Chad Thomas made a promise to himself last season following the 5A Region I Wrestling Tournament. Though he qualified after a strong performance at district, he went 0-2 at regionals.
He said if he got back, it would not happen again.
And indeed it didn’t. In fact, his season isn’t over yet.
Thomas joined a short and elite list this past Saturday, Feb. 11, becoming the second wrestler in the short history of Aledo’s program to qualify for state. Ansel Din-Mbuh was the first in 2022, the first season the school had a program.
Thomas qualified by placing third in the 120-pound weight class at the Class 5A Region I Meet at West Texas A&M University in Canyon, scoring 16 team points. It comes on the heels of also placing third in the District 4-5A Tournament the previous week in Azle.
The top four from each weight class at regionals advanced to state.
Thomas, a senior, will take a 28-8 record into the state tournament, which will be held Friday and Saturday, Feb. 16-17 at The Berry Center in Cypress.
“Last year he went 0-2 and vowed that it wouldn’t happen again,” Aledo coach Austin Stockon said. “Chad was then able to get a win over Azle's Wyatt Hicks, who had beaten him at the district tournament. Then Chad had another repeat match wrestling Lubbock Coronado's Ian Garza, who Chad defeated for third place at both the district and now regional tournament. After competing so well at the regional tournament Chad hopes to continue his success at the state tournament this week in Cy-Fair. We will wrestle Friday and Saturday, you can follow along on TrackWrestling or watch live on the NFHS app.
Thomas’ march to state began with a 10-4 decision over Matthew Rodriguez of El Paso Bel Air in the opening round. He then defeated Diego Tino of Hereford in a fall at 5:15 of the match.
Thomas was edged in his third match by regional champion Malachi McClenton of Amarillo Caprock in a close 9-7 decision. He bounced back to win a 9-5 decision over Wyatt Hicks of Azle, who had defeated him at the district tournament.
In the third-place match, Thomas bested Ian Garza of Lubbock Coronado in a 10-4 decision, his second big win over Garza, who he also defeated for third at district.
Narrowly missing a qualifying berth at state was freshman Brice Bohn in the 106 division. Bohn, who is 29-9, placed fifth and scored 11 team points. He will be an alternate.
Bohn began with a 10-4 decision against Julia Lopez of El Paso Ysleta, but fell to regional champion Michael Ruiz of Canyon Randall in a fall at 1:05 in the second match.
Bohn rebounded by defeating Christian Verdugo of Clint Horizon in a pin at 57 seconds and nipping Rylan Luttmer of Saginaw, who had pinned Bohn twice before this season, in a 5-4 decision. Jonas Casillas of El Paso Del Valle topped Bohn in a fall at 3:31 before Bohn won a rematch with Lopez, 6-4.
“Brice is a tough competitor and I cannot wait to see what these next three years hold for him. I picture that this will not be his last trip to the state tournament,” Stockton said.
“Our boys wrestled well. Every single one of our boys at least won one or more matches at our regionals. This was not the case last year, Ansel Din-Mbuh was our lone state qualifier and the only one to win that day,” Stockon continued. “This year the boys were on a mission and proved themselves.
“This group of senior boys (Jacob Ellerbusch, Chad Thomas, Zachary Attaway, Britton Collins, Jason "Colonel" Douglas, Ty Hand, Max Toth, and Bryon Moreno-Wheeler) have committed to this program the last two years and their success comes from their determination and hard work. They will be missed but I appreciate everything they have done for this program and the legacy they have created.”
Moreno-Wheeler (11-6) split his four matches and finished eighth in the 285 division. He will continue his athletic career at Midwestern State University next year to play football.
Also for Aledo, all seniors:
132 pounds: Ellerbusch went 1-2, scoring four team points and finishing the season with a 17-13 record.
144: Attaway went 1-2, scoring three team points and finishing season 26-14.
157: Hand went 1-2, scoring 2.5 team points and finishing season 17-15.
190: Collins was 1-2, scored three team points and finished season 25-12.
Ladycat sophomores Avery Kernan and Kyra Wright also competed at this past weekend’s regional tournament. Kernan was in the 107 weight class and Wright in 114.
Both were 0-2 in regional competition. They qualified after finishing fourth in their respective weight classes at district.
Kernan finished with a 15-9 record and Wright was 13-10.
“Our girls had a tough day at regionals, but both are sophomores, so I look forward to watching what they can accomplish the next two years,” Stockton said.
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