Wakeland varsity wrestlers competed in the UIL 5A – 8 District tournament at The Colony on Jan 31, 2024. One girl and 13 boys competed against 12 other FISD schools as well as Celina High School and The Colony High School.
“It felt great competing in districts because you really get to test your skills against all of the local schools,” junior Grayson Gonzales said.
Wakeland ended the tournament with 158 team points, landing them in 6th place out of the 14 schools. Eight of the 13 boys that competed advanced to regionals where they wrestled to secure a spot for state.
“It felt pretty cool placing third in districts,” junior Gabe Kohler said, “I have improved as a wrestler mentally and physically, and I’m glad that it has paid off in my matches.”
Another one of the boys who advanced to regionals was junior Garrett Sexton. This was Sexton’s first year wrestling, but he managed to beat many of his competitors.
“Beating experienced [wrestlers] feels great because you know you’ve improved as a wrestler, and it’s a very rewarding feeling,” Sexton said.
The district competition results are as follows:
- 1st Place – Michael Brennan 132
- 4th Place – Jude Kachkouche 138
- 3rd Place – Gabe Kohler 144
- 3rd Place – Grayson Gonzales 150
- 3rd Place – Daniel Meares 157
- 4th Place – Nate Tharaldson 165
- 3rd Place – Thomas Jelinek 190
- 4th Place – Garrett Sexton 285
On February 9-10, 2024, the eight Wakeland wrestlers competed against 49 teams in Regionals. Two of the eight boys advanced to the UIL state championships. Senior Daniel Meares took third in the 157 weight class, and junior Micheal Brennan took first in the 132 weight class. Meares was excited to finally reach his goal of making it to state.
“It has been a big goal of mine for the past four years, and I’m very happy I finally made it a reality,” Meares said.
Junior Micheal Brennan will be returning to state once again. After competing last year, Brennan hopes to return and take a spot on the podium.
“I put in an average of 12-15 hours, but I try to put in as many hours as I can,” Brennan said, “I’ve also really improved on being on my feet the most this season and really worked on cardio this year.”
The regional competition results are as follows:
- 1st Place – Michael Brennan 132
- 6th Place – Gabe Kohler 144
- 3rd Place – Daniel Meares 157
- 6th Place – Nate Tharaldson 165
The UIL state tournament was held at the Berry Center in Cypress, Texas on February 16-17, 2024. Wakeland wrestlers competed against 215 teams from all over Texas.
On the first day of the state tournament, Brennan and Meares competed in tough matches. Brennan had close matches, but he was unable to make it past day one. After losing his first match, Meares came back ready to win, as he pinned his second opponent. Meares then got a medical forfeit match, leading him to advance to day two, but he was unable to advance further.
It was not the outcome Wakeland had hoped for, but the team plans to come back stronger next year.
