Photo by Dawn Poole/sign-images.photoreflect.com

Wrestlers from Hendrickson and Connally were in action in January as the two squads held a scrimmage at Connally to prepare for PISD duals. (Above) Connally’s Neiwan Borders flips Hendrickon’s Jessie Alexander during their 130-pound match.

Connally’s Itzeal Munoz (110 pounds) won a district title as did Pflugerville’s Crystal Vega (119) and Hendrickson’s Micaela Marshall (165). Hawk Andrey Diaz was second at 102, Connally’s Tatyana Walton placed third at that weight. Cougar Shannon Smith was third at 138.

The lone local champion on the boys side was Hendrickson’s Omar Contreras who won the 180-pound class. Hendrickson’s Taylor Smith was fourth at 119. Pflugerville’s Calib Tanner placed third at 125. Connally’s Lawrence Lott was fourth at 130. Connally’s Devonte Lyons was third at 140 and Connally’s Darrell Nix was fourth at 285.

The air was charged with electricity as the crowd cheered for each of the schools involved. The Cougars took on Pflugerville in the first dual. Cedric Robertson stepped up to defend his home turf against Justin Paul in the 135-pound class. The first match was won by Robertson by a pin with 34 seconds left in the second period.

Kevion Crenshaw-Harris continued the winning for the Cougars as he pinned Michael Bennett in the third period with 7.22 seconds left in the 140-pound class.

Davonte Lyons continued the Cougar dominance as he pinned Kevin Cassada with 1:07 left on the clock of the third period in the 145-pound class.

Pflugerville’s Kiven Scurlock would bring a halt to the Cougar run as he pinned Trent Rocero and won for the Panthers with 8.6 seconds left in the first period of the 152-pound class.

Trayvon Baldwin took back the momentum for the Cougars as he pinned Daniel Ochoa in the closing seconds of the second period in the 160-pound class.

Both teams received forfeits in the 171-pound class. Cedric Haley, the team captain for the Cougars, pinned Charlie Morgan with 12.64 seconds left in the first period in the 180-pound class.

Caleb Tanner, the team captain for the Panthers, did his part to earn his team points in the 130-pound class against Damon Anderson. The match saw neither opponent want to give up points as the first ended with no scoring and the second with a point being rewarded to Tanner off of a second stall warning. Tanner finished things off with an escape. scoring another two points for the win.

Next up the Cougars faced off with the Hawks. Crenshaw-Harris led things off for the home side with a forfeit in the 140-pound class and Lyons receiving one in the 145-pound class as well.

Hendrickson’s Nick Garza put a stop to this run by pinning Rocero in the second period with 13.25 seconds left.

Baldwin took back the momentum for the home side as he won with an impressive scoring effort as he twice gathered points for near falls and had several take downs, winning 12-2 over Blake Carter.

Michael Kay received a forfeit win in the 171-pound class for the Hawks. Omar Contreras, the team captain for the Hawks and past state finalist, took on his friendly rival in Cedric Haley as these two have faced one another several times over the years. Contreras scored off a take down in the first and again in the second before winning with a cradle pin the last seconds of the second period.

Hendrickson’s Chris Cook took on Darrell Songy at 189 pounds. The two traded points in the first with an escape going to Songy and Cook getting a take down. The second period saw more intense wrestling as Songy got a take down of his own and Cook got a reversal. It was during this exchange that Songy dislocated his finger. Despite the injury, Songy popped up, set it back in place, and got right back to the match. Trailing late in the third, Songy tried to even the match but Cook held on for the 6-4 win to add to the Hawks scoring.

Greg Marzett stepped up next for the Cougars to face Miguel Ramirez in the 215-pound class. Marzett scored take down points in the first and nearly finished things off with a pin. He wasted no time in the second by pinning Ramirez in 14 seconds.

Hendrickon’s JT Kay and Darrell Nix met up in the 285-pound class though neither one weigh that. These two fought for control and would not concede anything in the first. Kay got on the scoreboard by getting an escape and finished the match pinning Nix with 17 seconds left.

The Hawks’ Truman Long received a forfeit win in the 112-pound class. Connally’s Santosh Dongol faced Taylor Smith in the 119-pound class. Smith scored for the Hawks with his pin in the first with 1:14 left on the clock. Both teams received forfeits at 125.

Damon Anderson scored points for the Cougars with his forfeit win in the 130-pound class. Cedric Robertson and Cooper Sandberg met at 135 pounds for the last match between these two sides. Robertson took control in the first and scored for a take down and then finished things off with a pin.

“It was a fitting end to our season as we have district up next,” Connally coach Bill Robertson said. “We had a lot of guys step up and wrestle really well, especially Davonte Lyons and Trayvon Baldwin. This made the meet a lot more competitive.”

The Hawks and Panthers were set to face one another on the mats in the night’s finale. The only problem was the two sides had wrestlers in different weight classes and thus many forfeits were awarded. The Panthers took the following forfeits: Cassada 145, Ochoa 160, Willis 103, Sheppard 130 and Brown 140. The Hawks took points for forfeitures from: Michael Kay 171, Contreras 180, Cook 189, Ramirez 215, JT Kay 285 and Long 112.

Hendrickson’s Garza faced Scurlock in the 152-pound class. Garza scored first with a take down and followed that up with a near fall and then another two points to end the first. The two grappled and neither got a point in the second. Garza scored a escape in the thirdd and went on to win 8-0 for the Hawks.

Pflugerville’s Tanner met Hendrickson’s Smith at 125 pounds. Tanner scored first with a take down and then added several near fall scores as well as reversals. He won an impressive technical fall victory for the Panthers.

Hendrickson’s Sandberg and Pflugerville’s Paul faced one another for the last match of the night. Paul won with three seconds left in the first as he pinned his opponent and added to the Panthers total.

“I was glad we came together as a team and wrestled really smart,” Panther coach Kevin Grimm said. “We are gaining experience and look forward to the district finals.”

After watching Lanier beat Reagan, the Panthers did the same thing, beating the Raiders 48-24.

“I’m 4-0 versus my father,” Panther coach Grimm said.

Both teams received forfeits in the 112-pound class. The Panthers took another forfeit in the 119 class due to Reagan not having an opponent at this level. The first actual match between the two squads was in the 130 pound class and pitted Pflugerville’s Calib Tanner against Devonte Sanders for the Raiders. The two started out by trying to find weaknesses in one another with speed and strength playing a huge part as they tried to gain control. Sanders scored two points in the first by gaining control briefly. The second period was fast and furious as Tanner evened it up with two points as well. Sanders scored two more followed by Tanner tying it up yet again and gaining control with a pin to bring a win home for the Panthers.

Pflugerville’s Justin Paul was awarded a forfeit in the 135 class and Connor Hansen got one in the 140 class as well. The next match was in the 145 class and pitted Pflugerville’s Kevin Cassada against Gary Clark. Cassada took a commanding lead while scoring at will, two points followed by three for a near fall and another three. Clark answered with four points of his own but was down 10-4 at the end of the first period. Cassada was injured a short time later and unable to continue the match and Clark got his hand raised.

Kiven Scurlock received a forfeit win in the 152 class as did David Ochoa in the 160 class for the Panthers. The Raiders got a forfeit win in the 171 class. The next match saw Pflugerville’s Charlie Morgan face off against Sergio Hernandez in the 180 class. Morgan had a tough task in facing a much more experienced grappler in Hernandez who scored two points and made his move to end the match with a pin in the first period for the Raiders.

Jorge Perdomo stepped up for the Panthers in the 215 class and took on Juan Hernandez. Perdomo wasted no time scoring two points and then made quick work of pinning his visiting opponent. Casey Winn took the center mat with a commanding presence in the 285 class and looking to further extend the lead for the home side. Winn finished his opponent, Christian Castilla, quickly with a lightning pin in just 23 seconds of the first period. Nick Willis stepped up for the Panthers to face Willie Smith in the 103 class. These lightweights brought plenty of speed and agility as they traded points often until Smith pinned Willis in the second.

Pflugerville’s Grimm was happy with his teams performance as they are a young team with only one senior and the rest of the squad being mainly sophomores and freshmen.

Next up was the Vikings who brought a more seasoned group of grapplers to the meet and beat the Panthers 42-24.

The Panthers got wins from Justin Paul (135), Conner Hansen (140) Kiven Scurlock (152), Casey Winn (285) and Nick Willis (103).

Contreras, competing in the 180-pound class, dropped his first round match, falling to Estacado’s Joey Andrist 3-2.

After the loss he moved into the consolation bracket where he beat Langham Creek’s Trevor Hadley by default before losing to Cinco’s Michael Velez 6-4 which knocked him out of the tournament.

Wertz has been on the Connally Cougar wrestling team for two years after being recruited by coach Bill Robertson. The Cougars have counted on his leadership in the 215-pound weight class as well as team leadership.

Wertz has played football ever since he was a young boy, playing tight end and fullback for the Cougars. He got into wrestling after seeing some of the aggressive moves and could relate to his experience in football.

He also has competed in track and field since middle school, throwing both the disc and shot put.

When asked about goals, Wertz replied, “I would like to do well at the district meet and qualify for regionals.”

Wertz’s pre-game routine is to listen to “The Wrestler” by Bruce Springsteen.

Wertz had a great showing at the recent Pflugerville Championships. He won his match with a pin with 15.7 seconds left in the second period.

“It was an awesome experience that we were able to win in a convincing style against our cross town rivals,” he said. “This was the biggest and loudest crowd I had seen at any of the meets or duals.”

Coach Robertson has been impressed with Wertz’s ability to work hard and execute the team game plan.

“He is an asset to the team and has shown true grit while working with his younger teammates,” Robertson said.

Connally’s James Revada won the heavyweight division, becoming the Cougars’ first district champion ever and their first region qualifier in 10 years.

Hendrickson’s Omar Contreras took second at 180 pounds and advances to region as well.

The Cougars had the best PISD team showing, finishing in sixth place. The Hawks were seventh while Pflugerville came in last.

Hendrickson got a third-place finish from Jonathan Ybarra at 171 pounds and a fourth from J.T. Kay (285).

Connally’s Jake Wertz (215) placed third. Cedric Robertson (125), Jealious Ordillano (140) and Kenneth Defee (189) all brought home fourth-place finishes.

The Hawks girls team, led by two first place finishes came away with the district championship.

Hendrickson got wins from Adrianna Killingsworth (110 pounds) and Rachael Cook (119 pounds) while Micaela Marshall had a strong showing, taking second place at 185 pounds.

The region meet takes place this weekend at the Blossom Center in San Antonio.

“It’s great to win and end on a positive note as well as build school spirit,” Cougar coach Bill Robertson said. Robertson also noted that he was happy with the improvement of his squad and said he felt their hard work was building toward a good district showing.

The first part of the meet saw the Panthers and the Cougars face off with the 119-pound class starting things off as Pflugerville’s Calib Tanner took on Connally’s Damon Anderson. Tanner scored two points in the first period and Anderson picked up one. Tanner kept the heat on scoring several more times and getting the win by technical fall (18-1).

Next up was the 125 class which pitted Panther Darius Sterhling against Connally’s Cedric Robertson. The Cougars gained momentum with Robertson scoring two points in the first and ending the second with a near pin. Robertson smelled the win and took control, scoring four points before pinning Sterhling with 59.8 seconds left.

Robertson’s win via pin started a string of Cougar pinfall victories. Connally’s Davonte Lyons pinned Panther John McLoed to win the 135 class. Cougar Jealious Ordillano (140 pounds) followed Lyons’ win with a pin of Panther Greg Lemieux. Bryan Chang pinned Kevin Cassanda to win the 145 class with 53 seconds left in the first round.

The Cougar pin parade briefly stopped as Pflugerville got forfeit wins at 152 and 160 pounds. But it started again at 171 pounds as Connally’s Greg Foster took on Pflugerville’s Charlie Morgan. In the first round Foster scored several points and Morgan countered with five points on three moves. Foster scored on six moves for a total of nine points. The second round would see Foster take command and pin his Panther opponent with 1:02 left.

Connally’s Kenneth Defee scored a win by pin over Lorenzo Williams at 189 pounds. Cougar Jacob Wertz followed with a win by pin, besting Panther Deondre Barrs at 215 pounds. Connally’s James Revada (285 pounds) wrapped things up, pinning Panther Ty Turner with 15.2 seconds remaining in the first round.

The Panthers and Hawks would face off next. The two teams traded forfeit wins to start the match. McLoed put Pflugerville on the board by picking up a 20-17 win over Hendrickson’s Royzell Gothright at 135 pounds.

The 140-pound class brought Panther Lemieux and Hendrickson’s Lance Parker to the mat. Parker dominated the points total before getting a pin in the third with 1:24 left.

Panther Daniel Ochoa faced off with Hawk Nic Garza at 152 pounds. Garza prevailed with a pin with 1:07 left in the second for the Hawk win.

Pflugerville got a win from Cedric Goldwire at 160, Ty Turner (285) and Calib Turner (119). Hendrickson got a win from Chris Cook (189).

The Cougars stepped up to face the Hawks to conclude the night.

Connally’s Maurice Billingsley opened things with a pin of Michael Chapman at 130 pounds with 42.6 seconds left in the first.

The 135 class saw Connally’s Lyons and Hendricksons’ Gothright face off. Lyons grabbed control and scored 12 points on his way to a pin in the third with 1:24 left.

The Cougars got wins from Ordillano (140) and Defee (189). Hendrickson’s Omar Contreras bested Cedric Haley 13-3 at 152 pounds. The Hawks’ J.T. Kay pinned Darrell Nix to win the 285-pound matchup.

The fastest pin of the night saw Connally’s fiery Cesar Flores take out his 103-pound opponent Hawk Chad Googe in the first 15 seconds for the pin.

The 119 class concluded the match with Cougar Damon Anderson pinning Grayson Sims with 53.9 seconds left in the first. Wpin. Robertson smelled the win and took control, scoring four points before pinning Sterhling with 59.8 seconds left.

Robertson’s win via pin started a string of Cougar pinfall victories. Connally’s Davonte Lyons pinned Panther John McLoed to win the 135 class. Cougar Jealious Ordillano (140 pounds) followed Lyons’ win with a pin of Panther Greg Lemieux. Bryan Chang pinned Kevin Cassanda to win the 145 class with 53 seconds left in the first round.

The Cougar pin parade briefly stopped as Pflugerville got forfeit wins at 152 and 160 pounds. But it started again at 171 pounds as Connally’s Greg Foster took on Pflugerville’s Charlie Morgan. In the first round Foster scored several points and Morgan countered with five points on three moves. Foster scored on six moves for a total of nine points. The second round would see Foster take command and pin his Panther opponent with 1:02 left.

Connally’s Kenneth Defee scored a win by pin over Lorenzo Williams at 189 pounds. Cougar Jacob Wertz followed with a win by pin, besting Panther Deondre Barrs at 215 pounds. Connally’s James Revada (285 pounds) wrapped things up, pinning Panther Ty Turner with 15.2 seconds remaining in the first round.

The Panthers and Hawks would face off next. The two teams traded forfeit wins to start the match. McLoed put Pflugerville on the board by picking up a 20-17 win over Hendrickson’s Royzell Gothright at 135 pounds.

The 140-pound class brought Panther Lemieux and Hendrickson’s Lance Parker to the mat. Parker dominated the points total before getting a pin in the third with 1:24 left.

Panther Daniel Ochoa faced off with Hawk Nic Garza at 152 pounds. Garza prevailed with a pin with 1:07 left in the second for the Hawk win.

Pflugerville got a win from Cedric Goldwire at 160, Ty Turner (285) and Calib Turner (119). Hendrickson got a win from Chris Cook (189).

The Cougars stepped up to face the Hawks to conclude the night.

Connally’s Maurice Billingsley opened things with a pin of Michael Chapman at 130 pounds with 42.6 seconds left in the first.

The 135 class saw Connally’s Lyons and Hendricksons’ Gothright face off. Lyons grabbed control and scored 12 points on his way to a pin in the third with 1:24 left.

The Cougars got wins from Ordillano (140) and Defee (189). Hendrickson’s Omar Contreras bested Cedric Haley 13-3 at 152 pounds. The Hawks’ J.T. Kay pinned Darrell Nix to win the 285-pound matchup.

The fastest pin of the night saw Connally’s fiery Cesar Flores take out his 103-pound opponent Hawk Chad Googe in the first 15 seconds for the pin.

The 119 class concluded the match with Cougar Damon Anderson pinning Grayson Sims with 53.9 seconds left in the first.

The 145-pound weight class led off the varsity event with Pflugerville’s Zach Cooper taking on a tough opponent in Jake Spasaro. Spasaro scored two points right out of the shoot and scored again with a near fall of Cooper and then finished it off with a pin for the win.

Panther Daniel Ochoa took on another tough Viper and was pinned.

Cedric Goldwire came out fired up and was ready to get a win for the Panthers. Goldwire had his way scoring on Joseph Grant with a quick two points and another two moments later.

He stalked his opponent looking for more opportunities to put up points and scored another two. While keeping the heat on he looked to finish strong and with a mere five seconds remaining in the first period he won with a pin.

Will Fullerton followed with an aggressive plan of his own and scored points while looking to take down his Viper opponent. Fullerton applied pressure to end it quickly and got a pin with 51 seconds left in the first.

Next up was 189 class which would pit Pflugerville’s Lorenzo Williams and Dominick Caputo in a dual to see who would stay mistake free. Williams showed great heart as he countered Caputo’s moves scoring a point in the first after giving up two. Williams scored again in the second with a point while giving up two more. Caputo scored two more points in the third. Williams was taken down with a pin with 37 seconds left in the third.

Panther Deondre Barrs would face Derek Warren in the 215-pound class. Barrs applied the pressure and smothered Warren pinning him with 1:29 left in the first period.

Tyrell Turner followed his teammate with his own dominance of the Vipers to help lock down another win by pinning Corey Hart with 1:25 left on the clock in the first as well.

Pflugerville’s Calib Tanner faced Kody Leslie in a chess match that saw the two trade points and near falls. The 119-pound class match ended with a close 8-6 finish with Tanner coming out on top.

Darius Sterling battled hard against Gage Harrelson in a close match, getting a 6-5 win for the Panthers.

Panther John McLoed would face off with Harrison Holmes in a wild match. McLoed took home a win with a pin at 1:14.

Pflugerville returns to the mats Feb. 6 when they compete at the district meet.