101 — San Benito High School wrestler Brandon Salinas holds a sign that reads “100 wins” during a December 10 tri-match at SBHS that featured Brownsville Porter and Los Fresnos teams. Salinas earned his 101st victory against a Porter wrestler. (Courtesy photo/Albert Villegas)
By ALBERT VILLEGAS
Special to the NEWS
Hundreds of people were in attendance to watch the San Benito High School wrestling team host an inaugural event.
Akin to the four previous tournaments at McAllen, Pharr, La Joya, and Brownsville, theirs at SBHS was a successful tri-match pitting the host Greyhounds and Lady Greyhounds against Brownsville Porter and Los Fresnos boys’ and girls’ teams.
SBHS coaches Juan Caballero (boys) and Kristen Longoria (girls) were ecstatic about the turnout, which saw not only a contingent of SBHS fans get lively, but also Los Fresnos and Porter supporters.
“It brings us all together in a sport that’s not very traditional,” Coach Longoria said.
“A lot of kids get that energy from the crowd; they see their own community come to back them up, so it really motivates them to work hard and represent.”
Caballero coaches a program that has been in existence since the 1990s, unlike the Lady ‘Hounds, who began wrestling in 2003.
Still, he echoed Coach Longoria’s sentiments about the fan base and how the teenage wrestlers feed off that.
“Going off of (coach Longoria’s comments), it allows the fans to showcase how hard the kids have been working for the past few months, some of them for years,” Coach Caballero said. “There’s no better place to do this than at home.”
The Lady ‘Hounds produced well, outscoring Porter, 59-12, and Los Fresnos, 53-24, respectively.
On the ‘Hounds’ side, the highlight of the night was senior Brandon Salinas earning his 101st victory.
Entering the December 10 tri-match, he had already eclipsed the century mark. His family had a sign produced proclaiming that accomplishment. Even Porter coaches acknowledged Salinas’ efforts, following along with what the impressed partisan crowd was witnessing.
Caballero served as an assistant under Longoria for the past three years but now leads the boys. Longoria is now in her fifth year.
The duo still look to be leading a pack of wrestlers into mid-February, which means a state tournament appearance.
San Benito is in District 16-6A, and the varsity tournament is scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 28, at Edinburg High School.
SBHS will host a district dual from Jan. 15-17 at Pharr-San Juan-Alamo and Weslaco high schools.
The regional tournament is Feb. 6-7 at a site yet to be announced. The state tournament site is also undetermined.
After their tri-match, SBHS wrestlers competed at Weslaco ISD’s Tomas Garces Invitational last Saturday.
The SBHS schedule for the rest of the month is as follows: The Lisa Torres Invitational Tournament, at Sharyland High School, 9 a.m., Dec. 19-20; Quad event versus Brownsville schools, at SBHS, 10 a.m., Dec. 30.
“There’s still a lot to be done,” Coach Longoria said.