Summer Camp Road Trip: July 2 - July 19, 2009

Road Trip: Wrestling Camps - University of Iowa & Oklahoma State, July 2 to July 19, 2009.  The following photographs show a brief documentation of the trip to the University of Iowa Brands-Gable Wrestling Camp and the Oklahoma State - John Smith Wrestling Camp the Juan C. "Charlie" Villegas (Sr.), Justin Ramirez (Sr.), A.J. Garcia (Sr.) and Hector Villanueva, Jr. (Jr.) undertook.  Having decided to attend both camps, and then working odd jobs to pay for their trip, the boys headed out on July 2nd leaving Weslaco and traveling to Houston, then on to Little Rock, Arkansas, spending the Fourth of July in St. Louis, Missouri, and arriving in Iowa City, Iowa - the University of Iowa campus on Sunday, July 5th.  The boys attended the Brands-Gable Camp from Sunday July 5th through Thursday, July 9th.  They stayed in a university dorm and interacted with wrestlers from twelve different states.  The highlights of the camp were technique sessions conducted by U. of Iowa Coach Tom Brands, (3-time NCAA Champion, World Champion and Olympic Champion, 2 NCAA National Championship teams); U. of Iowa assistant coach, Terry Brands, (2-time NCAA Champion, Olympic Bronze medalist); and wrestling legend and former U. of Iowa Coach Dan Gable (2-time NCAA Champion, World Champion and Olympic Champion, coached 15 NCAA National Championship teams).  Gable also spoke on the "Heart of a Champion", while Tom Brands spoke on leadership and what it takes to be a champion. (Videos available for viewing on this blog.)  The boys attended three - 1:45 - technique sessions per day over a five day period.  The Hawkeye wrestler's were attending summer school and working-out as a "club" in the afternoons, each wrestler with a black book, noting his goals, his progress, affirmations, etc. - with a due date of March 18, 2010, next year's NCAA Wrestling Championships to be held in Omaha, Nebraska.

After R&R stops in Kansas City, Missouri and Wichita, Kansas, the boys arrived in Stillwater, Oklahoma on Sunday, July 12th to attend the Oklahoma State University - John Smith Wrestling Camp.  The boys attended three technique sessions per day for four days - with competition matches at the end of each day, and a tournament on the last day of camp.  Justin, Charlie and A.J. each won a bronze medal in their respective weight divisions.

Leaving Stillwater, the boys visited POPS, a store in Arcadia, Oklahoma that sells over 500 different brands of sodas.  Located on the famous Route 66, POPS attracts 800,000 visitors per year!  Reaching Fort Worth, we visited the Fort Worth Water Gardens, the Kimbell and Modern Museums.  Closing out the trip we visited the University of Texas campus, Schlitterbahn in New Braunfels, the Riverwalk in San Antonio, and got home on the night of July 19th after 2,750 miles.  It was well worth the effort in attending the wrestling camps and touring the mid-west.

Charlie Villegas: M. L. King Memorial, Rothko Chapel, Houston.

University of St. Thomas Chapel, Houston, Texas

Charlie Villegas: Mediation Maze at the University of St. Thomas, Houston, Texas

Hector Villanueva, Jr. at Menil Collection, Houston. 

Dan Flavin Installation, Houston, Texas.

A.J. sitting in "his" sports car....., Houston.

Justin Ramirez relaxing at De Menil Park, Houston.

Justin, Charlie, A.J. and Hector waiting for the Metro, St. Louis, Missouri

A.J., Charlie, Justin and Hector in front of the Mississippi River, St. Louis, Missouri.

Justin, A.J., Charlie and Hector at U. of Iowa Student Gym.

Hawkeye Wrestling Training Room.

Mural of Dan Gable, Wrestling Legend, University of Iowa.

Charlie, Justin, Dan Gable, Hector and A.J. after practice.

A.J. trains against Walter Reeny, an Iowa prospect.

Hector trains with a fellow camper.

A.J. with Walter Reeny of Dubuque, Iowa (Justin's roommate.)

Warm-up drills before the start of practice. Justin and Charlie, extreme left.

Technique Session at University of Iowa.

Justin, A.J., U. of Iowa Wrestling Coach Tom Brands, Charlie and Hector.

Charlie wrestles an athlete from Sioux City, Iowa.

Hector and his Iowa roommate.

Justin packs for the next phase of the trip.

Art Building, University of Iowa.  The flood of 2008 reached the glass panels on the second floor. The buidling is still closed.

The Iowa River runs right through the middle of the campus.

Walkway from the dorm to the wrestling gym, U. of Iowa.

You're never too old to hug and kiss Snoopy. World's of Fun, Kansas City.

The boys ride a roller coaster at Worlds of Fun.

Justin and Charlie get ready to blast off.

Justin, Charlie, A.J. and Hector take a break between rides.

Justin rides the carousel, Kansas City, Missouri.

A view of The Prowler, Kansas City, Missouri.

Capone, Gotti, Colombo and Dillinger on the streets of Chicago?

No! A.J., Justin, Charlie and Hector in Kansas City.

Bloch Wing of the Neslon Atkins Museum, Kansas City, Missouri.

"Rush Hour" sculpture by George Segal, with a Weslaco twist.

Nelson Atkins Museum, Kansas City, Missouri, July 11, 2009.

A.J. walks the tranquil corridor of the Nelson Atkins Museum.

Hector in front of "Standing Figures (Thirty)" by M. Abakanowitz.

A.J. in front of "Shuttle Cocks" by Claes Oldenberg and Coosje van Bruggen,Nelson Atkins Museum, Kansas City, Missouri.

Oklahoma State University - Stillwater, Oklahoma - The National Wrestling Championship banners at Gallahger-Iba Arena.

Gallagher-Iba Arena, the home of Oklahoma State Wrestling

Bennett Hall - the OSU dorm where the boys stayed.

The start of a training session.

A.J. during a warm-up session.

Justin walking across the gym on his hands.

Hector (in purple) during a training session.

Charlie "walking" across the training gym.

Justin and Charlie practice their technique. (Lower Left.)

Justin and Charlie continue their training.

Hector (top, left of center under rails) practices his technique.

Last day of camp, the boys in front of the OSU

Spirit Rider at Gallagher-Iba Arena.

An OSU tradition, eating at Eskimo Joes.
Justin and Charlie view thedisplays at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Hector in front of a drawing of Henry Cejudo, 2008 Olympic Champion.

Pop's - Arcadia, Oklahoma. 500 different brands of soda!

Justin in front of the Pops highway sign.

Finally, a bottle big enough to quench AJ's thirst!

Justin, Charlie, Hector and AJ at the Fort Worth Water Gardens.

The boys at the Ft. Worth Water Gardens.

A Pablo Picasso sculpture at the Kimbell Museum.

Untitled (L.A.) by Felix Gonzalez-Torres.  Green candy wrapped

in cellophane, from The Rachofsky Collection! Art?

Justin & Charlie question Dan Flavin's flourescent light.  Art!

Hector views a pile of rocks..., excuse me, a work of art!

Chillaxing at Schlitterbahn, New Braunfels, Texas

King Of The Mat Tournament - 04.04.09

Weight Class Champions - June 20th King of the Mat Tourney.

On extreme left, Frank Hernandez (Panther Wrestling Alumni, Class of 2008) and second from right, Juan C. "Charlie" Villegas, Weslaco Panther - Sr. - (Class of 2010).

The Rodriguez Brothers - Daniel, Eli, and Mike - all Panther Alumni, put on their second annual King of the Mat Tourney on Saturday, April 4, 2009 at the Sharyland High School Wrestling Gym. (Additional tournaments are scheduled for June 20th and August 1st.) Congratulations to the Rodriguez' for running a smooth and well-paced tournament. 

There were wrestlers from the Valley as well as San Antonio and Austin represented.  The format allowed each wrestler a minimum of three matches.

Panthers competing at this tournament were:  Frank Hernandez (Class of 2008),1st Place; Juan C. "Charlie" Villegas (Class of 2010), 1st Place; Ernie Garcia (Class of 2010), 2nd Place; Justin Ramirez (Class of 2010), 2nd Place; and A.J. Garcia (Class of 2010), 2nd Place.  Also competing were Hector Villanueva, Jr. (Class of 2011) and Pro Sanchez (Class of 2008).  Congratulations to all!

The Takedown Newsletter * 03.02.09

The Takedown
W e s l a c o H i g h S c h o o l
Panther Wrestling Newsletter
03.02.09 Volume 01- Issue 14

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McHi’s Sam Mangum Crowned State Champion: Becomes First Wrestler From Valley To Achieve Goal: 2009 State Tournament Produces Its Share of Underdogs, Upstarts and Upsets February 27 and 28, 2009, Austin, Texas, Delco Centre: McAllen High School’s Sam Mangum, (Jr.) won the state championship in the 180 bracket, a first for the Valley. Mangum, who was seeded 8th, started the tournament by pinning 9th seed Dontay Livingston of Dallas Kimball at 4:42. Mangum’s next opponent was the number one seed, Joby Bishop of Allen, whom he defeated on points 1-0. In the semi-final, Mangum defeated 13th seeded Ben Laures of Plano, 10-6. In the finals, Mangum won his championship match 6-3 over the 6th seed Nick Walker of Klein Oak. A video of the match, as well as other championship matches, can be seen on FloWrestling.Com. Congratulations to Sam on his championship, on his being the first wrestler from the Rio Grande Valley to achieve this feat, well deserved! May his accomplishment open the floodgates for future state champions from the Valley.

District 32-5A, Rio Grande Valley East: The three representatives of our district did not fare well. PSJA Memorial’s Jonathan Sandoval, 152, District Champion, Most Outstanding Wrestler of 32-5A, 3rd place at Regionals, was seeded 10th for the state tournament. Sandoval lost his first match to the 7th seed, Chase Covington of Grapevine, 16-4 and dropped to the consolation bracket. (Covington went on to finish third in the 152 bracket.) In his second match, Sandoval lost to the 15th seed, Able Gonzalez of El Paso Chapin. Desiree Martinez, PSJA-North, 162, District Champion, 3rd at Regionals, was seeded 9th and won her first match pinning 8th seeded Gloria Guerra of El Paso Bel Aire. Martinez then lost a tightly contested match to the 1st seed, Cassandra Stealey of Dallas Skyline, 8-7. Dropping to the consolation bracket, Martinez next faced 15th seed, Susie de la Garza of Corpus Christi King, and pinned her at 3:47. In her final match, Martinez lost to the 6th seed, Brittany Jones of Coppell, 12-4. (Jones finished 4th overall.) PSJA’s Claudia Pena, 165, District Champion, Most Outstanding Wrestler of 32-5A, 2nd place at Regionals, was seeded 11th in the bracket, was pinned at 2:54 in her first match by 6th seed, Sheree Thomas of Arlington Seguin, and pinned at 1:19 by 14th seeded Tamany Soucie of Houston Cypress Falls. For District 32-5A the tournament ended on the first day.

Region III Places the Most Wrestlers in Top Six: Region I = West Texas, Region II = North Texas, Region III = East Texas, Region IV = South Texas (+/-)

Region I - Champions: 6, 2nd Place: 2, 3rd Place 4, Top Six Wrestlers 21, (23.33%)

Region II- Champions: 2, 2nd Place: 2, 3rd Place 2, Top Six Wrestlers 20, (22.22%)

Region III-Champions: 4, 2nd Place: 8, 3rd Place 4, Top Six Wrestlers 30, (33.33%)

Region IVChampions: 3, 2nd Place: 3, 3rd Place 5, Top Six Wrestlers 23, (21.11%)

Tournament Results – Final Placement of Seeds: The chart below denotes the ranked seeds and where they finished among the top six finalists. Of the 15 champions in the boys division, 13 were regional champions as well.

(Left to Right) Champion, 2nd Place, 3rd Place, 4th Place, 5th Place, 6th Place:

Weight

103: 1, 3, 8, 2, 10, 4,

112: 4, 2, 12, 5, 9, 11

119: 2, 8, 1, 7, 3, 13

125: 3, 4, 1, 2, 13, 8

130: 3, 5, 2, 9, 6, 4

135: 3, 1, 10, 6, 4, 7

140: 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 13

145: 1, 7, 4, 10, 11, 3

152: 4, 2, 7, 14, 3, 8

160: 4, 3, 1,1, 9, 7, 1

171: 2, 4, 3,13, 1, 12

180: 8, 6, 4, 1, 2, 13

189: 2,1, 9, 10, 3, 8

215: 8, 7, 2, 3, 12, 6

285: 3, 4, 3, 5, 7, 1

Canyon Randall & Amarillo Caprock Team Champs:

Canyon Randall Wins 2nd Straight Title, Amarillo Caprock Wins 6thTitle

Boys Division: State Champion – Canyon Randall, 2. Allen, 3. Austin Westlake, 4. Grapevine, 5. Klein Oak, 6. Cedar Park Vista Ridge, 7. Austin Bowie, 8. Conroe The Woodlands, 9. Amarillo Tascosa, 10. Houston Westside, 13. McAllen, 29. La Joya, 43. La Joya Juarez-Lincoln, 86. McAllen Rowe, 95. PSJA Memorial.

Girls Division: State Champion – Amarillo Caprock, 2. Katy, 3. Amarillo Tascosa, 4. Klein Collins, 5. Coppell, 6. Frisco, 7. Arlington Lamar, 8. El Paso Chapin, 9. El Paso Irvin, 10. Cedar Park, 20. McAllen Rowe, 30. Rio Grande City, 43. La Joya Juarez-Lincoln, 47. PSJA–North, 57. La Joya, 69. La Joya Palmview, 71. PSJA, 77. Sharyland, 82. McAllen Memorial.

King of the Mat Tournament Series Returns:

Imperial Wrestling will present this AAU sanctioned event on the dates of April 4th, June 20th, and August 1st, all at the Sharyland High School Wrestling Gym. Each athlete must become a member of AAU Wrestling and enrollment will be conducted before the start of the tournaments. Though singlets are not required (t-shirts and shorts are allowed), wrestling shoes are a requirement. A copy of proof of date of birth must be submitted with the application. There are various divisions, each with its own weight categories: Novice, Middle School, High School, and Open Age. Entry fee will $25.00 for each of the three tournaments. Sponsorships are also available. For further information, feel free to contact Daniel Rodriguez at 956.376.9617 or dlr78596@yahoo.com. Additional information and entry forms are enclosed as an attachment to the email accounts of our wrestling families.

End of Season Issue: Thanks, Wrestling Fans…….. This will be the last weekly issue of the Takedown for the 2008/2009 season. Bulletins will be issued as the need arises, but will only be sent to those impacted by the particular information. Thank you all!