Tigers, Cougars, Spartans On District Collision Course

By Terry Carter

When warriors meet on the mat, surprises arise. 

On Thursday Katy wrestlers defeated Cinco Ranch, 37-35, in a dual of top contenders for the District 9-6A Boys’ Wrestling Tournament scheduled for next weekend at the Merrell Center.

The Katy Tigers edged the host Cougars in the spotlight event, but it was a hard-fought battle. Pins by Katy’s Connor Timmons at 138 pounds and Jeremy Manibog at 145, plus a 10-2 major decision by Juan Pablo Garcia cleared a path for the Tigers. But Cinco Ranch rebounded with four consecutive victories, including pins/forfeits at the hands of Cougars Isai Jaime at 160 and Tomas Fuentes at 170.

Cinco Ranch head wrestling coach Bill Dushane said he liked the wrestling from 182-pounder Weston Jones and 195-pound team captain Landon Parrish. Jones scored a 10-2 major decision over Katy’s talented Marcus Schwartz, who wrestled up one weight against Jones. And Parrish posted another major decision, 11-1, over Katy’s Sal Reyes.

“My 82 (Jones) has been injured for a month. They bumped up their good 70 kid, and we spanked him. My 95 (Parrish) lost to their kid last time out and dominated him tonight, so we had some good matches, but we didn’t convert enough them,” Dushane explained.

Katy’s 220-pound Dimitrios Katsigiannis and heavyweight Rodney Trotter, however, both scored big for the Tigers. Their 6-0 victories pushed Katy just beyond Cinco Ranch in the dual meet.

“The good news is the Tigers come out on top on both girls and guys,” Katy head wrestling coach Vinnie Lowe said. “I didn’t think we were going to be 15-15 where we were. There were some surprise results tonight.”

QUICK DISTRICT PREVIEW

These teams, as well as Seven Lakes and perhaps others, will be clashing for the District 9-6A boys’ team competition next Friday and Saturday, Feb. 4-5, as only the best grapplers will advance to the Feb. 10-11 Region III Tournament to be held also at the Merrell Center.

“District will be a war, a 3-team battle. Whoever shows up can win it,” Dushane said.

Lowe said he is expecting a similar battle with Cinco Ranch and Seven Lakes leading an inspired charge in the boys’ team race. Katy features several returning state qualifiers and Manibog, who has been efficient in wrestling at 160 pound in the first half of wrestling season; he now is dominating opponents at 145 with a season record of 58-9 with 33 pins, according to Track Wrestling.

Lowe said Garcia, Timmons were state qualifiers in 2021. Manibog got sidelined by Covid protocols before the state tournament. But the Tigers’ middleweights and heavyweights look to be the strength of their lineup with district looming.

“The district race is going to be fun. On paper, Cinco is loaded, and we are coming into our own.” Lowe added. “Seven Lakes is doing some great stuff, and they are the kind of team that can score in 14 weights. That’s hard, you know. I want it to be a 3-team race. That lowers the scoring and keeps us in the race.”