Randall senior Branson Britten, right, celebrates with Raiders head coach David Quirino after winning the District 3-5A 182 weight division Saturday at the Amarillo High Activity Center. [Ben Jenkins/ Press Pass Sports]
The defending University Interscholastic League Class 5A state champion Randall Raiders picked up where they left off last year by claiming the District 3-5A Boys Wrestling title Saturday at the Amarillo High Activity Center on Saturday.
Randall finished the two-day tournament totaling 255.5 points to pull away from second place Dumas, which tallied 200 points.
The Raiders racked up an astounding eight individual district champions, and qualified a total of 10 wrestlers to the Region I-5A Tournament set for Friday and Saturday at El Paso Bel Air.
No one was more impressive that Northern Colorado signee and Randall senior Branson Britten. Britten (23-0 overall), who is a defending Class 5A state champion from a year ago, cruised in the 182 pound weight division by pinning Dumas’ Cannon Speck 26 seconds into the match.
In the 152 pound matchup, Randall’s Patrick Perea (16-4) took down No. 1-seed Diego Falcon of Dumas in the semifinal, then scored a late pin at the 5:01 mark of the finals to beat Caprock’s Caleb Juarez.
Joining both Britten and Perea as district individual champs from Randall were — Ashton Bennert (106 pound), Aidan Medina (120 pound), Andres Mendoza (126 pound), Malaiki Owens (160), Kale Farrington (170 pound) and Nathan Guzman (195).
Caprock’s Jaden Valdez is having an unbelievable season, and kept his momentum going Saturday. Valdez stayed undefeated at 19-0 overall, staying in control during his match to defeat Aden Zamora of Tascosa by a 14-2 decision.
Dumas finished with three individual champions Saturday. Robert Ruiz took down Randall’s Jesse Perea by pin fall at the 2:20 mark during the 132 pound match, senior Ahlee Yart claimed a title in the 138 by injury forfeit, and Karlo Sanchez (21-2 overall) won the 220 weight division scoring a pin fall victory against Canyon’s Josue Castillo at the 3:55 mark.
Team results: 1. Randall 255.5; 2. Dumas 200; 3. Caprock 138.5; 4. Amarillo High 108; 5. Tascosa 90; 6. Canyon 77; 7. Bushland 45; 8. Pampa 39; 9. Borger 37.5; 10. Hereford 27; 11. Palo Duro 17.
Tascosa’s Andres Suarez held off Randall’s Jared Gallegos by a 9-6 decision to win the 145 pound division Saturday. [Ben Jenkins/ Press Pass Sports]
Region I-5A Qualifiers
Note: The top three in each weight class advance to the Region I-5A Wrestling Tournament on Friday and Saturday at El Paso Bel Air.
106 pound
1st- Ashton Bennert, Randall
2nd- Ethan Sims, Tascosa
3rd- Gaven Alvarado, Caprock
113 pound
1st- Jaden Valdez, Caprock
2nd- Aden Zamora, Tascosa
3rd- Brandon Smith, Dumas
120 pound
1st- Aidan Medina, Randall
2nd- Richard Davila, Caprock
3rd- Tyler Carter, Bushland
126 pound
1st- Andres Mendoza, Randall
2nd- Michael Bargas, Dumas
3rd- Nathaniel Ruiz, Caprock
132 pound
1st- Robert Ruiz, Dumas
2nd- Jesse Perea, Randall
3rd- Anthony Smith, Tascosa
138 pound
1st- Ahlee Yart, Dumas
2nd- Aaron Quintana, Amarillo High
3rd- Steven Rodriguez, Randall
145 pound
1st- Andres Suarez, Tascosa
2nd- Jared Gallegos, Randall
3rd- Landon San Miguel, Amarillo High
152 pound
1st- Patrick Perea, Randall
2nd- Caleb Juarez, Caprock
3rd- Diego Falcon, Dumas
160 pound
1st- Malaiki Owens, Randall
2nd- Juan Romero, Dumas
3rd- Ranson Johnson, Bushland
170 pound
1st- Kale Farrington, Randall
2nd- Alex Diaz, Amarillo High
3rd- CJ Casarez, Caprock
182 pound
1st- Branson Britten, Randall
2nd- Cannon Speck, Dumas
3rd- Levi Slaydon, Amarillo High
195 pound
1st- Nathan Guzman, Randall
2nd- Tyler Gibson, Borger
3rd- Porter Traves, Caprock
220 pound
1st- Karlo Sanchez, Dumas
2nd- Josue Castillo, Canyon
3rd- Conner Bolton, Randall
285 pound
1st- Joseph Voiron, Pampa
2nd- Gael Davila, Dumas
3rd- Julian Pimentel, Borger