ROYAL CITY — Royal High School girls wrestling coach Jesus Carlos Villa said the Knights have a chance to do well at Mat Classic 2025, and it’s a testament to his wrestlers and the coaching staff. 

“It’s about peaking at the right time. You never want to peak too early, because then you wrestle too flat, and you definitely don’t want to peak too late, because the opportunity is gone. I feel like the girls are coming along. The coaches are doing a great job of keeping the girls motivated, trying to keep them technically sharp,” Villa said. “I’m the head (coach), but they’re the ones that are in there helping motivate the girls.”  

Twelve girls qualified for the state tournament, he said, which gives them a chance at a good finish at Mat Classic. 

“We’ve done really good in our region, in our sub-district, in our district tournaments. We’ve done really, really well. It looks like we’re peaking at the right time. The girls are rested,” he said.  

The key is avoiding the pressure, he said.  

“It’s been a really long season. The girls are excited that finally, the time has come,” he said. “I preached to them, we’re showing up to the big dance, and we’ve just got to dance a little faster and a little harder. The dance floor is going to be a little bit bigger, but we know the dance. We’ve just got to go out there and have fun.” 

The girls Mat Classic format has changed over time. Originally all classifications competed in one state tournament, then Class 4A and Class 3A were broken into their own competitions. This year Class 2A also competes on its own, with 1A schools like Royal competing with 1B, 2B and other 1A teams. Villa said the goal remains the same. 

“I always told the girls, it doesn’t matter if it’s one classification, two or three or whatever it is, the dance is always the same,” Villa said. “We’ve still got to go out there and we’ve got to win two (to advance). That’s the mentality, don’t put any pressure on.” 

Royal has a strong tradition in girls wrestling, and that has an impact on the 2024-25  team, he said.  

“These girls have been putting a lot of pressure on themselves,” he said. “They’ve had former teammates be state champions. It looks like our team’s been doing a lot of good things. I’ve been trying to get them to understand we’re going to go out there and have fun, and it seems like they’re getting the message.”  

Villa said he appreciated the support from Royal City and encouraged people to keep it up. 

“Support your girls wrestling. It means so much to them,” he said. “They work so hard, and they do appreciate it.” 

Knights boys 

Royal boys wrestling coach Darrin Miller said Mat Classic 2025 pits the best against the best – which includes 15 qualifiers from Royal High School.  

“I told my guys, everybody belongs there. They earned their spot,” Miller said. “Now it’s going to be really tough, match by match. So you’ve got to wrestle hard.” 

The Knights are sending a strong contingent.  

“We qualified 15 athletes this year, which is the most we’ve had in a long time. We’re really excited for the opportunity,” he said. 

The quality of wrestlers at Mat Classic makes it difficult to come up with a list of team contenders for the state title, he said. 

“Wrestling is one of those unique sports where everybody has good guys because different weights are going to line up differently depending on the team,” he said.  

In his opinion, wrestling is as much about individuals as teams. Miller said.  

“I would say it’s an individual sport with a really strong team aspect,” he said. “It’s a team sport, but it’s also really individual.” 

The state tournament is an opportunity for wrestlers to determine how much they’ve improved over the season, he said, by competing with wrestlers who are just as good as they are. 

“The state wrestling tournament is really an opportunity to win those matches that you maybe lost earlier in the season,” he said. “To show your improvement – you win the close matches, you minimize your mistakes, that kind of thing.” 

The Knights return two wrestlers who placed at Mat Classic 2024.  

“Shea Stevenson was a finalist last year, so he’s hoping to secure that gold medal,” Miller said. “Dennis Hernandez took fifth last year, so he’s hoping to improve that this season.” 

Royal has other wrestlers that Miller said have the potential for a good tournament. 

“Some guys to watch are going to be Thomas Antonio, Cael Orth, Easton Eilers — and other guys too. There are guys that are working very hard this year and have excellent records up to this point,” he said.  

The Knights are peaking at the right time, he said.  

“Excited to see how my guys do,” Miller said. “They’ve been working hard.” 

Royal Knights Roster 

Boys 

senior David Romero (190)  

senior Kevin Paz (215)  

junior Dennis Hernandez (120)  

junior Thomas Antonio (126)  

junior Carlos Barajas (138)  

junior Shea Stevenson (157)  

junior Alan Garcia (175)  

sophomore Cael Orth (157)  

sophomore Easton Eilers (165)  

sophomore David Baeza (215)  

freshman Andy Calderon (106) 

freshman Julian Garcia (113) 

freshman Preston Andersen (120) 

freshman Scout Stevenson (138) 

freshman Ernie Weeks (190) 

Alternates: junior Angel Carrasco (113) 

Girls 

senior Lauren Jenks (135)  

senior Madisen Christensen (170)  

junior Sharon Arroyo (100) 

sophomore Ninel Barajas (105) 

sophomore Isabelle Barajas (110) 

sophomore Alina Valentin (110) 

sophomore Kamila Espino (115) 

sophomore Heaven Parker (120)  

freshman Ruby Hernandez (120) 

freshman Sophia Villafana (100)  

freshman Hali Christensen (140) 

    Royal junior Shea Stevenson, top, takes down his opponent during a tournament in Quincy earlier this season. Stevenson was the 1A 150-pound runner-up at the Mat Classic last season.
  

    Royal freshman Ruby Hernandez, right, took third in the 120-pound class at the 1A/2B/1B District 5 tournament in Granger on Friday, advancing to the state tournament.