and NOT in football, practice will being Monday Oct 5th at 4pm up in the wrestling gym. Anyone, male or female, interested need to stop by afterschool and visit with Coach Zito BEFORE the 5th. If you have any questions, you can email coach Zito or just stop by the gym afterschool.

FOOTBALL Players: You can join the wrestling team just ONLY after your football season has come to an end. You will not be behind or miss out on anything. Again just email coach Zito if you have any questions.