Unicorn Wrestling
Welcome to the Home of the New Braunfels High School wrestling team. We are the only UIL High School Varsity wrestling program between San Antonio and Austin and wrestle primarily with other high school wrestling programs from Central and South Texas as well as Houston and Dallas. We are a member of District 29-5A and Region 4 and the style of wrestling we compete in is folkstyle or collegiate. Many on our team are products of a strong youth program that has produced numerous State champions and placers over the last few years. The coaching staff at the high school and at the youth club is outstanding. All of our coaches have high school wrestling experience, many have college and/or military experience and several have coached high school wrestling in other states. We even have one coach who wrestled in the Olympic Trials and Internationally for several years. Like every other athletic program at New Braunfels High School, our goal is to produce individual champions, and championship teams. However, we also want to help students find an activity to participate in that they are passionate about and hope that wrestling is it. We encourage everyone to try the sport and welcome anyone who is willing to work hard to improve themselves.
Unicorn Wrestling News
This past weekend, the Unicorn wrestling team competed in the Pederson Invitational Tournament at Johnson High School in San Antonio. In the JV division, both Luke Larson at 125 lbs and Adam Shelden at 160 lbs won all three of their matches and placed 1st while Roland Leos and Edgar Aguilar each went 3-1 and placed 3rd in their weight classes. Though not placing, Mark Gonzales, Charles Kennon, Sebastian Bustos and Dillon Emmele all wrestled well and Dillon notched his first pin of the season.
In the Varsity division, Mario Contreras and Thaddeus Brown went 1-2 against tough competition but both pinned his opponent in their respective wins while Virgil Reed went 2-2 with one pin to his credit. The highlight of the day came courtesy of Cyrus Brown (135 lbs) and Slater Hodges (145 lbs). Both wrestlers won their first three matches and reached the finals where they each lost by only one point, an outcome that is sure to change as the season progresses. Their 2nd place finishes allowed New Braunfels to finish a very respectable 13th out of 30 teams with only five wrestlers hitting the mat.
On Thursday 12/17, New Braunfels defeated Roosevelt 52-36 in a Dual by winning 11 of 15 matches, all but one by pin. Then on December 19th, 16 Unicorn wrestlers competed at the Doc Hess Classic in Bryan and 8 of them brought home medals. In the Varsity division, Virgil Reed and Slater Hodges placed 3rd and Thaddeus Brown placed 2nd although he could not wrestle in the finals because of an injury. In the JV division, Daniel Martinez took 3rd, Max Parker came in 2nd and Mario Contreras placed 1st while in the Rookie division, both Justin Davila and Roland Leos finished 2nd. Job well done.
After the Holidays, New Braunfels hosted Madison in a Dual match and fell 52-38, primarily due to several empty weight classes. Winners were Edgar Aguilar, Thaddeus Brown, Cyrus Brown, Slater Hodges, Jacob Lock and Virgil Reed. NBHS then sent six Varsity team members to the 65 team Cy Fair Invitational in Houston. The Unicorns did very well as all six wrestlers were undefeated after the first two rounds. Although two dropped in the third round, the other four all placed with Virgil Reed and Thaddeus Brown coming in 8th, Cyrus Brown taking 5th and Slater Hodges winning the 140 lb. class with an OT win over the undefeated, and 5th ranked, wrestler in the State. The team finished in the top third even with only six kids.
NBHS hosted San Antonio Christian in a Dual on 1/14 and took a 47-30 victory. They then traveled to Austin for the McCallum Invitational. In this Dual format tournament, they were placed in a pool with Lanier, MacArthur, Pflugerville Connally and Crockett. The team won all of these match ups handily to take First place. Going undefeated for the Unicorns were: Thaddeus Brown, Cyrus Brown, Slater Hodges, Jacob Lock, Virgil Reed and Max Parker.
The Unicorns hosted Wagner in a Dual on 1/21 and came away with a 41-33 victory. Winners for new Braunfels were: Mario Contreras, Luke Larson, Cyrus Brown, Slater Hodges and Daniel Martinez. The team then traveled to Cedar Park where four of eight wrestlers brought home medals. Mario Contreras at 112 and Max Parker at 189 placed Fourth while Slater Hodges at 145 and Virgil Reed at 152 both came in First.
The Unicorns wrestled four Dual matches this week and finished with a 2-2 record. They defeated Judson 54-30 and McCallum 40-10 but lost to Leander 30-27 and to Georgetown 58-18. Winning all of their matches for New Braunfels were: Cyrus Brown, Slater Hodges and Virgil Reed. The Unicorns finished their Dual schedule with a very respectable 11-5 record.
DISTRICT TOURNAMENT - It was a great weekend for Unicorn Wrestling. NBHS had 7 kids compete in both the JV and Varsity divisions at the District wrestling tournament and came back with 8 medals. In JV, Edgar Aguilar, Justin Davila and Deno Fireline all placed 2nd while Joseph Langone took 4th. In the Varsity division, Mario Contreras and Virgil Reed placed 3rd, Cyrus Brown took 2nd and Slater Hodges is the District Champion in the 140 class. Contreras, Brown and Hodges all qualified for Regionals this weekend.
REGION 4 TOURNAMENT -
Friday Report – Day 1
Mario Contreras (112) drew #2 seed David Diaz (McAllen Rowe) in his first match and was defeated by tech fall. His second opponent had to forfeit due to injury so Mario advanced to the third round where he lost again to Jesus Canales (Rio Grande City) which eliminated him from the tournament. Mario finished 20-18 in his first season of wrestling and should improve greatly by next season.
Cyrus Brown (135) - started out strong with a 2nd round pin of Erick Castillo (Austin Bowie) but then ran into an old nemesis in Aaron Walker (Judson) and fell 11-5. His first match in the consolation round was against Romen Garcia (Austin High) who he defeated with a 3rd round pin. Cyrus needs three wins tomorrow to finish in 3rd place and advance to the State tournament.
Slater Hodges (140) had a tough 1st round against Alex Becerra (Juarez Lincoln) but came back in the 2nd to pin him. He took charge early in his second match and dominated throughout to score a 7-1 victory over Jeff Sanford (SA Reagan) to advance to the semi-finals. One more win assures him of a trip to State and two more wins will make him the Region 4 champion.
Saturday Report – Day 2
Cyrus Brown (135) - actually pinned Trevante Warren (CC Ray) in his first match of the Consolation round and then went on to face Stephen Crossman (Vista Ridge) in his 2nd match. It was a had fought defensive battle that stood at 3-2 late in the 3rd period when Crossman scored a takedown to close out the scoring. The resulting 5-2 loss eliminated Cyrus from the tournament. He’s a little wiser now and will surely do much better next season when he is expected to make it to State.
Slater Hodges (140) - started off the day in a rematch with his rival, Jim Gianakopolous (Westlake). Slater thought this was his chance to get even for the two close losses that Jim had given him earlier in the year but it was not to be and he lost 5-1. His next match with Easton Trejo (Austin Bowie) was a wild one. Down 4-3 with 15 seconds left, it appeared Slater had scored on a reversal near the out of bounds line when he was awarded 2 points by the referee. But things are often not as they appear. The Bowie coach called time out and somehow convinced the ref to change his call. Many observers said they had never seen that happen. Nonetheless, the points were removed and Slater lost 4-3. This meant he would have to win the 5th place match and hope that Trejo won the 3rd place match so he could challenge for 4th place and a trip to State. He took care of his business by defeating Alex Cardenas (La Joya) by the score of 9-4. Meanwhile, Trejo won his match 1-0 and Slater got to wrestle back against Jeff Sanford (Reagan) for a chance to move on. He jumped to a quick 2-0 lead in the 1st and then scored a takedown and 3 back points before sealing the deal with a 2nd round pin. The road was much rockier than expected but the destination was the same, Austin and the State Wrestling tournament on February 26-27. In it’s first year of UIL competition, New Braunfels has it’s 1st State Qualifier !!Congratulations to Mario, Cyrus and Slater for being Regional qualifiers and representing NBHS well.
CC CHAMPIONSHIPS - JV TOURNAMENT
On February 19-20, a group of Unicorn wrestlers attended the Collin County JV Championships hosted by Allen High School where they competed against some of the tougher teams in the State. Jake Bohan wrestled very well and placed 2nd after losing a close decision in the finals. Roland Leos and Deno Fireline each won two matches and both brought home 4th place medals while freshman Justin Davila started strong by winning his first match. He then wrestled well in both of his losses but did not place.This was a great showing for a first year program against long established Dallas area teams and all of the wrestlers gained valuable experience that will help them next season. Great job.
STATE TOURNAMENT
The culmination of all the hard work the kids put in this season is the UIL State Tournament on February 26-27. This year we had one wrestler attend, next year we'll have several. Slater Hodges found out quickly why it's such a big deal to make it to State. When you're one of the 16 wrestlers in each weight class, out of 250-300 in the State, you're pretty good. His first opponent, Taylor Kissel (Azle), was the Region 1 Champion and came in with only one loss. Slater fell behind 4-0 in the 2nd period but then mounted a comeback in the 3rd before falling 8-3. His second match against Matt Robinson (Coppell) was close until the 3rd period but Robinson scored late to win 6-3. Although he failed to win a match, Slater learned what it takes to compete at State and vows to come back stronger next year.
All in all, it was a great inaugural season for Unicorn Wrestling and the future looks bright. We'll have 20+ experienced wrestlers back next year and expect to be much improved. Hats off to the kids for all of their hard work and to Coach LaCoss for his.
FREESTYLE/GRECO SEASON
Many wrestlers around the State, including most of the really good ones, continue wrestling after the high school season ends. They improve themselves by competing in the two Olympic wrestling styles, Freestyle and Greco. The New Braunfels Wrestling Club, along with Team Sandstorm in San Antonio, will offer area wrestlers the opportunity to participate at tournaments all over the State. Sandstorm practices start March 9th at San Antonio Christian School and NBWC practices start March 23 at the Westside Community Center. The season runs thru May 23rd and the cost is $75. For all practice and tournament dates, check the Calendar page in the Schedule section and for more information, call Rick Hodges at 830-609-3600.