Westside looks for big impact at state with small squad
The Westside boys wrestling team made the most of its opportunities during last week’s Region III-6A championships.
With only four wrestlers, the Wolves managed to leave the Merrell Center with three gold medals, a bronze medal and 103 points, placing fifth out of more than 30 schools.
“This program, we don’t have a lot of quantity, but quality is really up there,” junior Kyle Lew said. “Bringing four kids to the second day and all of them placing, still placing top five even though we had a third of the other teams. The practices are really specific to what we need.”
Westside continues a tradition of success, often leading Houston ISD into the deeper levels of the University Interscholastic League postseason. The Wolves, who recently won their 22nd district championship, matched their 2022 number of state qualifiers with four. All will compete with the elite beginning Friday at the Berry Center.
Lew (28-2) advanced as the regional champion in the 138-pound class, with senior Juan Cantu (40-2) winning the 113 bracket and sophomore Santiago Ramirez (42-5) winning the 106 title. All three return to the state tournament.
Junior Xavier Royere (3110) earned his first trip with a third-place finish in 132. He battled through a facial cut that required stitches, taking the bronze match 9-7 with a late takedown in the first period of sudden victory.
Westside accounts for half of HISD’s state representation this week, including a Bellaire duo in Class 6A and two athletes in Class 5A.
Bellaire senior Leyla Mejia reached the Region III-6A girls 152 final to advance, with sophomore Chester Grazier making the boys 175 final.
Northside senior Alicia Brown heads to state as the Region III-5A girls 120 runner-up, while Waltrip senior Anika Vasquez placed fourth in 235 to advance.
HISD had its first regional champion early, as Ramirez opened boys competition with a 5-4 victory over Cinco Ranch’s Richie Walsh. A back-and-forth match was decided by Ramirez’s third-period escape.
“Really the goal was to get a No. 1 seed for state, so I’m pleased,” Ramirez said. “Towards the end of the match I was just trying to wait it out. I really relied on my defense.”
Ramirez takes his first regional title to state, where he earned one victory as a freshman.
Cantu is the veteran of the group, making his third state appearance after a 7-0 win in the 113 final against Kingwood’s Evan Harrington, a familiar opponent.
“That’s like my third or fourth time going against him, so I had a game plan to wrestle smart,” Cantu said. “Basically not wrestle his match, wrestle my match.”
Finishing fifth at state as a sophomore and fourth as a junior, Cantu looks to put the Wolves even higher on the podium this week.
“It feels really good to represent Westside,” Cantu said. “It’s the school I’m zoned to.”
Lew seeks a big finish to a successful year, including becoming the program’s first Fargo Cadet Greco All-American at the prestigious tournament during the summer.
A regional champion as a sophomore, Lew faced Jordan’s Garrett McChesney, who brought a 2022 state championship and a 46-0 record into the match. Lew landed hard after being picked up for a takedown but rallied, building a 5-2 lead before using a cow catcher to get a pin at 3:49 of the second period.
“I just had to stay composed, take the match 15 seconds at a time,” Lew said.
The junior placed fifth last year at state.
The Wolves could crown their first state champion after sending 30 wrestlers to state during the last 10 years, placing 16 on the podium.
“I take a lot of pride wrestling for Westside,” Ramirez said. “There’s a lot of alumni that were also really good wrestlers, so it’s great to wrestle for them.”