El Paso power struggle: Eastwood edges Hanks for boys wrestling title at Bowie Invitational
EL PASO -- It was the wrestling season's final dress rehearsal before the district meets in two weeks, and it was Eastwood that came out looking its best Saturday afternoon at Bowie Gymnasium.
All three Troopers finalists won their matches -- including two head-to-head wins versus runner-up Hanks -- as Eastwood walked away with the boys team title at the Bowie Invitational.
"It's kind of been a rough week, I think the (Texas State Duals Tournament) really took a lot out of the kids," said Eastwood coach Roman Villa of his team, which placed an impressive fourth last week in Amarillo. "They could have come (to Bowie) with swelled heads and thought they were going to walk away with this tournament. But they didn't. And it was a battle until the last match."
Adrian Sandoval scored a narrow 3-1 decision over Hanks' Nathan Montes to win the 119-pound title, and freshman Devin Vasquez did the same in a 5-3 win over Knights senior Ryan Martinez to push Eastwood to its 207.5 to 197 winning margin.
Texas 2009 145-pound state runner-up Andy Rico, coming off his first two losses of the season after wrestling at 152-pounds in Amarillo, pinned everyone he faced to help the Eastwood cause.
"I'm still bummed about (the losses)," the 145-pound winner Rico said. "But, I'll learn from my experiences."
Third-place Chapin (182.5) won three of four finals matches to tie Eastwood for individual gold medalists.
Jordan Hildreth had to go into overtime to keep his seasonal unbeaten streak alive in a 4-3 win over Andress' Sergio Rubio. Abel Rodriguez, a 2009 state qualifier, grabbed the 152-pound title (with a 6-1 win over Cobre's Nick Delgado) while teammate Kevin Albone (in a 10-5 win over Americas' Devonte Rozier) was best at 180. Husky 171-pounder Ernest Rodriguez was pinned by lone San Elizario titlist Christian Hernandez.
"Unofficially, this is the city meet," Chapin head coach Angel Nevarez said of his squad's impressive showing heading into the District 1 meet Feb. 6 at Jefferson. "Except for (the Franklin varsity), every school in the city is here. It's the last time you get to see everyone until regionals (Feb. 19-20 at Del Valle)."
Franklin, at a tournament in Lafayette, Colo., has won that district meet an impressive 11 consecutive seasons.
"We always go toe-to-toe with Franklin," Nevarez said. "Unfortunately, we've always come out on the bottom end."
Super heavyweight Kevin Muñoz decisioned former El Dorado teammate Jorge Machado 5-1 to join current Americas teammate Ruben Lujan (11-0 major decision over Fabens 112-pounder Jesus Flores) as champions.
Burges' Rick Burns, with Eastwood's Colton Woodruff lost for the season to an elbow injury, solidified his hold on the city's 135-pound division in a 4-2 decision of Cobre's Xavier De La Torre. Bowie's Lupe Sillas defeated El Paso High's Miguel Tovar (3-2) for the third time in four tries in a 160-pound match that could very well be reprised at the District 2 meet, also at Jefferson.
Jonathan Sanchez of Socorro (125 pounds) and Canutillo's Jose Castro (189) will carry Bowie gold into the District 4 meet at San Elizario, while Eastwood puts its six straight District 3 titles on the line at Del Valle.
"We kind of fizzled at the end of last year," Villa said. "We've changed things up a bit this year, and I think the kids are peaking at the right time."
Erik Rangel took home gold for a Santa Teresa team facing its district meet Feb. 12-13 in Roswell. The sophomore will look to improve on his fourth-in-state finish two weeks after district in Albuquerque.
The Texas state meet is set for Feb. 26-27 in Austin.
Bowie High School Wrestling Invitational results
Bowie Men's Wrestling Tournament Team Scores
1. Eastwood -- 207.502. Hanks -- 197.00
3. Chapin -- 182.50
4. Americas -- 168.00
5. Gadsden -- 141.00
6. Silver City -- 138.00
7. Santa Teresa -- 122.50
8. Parkland -- 113.00
9. Burges -- 111.00
10. Franklin JV -- 89.00
11. Montwood -- 88.50
12. Cobre -- 79.00
13. El Dorado -- 72.50
14. Bowie -- 67.50
15. Socorro -- 67.00
16. Bel Air -- 60.00
17. Del Valle -- 59.50
18. Andress -- 55.00
19. San Elizario -- 49.00
20. El Paso High -- 47.00
21. Canutillo -- 46.00
22. Ysleta -- 44.00
23. Irvin -- 34.00
24. Jefferson -- 32.50
25. Coronado -- 31.00
26. Chaparral -- 24.00
27. Fabens -- 21.00
28. Austin -- 20.00
29. Riverside -- 13.00
30. Deming -- 0.00
Bowie Men's Wrestling Tournament Place Winners
Weight: 1031st: Erick Rangel, Santa Teresa 4- 0
2nd: Jesus Ramos, Gadsden 3- 1
3rd: Jesse Portillo, Burges 4- 1
4th: Juan Gambert, Hanks 4- 2
5th: Ivan Castillo, Montwood 3- 2
6th: Danny Barraza, Americas 3- 3
Weight: 112
1st: Ruben Lujan, Americas 4- 0
2nd: Jesus Flores, Fabens 3- 1
3rd: Joel Mascorro, Gadsden 5- 1
4th: Brandon Woo, Coronado 4- 2
5th: Zeke Villaba, Silver City 3- 2
6th: Frankie Ceniceros, Socorro 2- 3
Weight: 119
1st: Adrian Sandoval, Eastwood 4- 0
2nd: Nathan Montes, Hanks 3- 1
3rd: Gerardo Ramirez, Americas 4- 1
4th: Marcos Romo, Montwood 3- 2
5th: Daniel McCauley, Silver City 5- 2
6th: Forfeit, 5- 2
Weight: 125
1st: Jonathan Sanchez, Socorro 4- 0
2nd: Enoc Mascorro, Gadsden 3- 1
3rd: Damien Petta, Parkland 4- 1
4th: Brandon Matthews, Eastwood 3- 2
5th: Javier Vasquez, Americas 4- 2
6th: Brandon Flynn, Burges 3- 3
Weight: 130
1st: Devin Vasquez, Eastwood 4- 0
2nd: Ryan Martinez, Hanks 3- 1
3rd: A J Sedillo, Santa Teresa 5- 1
4th: Luis Rosales, Chapin 3- 2
5th: Chris Gonzales, Gadsden 4- 2
6th: Adonis Ortega, Silver City 2- 3
Weight: 135
1st: Rick Burns, Burges 4- 0
2nd: Xavier De La Torre, Cobre 3- 1
3rd: Corey Gentry, Hanks 4- 1
4th: Frank Alvara, Chapin 3- 2
5th: Benny Moya, Eastwood 6- 2
6th: Manuel Hernandez, El Paso High 4- 3
Weight: 140
1st: Jordan Hildreth, Chapin 4- 0
2nd: Sergio Rubio, Andress 3- 1
3rd: Leo Hernandez, Hanks 4- 1
4th: Joshua Rodriguez, Eastwood 4- 2
5th: Arturo Anchondo, Santa Teresa 4- 2
6th: Hector Chacon, Montwood 2- 3
Weight: 145
1st: Andy Rico, Eastwood 4- 0
2nd: Andrew Alvarez, Silver City 3- 1
3rd: Jesus Reyes, Parkland 4- 1
4th: Aaron Rios, Chapin 3- 2
5th: Carlos Hernandez, Montwood 6- 2
6th: Pablo Contreras, Santa Teresa 4- 3
Weight: 152
1st: Abel Rodriguez, Chapin 4- 0
2nd: Nick Delgado, Cobre 3- 1
3rd: Julian Jaramillo, Burges 4- 1
4th: Hugo Hernandez, Hanks 3- 2
5th: Nevada Bencomo, Silver City 4- 2
6th: Joey Vela, Eastwood 3- 3
Weight: 160
1st: Lupe Sillas, Bowie 4- 0
2nd: Miguel Tovar, El Paso High 3- 1
3rd: Noah Villaba, Silver City 4- 1
4th: Jon Limon, Hanks 4- 2
5th: Dominique Duran, Cobre 4- 2
6th: Dylan Cordero, Ysleta 2- 0
Weight: 171
1st: Christian Hernandez, San Elizario 5- 0
2nd: Ernest Rodriguez, Chapin 3- 1
3rd: Irving Galindo, Bel Air 5- 1
4th: Jonel Ortiz, Eastwood 3- 2
5th: Ricardo Macias, Hanks 3- 2
6th: Aaron Blanchard, Parkland 5- 3
Weight: 180
1st: Kevin Albone, Chapin 3- 0
2nd: Devonte Rozier, Americas 2- 1
3rd: Eric Perez, Bel Air 3- 1
4th: Robert Holguin, Franklin JV 4- 2
5th: Ben Gonzalez, Eastwood 4- 2
6th: Angel Ortega, Bowie 2- 0
Weight: 189
1st: Jose Castro, Canutillo 4- 0
2nd: Kevin Nguyen, Franklin JV 3- 1
3rd: Cesar Ortega, Americas 5- 1
4th: Darius Montgomery, Chapin 4- 2
5th: Forfeit, 4- 2
6th: Forfeit, 4- 2
Weight: 215
1st: Josh Mcmenimen, Hanks 4- 0
2nd: Fabian Lopez, Santa Teresa 3- 1
3rd: Johnny Salome, Parkland 4- 1
4th: James Alvarado, Silver City 4- 2
5th: Ben Hernandez, Bel Air 4- 2
6th: Anthony Saldana, Bowie 2- 2
Weight: 285
1st: Kevin Munoz, Americas 4- 0
2nd: Jorge Machado, El Dorado 3- 1
3rd: Oscar Escajeda, Gadsden 4- 1
4th: Jose Arenivas, Parkland 3- 2
5th: Chris Gonzalez, Silver City 4- 2
6th: Luis Jimenez, Franklin JV 3- 3
Bowie Women's Wrestling Tournament Team Scores
1. Chapin -- 128.002. Irvin -- 114.00
3. El Dorado -- 94.00
4. Burges -- 70.00
5. Austin -- 63.00
6. Del Valle -- 60.00
7. Andress -- 57.00
8. Socorro -- 53.00
9. Hanks -- 48.50
10. Bowie -- 44.00
10. (tie) Franklin JV -- 44.00
12. Eastwood -- 35.00
13. Sandia -- 30.00
14. Jefferson -- 29.00
15. Parkland -- 23.00
15. (tie) Bears -- 23.00
17. El Paso High -- 22.00
17. (tie) Montwood -- 22.00
19. Bel Air -- 18.00
20. Huskies -- 15.00
21. Canutillo -- 14.00
22. San Elizario -- 12.00
23. Fabens -- 11.00
24. Aztecs -- 10.00
24. (tie) Knights -- 10.00
26. Americas -- 9.00
27. Riverside -- 7.00
27. (tie) Conquistadors -- 7.00
29. Eagles Canutillo -- 6.00
30. Cornado -- 2.00
30. (tie) Ysleta -- 2.00
32. Trailblazers -- 0.00
32. (tie) Tigers -- 0.00
32. (tie) Rams -- 0.00
32. (tie) Bulldogs -- 0.00
Bowie Women's Wrestling Tournament Place Winners
Weight: 95
1st: Akira Pena, El Dorado 3- 0
2nd: Tiffany Chavez, Andress 2- 1
3rd: Celeste Vallejo, Chapin 3- 1
4th: Stephanie Martinez, Austin 4- 2
Weight: 102
1st: Desiree Galindo, Austin 3- 0
2nd: Adriana Barreras, Socorro 2- 1
3rd: Jackie Cordero, Burges 3- 1
4th: Brittany Carter, Chapin 2- 2
Weight: 110
1st: Alba Mendoza, Franklin JV 4- 0
2nd: Jordanne Diaz, Hanks 3- 1
3rd: Brenda Villela, Chapin 4- 1
4th: Rebecca Medina, Del Valle 4- 2
Weight: 119
1st: Alysha Gallis, Sandia 4- 0
2nd: Darlene Fernandez, Hanks 3- 1
3rd: Mayela Rascon, Del Valle 5- 1
4th: Jo De La Riva, Burges 4- 2
Weight: 128
1st: Gabriela Nelson, Chapin 4- 0
2nd: Abril Ramirez, El Dorado 3- 1
3rd: Alexandra Hernandez, Del Valle 4- 1
4th: Janae Shaw, Irvin 5- 2
Weight: 138
1st: Jerilyn Partin, Chapin 4- 0
2nd: Sarah Gonzalez, El Dorado 3- 1
3rd: Brandi Martinez, Irvin 4- 1
4th: Emily Trejo, Socorro 3- 2
Weight: 148
1st: Byelka Soto, Irvin 3- 0
2nd: Yvonne Galindo, Jefferson 3- 1
3rd: Steph Amerina, Burges 3- 1
4th: Connie Garcia, Andress 3- 2
Weight: 165
1st: Alexus Dominguez, Austin 3- 0
2nd: Jazmin Shaw, Irvin 2- 1
3rd: Gloria Guerra, Bel Air 3- 1
4th: Mellisa Valadez, Chapin 1- 2
Weight: 185
1st: Ann Uribe, El Paso High 3- 0
2nd: Melissa Rivera, Bowie 2- 1
3rd: Maria Sanchez, Bears 4- 1
4th: Monica Camacho, Parkland 2- 2
Weight: 215
1st: Diana Varela, Chapin 3- 0
2nd: Jescelia Upton, Andress 2- 1
3rd: Alicia Ealey, Irvin 3- 1
4th: Erica Nicolson, Eastwood 2- 2
