Cougars send 10 to state
Warden senior Gio Castro, in blue, is one of seven Cougar wrestlers to qualify for the 2023 Mat Classic. Castro will wrestle in the 106-pound bracket.
FILE PHOTO
The Cougars began preparing for the season back in the summer when they hosted a camp for wrestlers with instruction by four-time state champion Chris Castillo.
WARDEN – Ten Cougar boys wrestlers are traveling to Tacoma for the 2023 Mat Classic this weekend, coming off of a strong performance at last weekend’s 1B/2B Region 2 tournament.
As a team, Warden placed third at regionals and is looking to ride that momentum into state.
“We had a great performance last week at regionals, and we just couldn’t be happier with the way the kids performed,” Warden Head Coach Johnny Hernandez said.
Seven wrestlers qualified to wrestle at state: senior Gio Castro (106), junior Manny Canales (120), sophomore Michael Gonzalez (120), senior Angel Cruz (132), senior Israel Hernandez (145), freshman Valentin Juarez (195) and junior Anthony Contreras (285). Sophomore Junior Santiago (126), junior Omar Pruneda (170) and freshman Gabriel Serna (195) are all alternates.
“We have three seniors on the boys team and they all made it (to state),” Hernandez said. “They’ve been great leaders for us all year, so I’m hoping they lead these guys into the dome like they did last week and push them to their highest capabilities.”
Gonzalez is the only Cougar to return to the Tacoma Dome, who wrestled in the 106-pound bracket a year ago. Despite a lack of state experience, Hernandez said the Cougars are remaining calm heading into Tacoma.
“They all seem pretty calm, seem pretty confident going in,” Hernandez said. “What makes that weird is that only one of them is a returner form last year. Everything seems to be good right now, I think they’re excited to wrestle, excited for the opportunity.”
With a mix of ages of wrestlers going to state, Hernandez’s message to the team was to take in the atmosphere and enjoy the moment.
“Just being in the dome is so special,” Hernandez said. “These kids, most of them have never wrestled at state before. One thing we told this group is, ‘Just enjoy the weekend.’ This is a pretty big deal, and coming from a small town, a lot of the kids are looking to venture out into the big city.”
With a focus on placing at state being ever-present throughout the Warden program, the Cougars like their chances heading into the Mat Classic
“As soon as Sunday rolled around and the brackets came out, we started looking at the kid’s draws in their brackets,” Hernandez said. “We feel pretty confident that we could definitely accomplish that goal. The brackets are pretty in our favor, so we’re hoping to have a great weekend and continue the momentum from last weekend.”
Hernandez credited his fellow coaches for helping guide the Cougar wrestlers this season.
“They’ve done an outstanding job with these kids,” Hernandez said. “The growth (the wrestlers) have had over the past three or four months has been incredible, and I owe that to the coaching staff.”
Warden state wrestlers
Boys
Senior Gio Castro (106)
Junior Manny Canales (120)
Sophomore Michael Gonzalez (120)
Sophomore Junior Santiago (126)*
Senior Angel Cruz (132)
Senior Israel Hernandez (145)
Junior Omar Pruneda (170)*
Freshman Valentin Juarez (195)
Freshman Gabriel Serna (195)*
Junior Anthony Contreras (285)
Girls
Junior Alona Castro (100)*
Junior Brianalee Martinez (110)
Junior Maria Yanet Zaragoza (110)*
Junior Jada Hernandez (115)
