UIL State Wrestling: 14 local male grapplers still alive for individual state crowns

Shawn Moran, Amarillo Globe-News

February 18, 2022 at 5:37 PM·4 min read

Texas Panhandle wrestlers, specifically from District 3-5A, have dominated the field through one day at the UIL State wrestling championship at the Berry Center in Cypress, Texas.

Both genders went through the first two championship rounds Friday morning and afternoon. The brackets have been trimmed down to the top four in each weight class left contending for the title, however, the girls’ quarterfinals were not concluded by the AGN's local press time.

Caprock’s Tatiana Garcia wrestles Cedar Park’s Kylee Foulds during the UIL State Wrestling Championship Friday, Feb. 18, 2022, in the Berry Center in Cypress, Texas. (Justin Rex/A-J Media)

Heading into Saturday, 14 male wrestlers from District 3-5A still have a chance at an individual state title. There will be at least one representative from the district in the semfinals in 10 out of 14 weight classes.

In the boys' 106-pound weight class, District 3-5A and Region 1-5A champion Ethan Sims (39-2) of Tascosa will take on No. 2 seed Cooper Chapman of Dallas Highland Park in the semifinals. Dumas sophomore Carlos Magallanes (28-10) is also still alive in the 106-pound winner’s bracket and is set to take on Frisco Wakeland’s top-seeded senior Zach Miller on Saturday morning.

Defending state champion Randall has three wrestlers still alive and competing for a state title after the first day of action at the Berry Center.

Last year’s 106-pound champion Ashton Bennert (40-5) is set to take on Grapevine junior Gabe Aldaco in the semifinals of the 113-pound division this year.

Meanwhile, freshman Rylan Jones (25-15) was the fourth-seed to qualify from Region I-5A at 120 pounds and has taken down two higher-seeded opponents on the way to his matchup against District 3-5A and Region I-5A champion Josiah Pina from Caprock (34-3) on Saturday. Lastly, the 2021 120-pound runner-up Aidan Medina (35-4) has made the semifinals in the 126-pound division after making the move up this season.

One of the biggest upsets of the day was Dumas freshman and No. 8 seed Hunter Bogner (42-3) knocking off 113-pound No. 1 seed Xavier Rodela from Burleson Centennial by a 2-0 decision in the quarterfinals.

Caprock’s Nathaniel Ruiz tries to pin Northwest’s Wesley Hughes during the UIL State Wrestling Championship Friday, Feb. 18, 2022, in the Berry Center in Cypress, Texas. (Justin Rex/A-J Media)

Bogner and Magallanes will join 145-pound sophomore Bronson Baxter (52-4) as a trio of Demons to make their way to the state semis.

In addition to Sims for Tascosa, the Rebel pairing of 132-pound freshman Thomas Pacheco (39-2) and 152-pound junior Andres Suarez (40-2) are still alive in competition for a gold medal.

Amarillo High sophomore Jaden Valdez (45-2) has made it to the semifinals of the 126-pound division while Sandie senior Levi Slaydon (33-6) has advanced to the final four of the winner’s bracket in the 182-pound division.

Caprock sophomore Nathaniel Ruiz (9-1) is aiming for the 138-pound crown after finishing as the state runner-up in the 126-pound division last spring.

Finally, senior Caleb Rivera (34-3) from Bushland will attempt to pull off a couple upsets on his way to the 170-pound title on Saturday.

GIRLS NOTES

Nineteen out of the 20 female wrestlers from District 3-5A to qualify for the state meet advanced past the first championship round into the quarterfinals.

STATE SEMIFINAL MATCHUPS

BOYS

106: Carlos Magallanes (Dumas) vs. Zach Miller (Frisco Wakeland); Ethan Sims (Tascosa) vs. Cooper Chapman (Dallas Highland Park)

113: Hunter Bogner (Dumas) vs. Larry Layman (Northwest); Ashton Bennert (Randall) vs. Gabe Aldaco (Grapevine)

120: Josiah Pina (Caprock) vs. Rylan Jones (Randall); Kenneth Hendriksen (Carrollton Creekview) vs. Jaymez Ramon (Corpus Christi Moody)

126: Aidan Medina (Randall) vs. Jadyn Johnson (Melissa); Jaden Valdez (Amarillo High) vs. Jayden Bustillos (El Paso Riverside)

132: Thomas Pacheco (Tascosa) vs. Aidan Burke (Cedar Park); Garrett McChesney (Katy Jordan) vs. Eli Biermann (Midlothian)

138: Nathaniel Ruiz (Caprock) vs. Ashton Keller (Corpus Christi Carroll); Zachary Casias (Lubbock High) vs. Julian Marrufo (El Paso High)

145: Bronson Baxter (Dumas) vs. Isaiah Hunter (Lucas Lovejoy); Aaron Aragon (El Paso Andress) vs. Xavier Jukes (Prosper Rock Hill)

152: Andres Suarez (Tascosa) vs. Dominique Quiroz (Uvalde); Tyten Volk (Frisco Centennial) vs. Jarek Delgado (Dallas Highland Park)

160: June An (Lubbock High) vs. Joshua Thomas (Conroe Caney Creek); Evan Coupar (Leander Rouse) vs. Jasin Sejdini (Frisco Centennial)

170: Caleb Rivera (Bushland) vs. Bryce Mclaren (Leander Glenn); Dominick Evans (Azle) vs. Cortilius Vann (Frisco Heritage)

182: Levi Slaydon (Amarillo High) vs. Karson Tompkins (Midlothian); Masyn Marble (Prosper Rock Hill) vs. Zeb Fulmer (Winnsboro)

195: Alex Zavala (Frisco Heritage) vs. Riley Marsh (Lubbock Monterey); Jacob Hansen (Pflugerville) vs. Henry Bumgarner (Midlothian)

220: De’Leon Freeman (Frisco Liberty) vs. Grant Clarno (Dripping Springs); Keagan Davis (Lubbock High) vs. Payton Pierce (Lucas Lovejoy)

285: Americo Fuentes (Dallas Hillcrest) vs. Tony Taplin (College Station A&M Consolidated); Sam Reynolds (Lucas Lovejoy) vs. Daniel Sanchez (El Paso Andress)

EDITOR'S NOTE: The girl's state quarterfinals had just begun at press time Friday. For updated results from the UIL state wrestling tournament, follow @ShawnMoranNews and visit www.amarillo.com

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: UIL State Wrestling tournament: Panhandle athletes advance

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STATE SEMIFINAL MATCHUPS

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