Breaking New Ground

Texas Wrestling took another leap forward this summer at the Asics/Vaughn Cadet and Junior National Championships in Fargo, North Dakota.

     As the Greco camp began at UNT, no one could have guessed what was yet to unfold.  The camp was routine, a lot of hard work and drilling, just a shorter version of camp from summers past.  The intent of the abbreviated camp was to send a team to Fargo that was “fresher” and with fewer nicks and bruises than in previous summers.  The only real concern among the staff was that the athletes would have trouble making weight.  You will recall that at the State Tournament, the athletes only had to make weight once. Couple that with a three day camp and the weight problem loomed rather large.  Fortunately, those fears were largely unfounded.  As we loaded the bus for Fargo, everyone was reasonably close to weight and we had sustained no major injuries.

     The freestyle specialists joined us for the ride to Fargo.  This would be the first time in Texas history that they would have their own camp.  It would take place at NDSU, right in the middle of all of the Greco chaos.  Could they have a good camp?  Could they focus with all of the distractions?  Could they get enough mat time with the women’s National Dual tournament taking place at the same facility where they would conduct practice?

     Another first, the team drove overnight, straight from UNT to Fargo.  Trips made long ago by Texas athletes traveling by van had required an overnight stay somewhere around Omaha. The team would get in a workout or two and then head on North.  As the team grew large enough to require charter buses, the old tradition continued.  For several years the entire camp was held at the University of Nebraska.  From there, it was a very reasonable drive to Fargo.  For the last several years, camp has been held at UNT.  To break up the trip, the team has stopped off at South Dakota State for a good night’s sleep and a couple of practices before going on to Fargo.  Could the Cadet Greco team recover from the overnight drive in time to compete fresh the next day?

     The first day of Cadet Greco competition put most of our fears at rest.  The athletes competed at least as well as any Texas Cadet Greco team that has gone before, perhaps better.  We didn’t produce as many All-Americans as in recent history, but our team as a whole survived into the latter rounds, with most of our athletes going to rounds four and five.  Evidently, a fourteen hour bus ride is not much of a problem for a 15 year-old.  The Cadet Greco competition ended with three new Texas All-Americans, Erik Thomas (84 lbs.), Jeremy Sandoval (105 lbs.), and Robert Prigmore (171 lbs.).

     In the Junior Greco division, it was time to create a little Texas history.  Ian Aguirre earned All-American status (112 lbs.) to set the stage for Eagles teammate Justin Wren.  Justin had reeled off a string of victories to make his way to the 275 lbs. championship final.  Texas athletes are no strangers to the finals under the big dome.  We have had at least five Lone-Star contestants make it to the stage in the last ten years.  However, only one other, Brad Knouse of Irving Macarthur, has been able to take that final step to the top of the podium back in the 90’s.
     With his usual dramatic flair, Justin wrestled six long minutes just to push the match into overtime.  It was then, in the clinch, Justin’s favorite position, that the unlikely happened.  Justin tightened his lock and stepped around, slowly, deliberately, and lifted his opponent a few inches off the ground.  And there, with his opponent suspended in midair, Justin seemed to pause for just a second, savoring for a brief moment, the victory that was about to be his.  With a huge grunt, Justin went into a back arch, his 275 lb. opponent wide-eyed and limp, hurtling thru space.  The crowd went wild.  And just like that, Texas had its first National Champion in over a decade, the drought was over!  Truth be told, had we loaded the bus and headed home right then, it would have been a summer to remember.  Sure glad we didn’t, there was a lot more history to write!

     The freestyle tournament was remarkably like to Greco portion.  A lot of our athletes battled their way into the later rounds, with most getting four or five matches before bowing out.  For the first time in history, two Texas Cadets made it to the championship finals in the same tournament, Johnny Koepp (135 lbs.) and Luke Ashmore (140 lbs.).  Johnny lost a 0-7 decision to finish as the National Runner-up. Luke led from the beginning, dominating his opponent with lightning quick shots and an effortless gut to win 3-0.  With the decision, Luke became the third National Champion to hail from Texas.  The feat was even sweeter when it was announced that the coaches had selected Luke as the “Outstanding Wrestler” of the Cadet Freestyle Nationals.  In the Junior competition, Luke’s brother Ben was just an eyelash away from the championship final himself.  He dropped a one point decision on a very controversial call to the eventual champion, and finished third.

     When all was said and done, the 2005 edition of Team Texas had produced eight All-Americans, three national finalists, and two national champions.  Perhaps the most exciting thing about the accomplishment is the fact that only two of those All-Americans will be lost to graduation.  There were only eight seniors on the entire Team Texas roster.
Things just keep on getting better here in the Lone Star State!