With the Texas State duals days away, select teams from across the state are getting ready in preparation. One of those teams in particular is the boys wrestling team from Klein High School. The Bearkat program, 18-1 on the season, is this week’s College Ball or Bust Team of the Week.
Saturday at the Houston Area Duals, Klein went undefeated beating top-ranked Katy Taylor 38-34 in the championship match up.
“At that duals, most of the matches went how most would have predicted,” Klein coach John Banus said. “But the close matches at the 152 and 160-pound were the two close ones. We knew that if we lost both of them, we would not have won the dual.”
 Banus said Taylor’s Dustin Curry beat Colton Shaw at the 152-pound in a “real good match that went down to the wire.” But at 160, Joe Yetter won his match and Banus felt that may have been what pushed them over the top.
To get to the championship match, Klein defeated College Park 75-12, Katy 67-6 and Westside 47-23.
Eight Klein wrestlers who ranked in Greater Houston; four who are in the state’s Top 10. Bearkat captain Georgio Romero (135) leads the team. Area-ranked wrestlers are: Jeff Nguyen (103), Josh Brown (112), Gerald Figueroa (119), Stacy Romero (125), G. Romero (135), Stephen Cordova (140), Shaw (152), Jordan Park (171), and George Barbosa (285).
Brown, Figueroa, Park, and Barbosa are state-ranked. But when you look at this team as a whole, one may take a closer look at Banus’ track record.
 When he started at Strake Jesuit in 1999, the Crusaders finished fifth in the state duals and fifth in the state competition. While at Cy-Fair, he also made appearances at both the state duals and competitions. He looks to continue the trend.
“We have a pretty good chance of placing high at the (state) duals (Saturday at the Merrell Center),” Banus said. “Every year, only 3-4 Houston teams qualify for the duals. Everywhere I have been my teams have qualified for the duals. The state duals, to me, let's you really know how good your team is."
 |
Subscribe to this comment's feed
