Bryan, Consol sending nine wrestlers to state combined

SAN ANTONIO -- Bryan senior Victor Thomas earned his third straight trip to state, taking second in the boys 140-pound weight class in the Region IV wrestling meet Saturday at the Blossom Center.

"I keep pushing myself every day in practice and I try to do what I do in practice," Thomas said. "When I do that, I can beat anybody."

Thomas was one of nine area wrestlers to qualify for the state wrestling meet set for Feb. 25-26 at the Delco Center in Austin. Eight of the nine are first-time qualifiers.

Thomas finished 12th in the 2009 state meet and sixth last year.

"I hope to at least make it to the championship match," he said of his upcoming third trip. "Anything less than that is unacceptable."

Bryan senior Zach Escobar and junior David Jones also qualified for state. Escobar finished third at 130 pounds, while Jones claimed second at 215.

"I trained and worked really hard since last year to get where I am now," Escobar, a senior, said. "It hasn't been easy, but I got the job done."

While Escobar will participate in his first and only state meet in two weeks, he has high hopes.

"I want to win it all," he said. "I'm going to wrestle my heart out and capitalize on all of my opponents' mistakes."

Jones, a junior, had a tough go-round in his championship match -- an 8-6 loss to Alex Denney of San Antonio Churchill. Yet he plans to use that experience as motivation during his first state meet.

"I know what to expect now," Jones said. "If I meet [Denney] again, I know to watch out for his quickness and double legs."

Jones, like Escobar, spent much of the summer and offseason training. He also has a goal in the state meet.

"I want to place [in the top six]," Jones said.

Jones might run into Consol senior Ericson Caldwell, who finished third at 215 after dropping his opening match on Friday. Caldwell pinned Ricardo Jiminez of Corpus Christi Ray to earn a berth to his first state meet.

"This is surreal," Caldwell said. "All the hard work I put in over the last four years finally paid off."

Caldwell plans to take full advantage of his two-week practice period prior to the state meet.

"This isn't any other meet, this is the state meet," he said. "I'm going to wrestle my best in every match."

Consol seniors Garret Goodman and Tyler Ward also qualified for state. Goodman placed third at 152, while Ward finished fourth at 135 and then won a wrestleback, defeating Rio Grande City Grulla’s Jorge Chavez 5-4 to secure his spot at state.

"I had to get the job done," Ward said. "I was going for back points or a pin, but luckily I was able to score a couple of takedowns and then hold [Chavez] off in the end."

Ward, like Caldwell, felt great that all of his hard work paid off.

"Everything I worked for all, all for this [state meet]," Ward said. "I'm going to have fun and enjoy myself at state."

Goodman also put in a lot of hard work in the summer to get to this point.

"I went to a camp in Oregon, which was very intense, but it helped me get to state," Goodman said. "I'm extremely excited, and I hope to place at state."

Bryan senior Gabe Jimenez claimed fifth at 125, and Consol junior Jacob Wilson took fifth at 145 to earn alternate spots.

Bryan claimed fifth in the team standings, while Consol finished seventh.

"We are getting better every year," said Consol coach Brian Wessel. "Three state qualifiers is huge for us and will be a big boost for our program in the future."

Bryan coach Mike Zito not only enjoyed a fifth-place team finish for the boys but also the girls. The Lady Vikings qualified a trio of wrestlers for state as Jenna Goen won at 128, junior Laura Hawk claimed third at 119 and senior Victoria Huitt was fourth at 165.

Goen, a freshman with six years of tae kwon do experience, improved her record to 27-0 this season with a 12-3 victory over Fallon Christian of Killeen Ellison in the championship match. While Goen is undefeated as an individual, she gave credit to her teammates for her success.

"My teammates helped me learn wrestling, and I couldn't do any of this without them," Goen said.

With a district championship and a regional championship under her belt, Goen will be going for the triple crown in two weeks.

"I'm aiming for the state championship," she said. "I have to keep working and not take a day off of practice."

While Goen is in her first year of wrestling, Huitt is in her third.

"Third time is the charm," Huitt said of making it to her first state meet. "I wanted it really bad, and I went out there and got it."

Hawk scrapped for a 3-1 victory over Dominique Macillas of San Antonio Wagner in the third-place match to punch her state-meet ticket.

"I wanted the pin, but I got the win anyway," Hawk said. "I pushed as hard as I can, and I'm going to continue to do so. I hope to place at state this year and return next year to win it all."

With a pair of fifth-place team finishes, Zito had plenty to smile about Saturday afternoon.

"I'm proud of my wrestlers," Zito said. "This is the toughest region in the state, and to have both teams finish in the top five says a lot about our program. We have a competitive program, and these individuals make it that way."

Fellow District 25 representative Ellison claimed the girls team championship, edging Wagner 101-97. Ellison's team championship marked the second year in a row that a District 25 team won the region championship. Shoemaker won it last year.

"It's pretty cool [to win the girls team championship]," Ellison head coach Dean Schaub said. "Our girls are tough, and they worked hard. We've always been in the hunt for the team title the last few years, but just couldn't quite seal the deal."

Ellison also won the girls region championship in 2001, Schaub's first year.