The only Baton Rouge area school that did not
participate in the Greater Baton Rouge Championships on Friday, February 1st and
Saturday, February 2nd, might have been Lee High, albeit the Rebels always seem
to be present when former coach Bill Bofinger is in the gym. But it did
not matter if a team had 60 wrestlers or only one, if they were able to be
there, they were at the Catholic High School gymnasium that weekend.
Prochaska's 2012-13 team placed 10 wrestlers in the
finals. Eight of them won championships. The Bears far outpaced
runner-up Brusly, tallying a team total of 327 points. Brusly, with 200
points, eked by Live Oak and their 196 points. Dutchtown was not far
behind, placing fourth with 186 points. A battle took place for fifth
place, won by East Ascension with 132 points. Zachary (128) and St.
Michael (118.5) completed the top seven of the 23 teams which participated.
Three defending Greater Baton Rouge champions were in
the mix: Live Oak's Cody Hill (126 lbs.), Catholic's Brandon Luckett (160 lbs.),
who also won in 2011, and Catholic's Caleb Sutton (195 lbs.). One notable
former GBR champion in the gym was none other than the Bears' Coach Prochaska,
who won his title in 1991.
| Weight (Click for Bracket) |
Match Synopsis and State Championship
Seeding Implications [Note: Only
the 285 lbs. weight class' seeding implications reflect the outcome of
the February 6th dual meet between Jesuit and St. Paul's. It is
unlikely any of those mentioned will drop down to 220 lbs.]
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| Alex Betteridge (EA) pinned Colt Olinde (LO) in
2:55 |
Top-seeded Alex Betteridge of East
Ascension had a 3-0 record in matches versus Live Oak's Colt
Olinde upon entering the finals. That record seemed to be
in jeopardy early as Olinde took him down in the first period.
Olinde grabbed a single leg, Betteridge sprawled and tried a hip
toss, but Olinde was able to pull his head out to score the
points. The second round started with Betteridge on bottom
and trailing 2-0. Betteridge stood up on the whistle,
and when Olinde tried to lift him back to the mat, the Spartan
popped his hips over Olinde to score a reversal and tie the
score. Olinde escaped and took a 3-2 lead. He then
dove for Betteridge's ankle to no avail, and on a second attempt
at a double-leg shot, Betteridge wrapped his arm around the back
of Olinde's head and whipped him back to the mat. Hopping
over to a grapevine, Betteridge recorded a fall and East
Ascension's first championship of the day in 2:55.
With the absence of Denham Springs' Christopher Marson due to a
season-ending injury at the Louisiana Classic, Betteridge should
find himself seeded #4 in the Division I state championships
behind Brother Martin's Mason Mauro, Jesuit's Ben D'Antonio and
Rummel's Devyn Breaud.
Olinde's solid performance should solidify him as a second
seed in Division II behind Teurlings Catholic's Brock Bonin. |
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| Mitch Napoli (CAT) decisioned Baret Sanchez
(BRU) 11-5 |
The two juniors had not met each other
yet this season, but the #1 seed Napoli seemed not to care as he
took an early and irrevocable lead over the returning Division
II state champion. The Catholic wrestler used a fireman's
carry twice and a head-lever to score two nearfall points, and
jumped ahead to an early 6-1 lead after the first period.
Sanchez started the second period on the bottom and quickly escaped, but
Napoli answered with an ankle-pick which he turned into a
double-leg takedown. Napoli let his opponent go and took
him down again with a single-leg shot. The period ended
with Napoli ahead 10-3. Napoli escaped easily in the third
period but his takedowns were not as sharp as they were in the
first four minutes. He missed a fireman's carry and then a
single-leg shot. Sanchez pounced on the single-leg miss,
shucked Napoli's head one way and spun the other way to score
his only takedown. Sanchez was unable to turn Napoli over
and the match ended 11-5.
Napoli should be the #4 seed in Division I behind Jesuit senior
Mitch Capella, Comeaux's Connor Stampley and Brother Martin's
Taylor Gambill.
Sanchez should find himself in a rare position as a returning
state champion, as the #2 seed in Division III. A close
7-5 loss to Basile sophomore Raymond Bushnell at the Brusly
Invitational portends that. |
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| Phillip Nauta (CAT) decisioned Wyatt LeJeune
(BRU) 8-5 |
LeJeune earned the #1 seed with a 6-1
victory over Nauta on November 3rd at the St. Michael Warrior
Open. But Nauta started the scoring with a fireman's carry from his
knees for a takedown. LeJeune was able to escape and Nauta
led 2-1 after the first period. The second round appeared
to belong to LeJeune as he escaped from Nauta and took him down with his own fireman's carry, but Nauta was able to reverse him
to tie the score at 4-4. At the end of the period LeJeune
was awarded an escape point by the scorekeeper at least, but
eventually the point, if there ever was one called, was
nullified. Nauta started the third period with a stand-up
switch for a reversal and a two point lead. But LeJeune
was able to escape and only one point separated the two
wrestlers. As time ran out a desperate attempt by LeJeune
was thwarted by Nauta, who earned another takedown and an 8-5
win.
A head-to-head overtime loss to Rummel's Tyler Mire will
probably place Nauta as a #4 seed in Division I, also behind
Brother Martin's Paul Klein (who has defeated Nauta) and
Comeaux's Jacob Dale.
LeJeune, a state runner-up in 2012, should be the favorite to
win Division III this year |
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| Cody Hill (LO) decisioned Brennan Taylor (CAT)
11-4 |
This was a match many people were
looking forward to seeing. Live Oak junior Cody Hill had a
4-3 season advantage over Catholic junior Brennan Taylor. Taylor
is the only wrestler all season who has defeated Hill. And
while not discounting his effort, his third win, in overtime in
the semifinals of the Louisiana Classic, may have been a bit
tainted, as were the mats and the singlets, by the blood spewing
from a cut on Hill's head.
Hill left no questions unanswered in this match. His first
single-to-a-double-leg takedown occurred within 20 seconds.
He feebly tried to hold Taylor, and when Taylor escaped he
deftly took him down with another single-leg shot. This
time Hill made no pretenses about riding Taylor, and after
he wriggled out of a good shot by Taylor, he took his opponent down
with another single-leg shot with five second remaining.
After two minutes Hill had a 6-2 lead. Starting the second period Hill
again let Taylor go, making it a 6-3 match. A lot of
attempts netted zero points for either wrestler until Hill was
warned for stalling with 20 seconds remaining. Taylor shot
too low and Hill was able to pop his hips over Taylor's to get
another takedown and an 8-4 lead. It was Taylor's turn to
let Hill go at the beginning of the third period. Taylor
again came close, lifting a single leg of Hill's high off of the
mat, but could not manage to gain control over Hill for the
takedown. Hill scored one more takedown and once again let
Taylor go. The match ended in an 11-4 Hill victory and a
5-3 season series between the two wrestlers. This was
Hill's second Greater Baton Rouge championship and he was voted
the tournament's outstanding wrestler of the
lower weight classes for his win over Taylor and the two falls
he recorded en route to the finals.
Hill will be the very heavy favorite to repeat as a Division II
state champion. Aside from his victories over Taylor he
has wins over Brother Martin's Austin Meyn, Rummel's two-time
defending Division I state champion Matt Calcote and returning
Division I state champion Jacob Dale of Comeaux.
Taylor, despite defeating the best wrestler in his weight class
three times, finds himself in the bizarre position of probably
being seeded fourth at the state tournament. He lost an
overtime decision to Calcote, who should be seeded in the #2
spot, and he lost to Meyn in the Trey Culotta Invitational and
the Louisiana Classic by scores of 2-1 and 4-2. Meyn has
beaten Calcote twice and should be the #1 seed. But while
Taylor was finishing 2nd at the GBR Championships, Meyn was
doing the same thing at the hands of John Ehret's Stefon Foster
at the Greater New Orleans Championships.
On the season, Foster and Meyn are 2-2. Foster's win is not enough to seed
him higher than Meyn, which is fortunate, as that could start a nasty Möbius
Loop scenario. |
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| Trevor Schermer (BRU) decisioned Matthew Mire
(CAT) 7-2 |
Two-time Division III state champion
Trevor Schermer of Brusly defeated Catholic sophomore Matthew
Mire 7-2 in consolation finals of the Louisiana Classic.
Apparently, Mire had another outcome in mind for this match.
The video is inconclusive as to how (meaning the camera turned
itself off) but Mire scored a takedown in the first period for a
2-0 lead. Mire basically let Schermer go at the beginning
of the second round. For the majority of the rest of the
round, Schermer stalked Mire with one and then the other knee on
the mat, taking shots but not getting inside enough to score, and
letting Mire get a duck-under once which he was unable to
convert. Finally, Schermer sprang fast enough to get
Mire's ankle which he was able to turn into a double-leg
takedown with 15 second remaining in the round. Unlike
some wrestlers to follow, who gave away escape points that led
to ties and even leads, Schermer was determined to ride Mire in
the third round. He did so with tenacious leg-riding and
appeared to be one second away from his first GBR championship.
But the officials had warned Schermer for stalling with 17
seconds left on the clock (the video camera was working at this
point). As he was warned when he was in the top position,
the match should have been stopped and restarted. This
they rectified, although they placed 19 seconds back on the
clock. Schermer, however, sunk his legs in again and was
able to ride-out the round and win the championship with a 3-2
score.
Schermer, a junior, will be the #1 seed in Division III as he
hopes to follow in his brother Austin's footsteps by winning his
third state championship (as well as a fourth next season).
Mire will be the #3 seed behind St. Paul's Connor Campo and
Rummel's Rick LaCava (who has defeated Schermer twice) unless
Brother Martin's Dominic Casadaban wrestles at 132 at the state
tournament, which will put Mire in the #4 spot. Casadaban
has wrestled in Louisiana at 132 only one time, but the match
was a 6-4 victory over Mire. |
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| James Claitor (CAT) decisioned Seth Bosarge
(LO) 9-0 |
James Claitor, the top-seeded junior
from Catholic who has not been defeated by a Louisiana wrestler
all season, entered the tournament with two of his wins
over Live Oak junior Seth Bosarge. Claitor made it to the
finals after amassing three pins. Bosarge, the third seed,
had a tougher time, needing a "Sudden Victory" period to defeat
#2 seed Michael Bernard of East Ascension 9-7.
From the start of this match it seemed things might be
different. Neither wrestler was able to score any points
early and the first period ended 0-0. In the second period
Claitor chose the bottom position and, in a strategy mentioned
earlier, Bosarge chose to start the match in the neutral
position, which meant giving Claitor a go-ahead point after a
round in which no points were scored. Claitor took that
point and more though, sprawling on a Bosarge double-leg attempt
and spinning around for a takedown with 0:43 seconds left in the
round. That was enough time for Claitor to work Bosarge
onto his back with a nearside cradle and score three additional
nearfall points. Claitor led 6-0 after the second period.
In the third period Claitor rode Bosarge for 90 seconds, fending
off stand-ups and a Granby roll attempt by Bosarge, and trying a
banana-split at one point, although Bosarge almost escaped
because of that move. With 30 seconds remaining Claitor started in the "optional
position" on the top but had no intention of letting Bosarge
escape. Claitor dropped right into a cradle attempt that
Bosarge was unable to defend himself against. Claitor turned
Bosarge with five second remaining and was awarded three
nearfall points as the buzzer sounded, sealing a 9-0
championship.
Claitor has defeated the best anyone has thrown at him at 138
lbs., including Brother Martin's formerly undefeated Dominic
Casadaban and St. Paul's David Englehardt, who was undefeated by
Louisiana wrestlers at 145 lbs., in the Louisiana Classic.
He is the obvious choice for the #1 seed in Division I.
Bosarge is in a tough 138 lbs. Division II weight class, but
should be seeded second to Holy Cross' George Benoit, who has
6-1 and 6-4 victories over the Live Oak wrestler. One and
two point victories by Bosarge over Belle Chasse's Jordan
Mastrianni should negate Mastrianni's 1-1 record with Benoit. |
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| Grant Godso (RED) decisioned Brandon Cowell
(DUT) 5-3 |
On January 26th at the Ken Cole
Invitational, Redemptorist's top-seeded Grant Godso was
basically knocked unconscious during the second period and had
to give up medical forfeit to third-seeded Anthony Taylor of
Huntington. On this day, the Redemptorist senior entered
the finals after pinning his first three opponents. His
opponent was Dutchtown sophomore Brandon Cowell. In their
only previous match Godso prevailed 7-4 at the Louisiana
Classic.
Scoring was rare in this match. No takedowns were scored
in the first period. Cowell, starting the second period on
bottom, tried a switch but was basically let go to enjoy a 1-0
lead. A fireman's carry attempt by Godso failed and
Cowell led 1-0
after two periods. In the third period Cowell was able to
stop an initial switch attempt by Godso, but Godso was later
able to perform a Perterson roll for a reversal and two nearfall
points for a 4-1 lead. Cowell's extraction
from Godso's pinning combination resulted in a reversal, but he was down 4-3.
Opting to try for an overtime period, Cowell let Godso up for a
one point escape, giving Godso a 5-3 lead. Cowell did not
have enough time, though, to take Godso down, and the score
stayed that way as the match ended.
Godso's only losses include only an early season decision
against East Ascension's Michael Bernard and his medical forfeit
at the Ken Cole. In winning the Sam Sara Invitational he
defeated then undefeated Tyler Frame of Rummel in the finals
seconds. He should easily be a favorite to repeat as a Division III
state champion.
145 lbs. is a hard Division I weight class. It will include
Frame and Jesuit's Louisiana Classic champion Efosa Eboigbe. It very much may include
St. Paul's returning state champion David Englehardt and Brother
Martin's Tyler Robertson. Cowell's wins over Brother
Martin's Logan Labry and Patrick Hoppe should favor him for the
#5 spot over Ehret's Jack Fontenot. |
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| Kevin Moran (CAT) decisioned Koby Mancuso (BRU)
1-0 |
Brusly sophomore Koby Mancuso defeated
Catholic's senior Kevin Moran 3-2 in the Louisiana Classic to garner
this weight class' top-seeding. That barrage of scoring
was not to be repeated in this match. The first period
ended 0-0. In the second period, Moran was on bottom and
tried a Granby roll but Mancuso was able to stop it. But
with 40 seconds remaining Moran, the #2 seed, managed to
stand up, turn into Mancuso and score an escape point.
Mancuso sprawled on a Moran double-leg attempt but was unable to
clear his leg from Moran's grasp when trying to spin behind him.
The round ended with Moran owning a 1-0 lead. Starting the
third period on the bottom, Mancuso stood up and Moran was
inadvertently poked in the eye, stopping the match for a few
minutes. When the match resumed Moran still
had 1:56 to ride-out Mancuso. Riding with his legs,
keeping constant pressure on Mancuso's lower back and working a
variety of forced half-nelson's, Moran almost got caught "too
high" on Mancuso, who grabbed his head with both hands but was
unable to pull him over with 30 second remaining. Moran
sunk his legs in again and almost turned Mancuso over with a
cross-face as the round ended, preserving a 1-0 victory.
Moran could be looking at a #4 or #5 seed. Comeaux's Tyrek
Malveaux, Brother Martin's Devin Leblanc and St. Paul's Tanner
LeBlanc appear to be the top three favorites. Moran does
have losses to Mandeville's Garrett Bauman and St. Paul's
Dominic Iovenetti, but both of them have been wrestling at 145
lbs. of late.
Mancuso should be seeded second behind returning Division III
state champion Alex Martin of De la Salle. He has not lost
to any other Division III wrestlers this season other than Martin,
who has
a fall and a decision over him. |
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| Brandon Luckett (CAT) pinned Blayze Olano (BRU)
in 2:57 |
Catholic senior and returning Division
I state champion Brandon Luckett has only one loss in Louisiana
this season, and that wrestler, Comeaux's Tyrek Malveaux, has
since dropped to 152 lbs. His trip to the finals required
pins in 0:42 and 4:41. Unseeded freshman Blayze Olano of
Brusly had a more difficult route, defeating second-seeded
Mitchel Youngblood of St. Michael 9-4 and needing a "Sudden
Victory" period to get past third-seeded Mason Schexnaydre of
Dutchtown 7-5.
The two had not met previously and Luckett decided to make their
encounter brief, though not rude. He introduced himself in
the first six seconds with a single-to-a-double-leg takedown and
then, relying on a bar-arm half-nelson, turned Olano over twice
to score six nearfall points and take an 8-0 lead after the
first period. Starting on the bottom in the second period,
Luckett stood straight up and then did a Granby roll to score an
escape. He "picked" an ankle and turned it into a
double-leg takedown and once more worked a bar-arm half-nelson
on the freshman, this time pinning him in 2:57, winning his third
Greater Baton Rouge championship.
Luckett is the easy choice for the #1 seeding spot in the
Division I state championships. His competition will not
be discounted, of course, but none have as yet risen to
Luckett's caliber on the mat.
Olano should be the #3 seed in Division III. Head-to-head
matches place North Vermillion's Damon Vincent first and Basile's
Mason Deshotel second. |
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| Matthew Moreau (CAT) pinned Travis Goodman
(DUT) in 5:08 |
Catholic junior Matthew Moreau entered
the tournament unseeded but with s deceiving 13-16 record.
Nine of those losses were to wrestlers from Texas, Oklahoma and
Alabama. One was to Ken Cole champion Jack Ingalls of
Mandeville, whom Moreau defeated earlier in the season. So
it was not too surprising that Moreau defeated Dunham's #4 seed
Griffin Miller in 5:10, Brusly's Dillon Prejean 12-3 or top
seeded Brody Bonura of Live Oak 12-6. His opponent,
second-seeded Dutchtown sophomore Travis Goodman, used a
rudimentary "three-falls"-method to vie for the championship.
Neither wrestler could score in the first period. Moreau
started the second period on the bottom and Goodman gave him a
go-ahead escape point for a 1-0 lead. Moreau thanked him
with an ensuing single-leg trip for a takedown, and
the period ended in Moreau's favor 3-0. On the bottom to
start the third period Goodman did a Granby roll on the whistle
to score his only points of the match. Moreau sprawled and
spun behind a low shot from Goodman, and then used a half-nelson
to turn his opponent over and score a fall in 5:08. Having
taken out the #4 and #1 seeds, and then pinning the #2 seed in
the finals, Moreau was awarded the outstanding wrestler
of the higher weight classes.
Moreau should not look for higher than a 6th seeding at the
Division I state championships. If Brother Martin's Daniel
Albrecht wrestles at 170 lbs., he will be the #1 seed. If
Albrecht goes 182 lbs., he will be replaced with Kyle Delaune,
who owns an even better record. Jimmy Brown of Jesuit,
Michael Darwin of Rummel, Jack Ingalls of Mandeville and St.
Paul's Collin Kersker, who has beaten Moreau twice, should be
ahead of him.
Goodman could be right behind Moreau at 7th, but that is where
things get blurry, and it is possible Goodman will not be seeded
at all. |
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| Christian Pittman (CAT) decisioned Donnie Berg (StM)
8-6 |
Seeding 182 must have been a difficult
task. During the season fourth-seeded Nick Simeneaux of Live Oak lost via a
pin to top-seeded Donnie Berg of St. Michael, but only 8-6 to
Catholic senior Christian Pittman. Dutchtown's Alex Medine
shared no common opponents, but only had three losses all
season, so he was given the #2 spot. Pittman, however,
scored an 18-8 major decision over Medine in the semifinals to
set up the finals against Berg, who had two pins and a 21-6
technical fall added to his resume so far that weekend.
Pittman scored the match's first two points but eluded the video
camera in doing so. Berg came close to escaping, and spun
behind Pittman as the Catholic wrestler stood up, and was
rewarded a reversal. Pitman then turned into Berg, grabbed
a single leg and took Berg to the mat under his control for
another reversal. Berg was able to switch Pittman at the
very end of the period, which ended in a 4-4 tie. Pittman
opted to give Berg a 5-4 lead by letting him up before the
second period started. The gambit seemed to pay off as,
after Pittman stopped one good Berg single-leg via a stalemate,
Pittman turned a double-leg shot into a single-leg attack.
Pittman was able to lift the leg and pressure Berg down to the
mat for a takedown and a 6-5 lead. With 32 second left in
the round after the two wrestlers went out of bounds, Pittman
again let Berg go to tie the match at 6-6, which is how the
second period ended. Pittman started the third period on
the bottom and Berg rode him for 43 second until he was warned
for stalling. But unlike in the previous Schermer-Mire
match, both wrestlers were standing at the time and the
officials were not supposed to stop the match. Berg
slipped down attempting to pull Pittman down to the mat, which
allowed Pittman to turn and jump on top of him for a two-point
reversal. Pittman was able to ride-out the remaining time, re-switching Berg in the last 10 seconds, to claim the
championship in an 8-6 decision.
Pittman will probably earn a #5 seed at the state tournament
behind Brother Martin's Albrecht or Delaune, Jesuit's Gage
Grush, St. Paul's John Brands and Lafayette's Michael Daiy.
Berg will probably be seeded third to Teurlings Catholic's
returning state champion Nick Schneider (who pinned Berg earlier
in the season) and Holy Cross' Porter Dazet. |
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| Caleb Sutton (CAT) decisioned Blake Brock (LO)
4-2 TB-1 |
Top-seeded senior Blake Brock of Live
Oak was the Eagles' last chance to make up their four point
deficit to Brusly for second place. But his opponent,
senior Caleb Sutton of Catholic, was not only competing for but
defending his 195 lbs. GBR championship of a year ago.
This was the first and last meeting of the two this season, as
the teams are in different divisions in the state tournament.
Scoring played little part in this match. It took 2:10 for
Sutton to score a one point escape in the second period.
Another 1:54 passed before Brock scored a third period escape to
tie the match at 1-1. 1:56 went by and regulation time
expired with the score remaining the same. Another minute
went by and nobody could score in the "Sudden Victory" period.
Sutton chose bottom in the first overtime period and scored a
one-point escape with seven seconds remaining. Brock
decided not to wait that long when he started the second
overtime period, and escaped in a mere three seconds to tie the
match again. Near the end of that round, Brock attempted a
shot which Sutton countered with a sprawl, and then Sutton was
able to spin behind Brock with three seconds left to score the
match's only takedown and secure a second GBR championship.
Sutton will probably be seeded third in Division I. Manny
Armour of Jesuit will be first and Yehia Riles of Brother Martin
second. Sutton and Riles have split their four matches
this season, but Riles won the last meeting 3-2 at the Louisiana
Classic.
Brock will probably also be a #3 seed in Division II.
Northside's Orlando Calhoun, with only one loss to Rayne's Billy
Marcantel, could be seeded first. But so could Belle
Chasse's Logan Thompson, who has a win over Brock. |
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| Christopher Wright (ZCH) pinned Brandon Thongsavanh (DUT)
in 3:47 |
This weight class was probably a
nightmare to seed. Dutchtown junior Brandon Thongsavanh,
the #1 seed, beat Catholic's #2 seed Myles Nash in December as
well as the #3 seed, Zachary junior Christopher Wright.
But Wright beat Thongsavanh on January 5th, and Nash beat Wright
on January 16th. No matter.
Wright took Thongsavanh down with a single-leg trip and also
received three nearfall points for his effort. Thongsavanh
escaped but Wright did another single-leg trip and the round
ended with Wright ahead 7-1. Thongsavanh rode Wright for
most of the second period, but stood up with about 30 seconds
remaining and switched Thongsavanh to his pack, pinning him at
3:47.
220 lbs. remains a quandary re Division I seeding.
Sulphur's Ora Wayne Broussard beat Brother Martin's Josh Tapia
in the Louisiana Classic, but lost there to Nash and lost the
next weekend to Jesuit's Dom Carmello. Look for Tapia to
be the top seed, followed by Wright, Broussard and then
Carmello. Thongsavanh and Nash are two possibilities for
the #5 seed. Maybe a Dungeons and Dragons die
would help. |
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| Connor Karwath (EA) pinned Ty Simpson (ZCH) in
3:47 |
East Ascension ended the GBR
Championships the way they began them - with a champion.
The Spartans' junior Conor Karwath had 11 wins in January and a
third place finish at the Louisiana Classic. Early in the
season he and Zachary senior Ty Simpson had traded late third
round falls, and then Karwath won a 5-3 decision following that.
So it was no surprise that this was a close match.
Neither wrestler could takedown the other in the first period.
Starting on bottom in the 2nd, Karwath sat-out with Simpson's
wrist and did a Peterson roll, but he could not net any back
points. Simpson was able to stand up, caught Karwath still
on the mat, sprawl over him and spun behind him for a reversal.
Again, Karwath did a Peterson which netted him another reversal.
Simpson stood-up again but this time Karwath was more wary and
let him go, giving Simpson an escape rather than a reversal.
The period ended with Karwath ahead 4-3. In the third
Simpson started on bottom and after more than a minute went by
Karwath stood up to try to pull Simpson backwards onto the mat.
Simpson, though, turned in on Karwath, grabbed an ankle and
circled around it to score a reversal. With 1:11 left
Simpson was ahead 5-4. Karwath, however, was able to get
away from Simpson for an escape. The regulation period
ended with the match tied 5-5. (Despite the official match
record indicating the score was 4-4 after regulation, the video
evidence cannot be dismissed as of this article's publication.)
In the last 15 seconds of the "Sudden Victory" period Karwath
got his arms around Simpson's waist and hefted them up, raising
Simpson's arms and setting himself up for a bear-hug trip.
He did that with 10 seconds remaining and after some
consultation the officials scored a takedown and a championship
for Karwath.
The only thing certain about the Division I seeding at the state
tournament in this weight class is that Ross Brister of Brother
Martin will be seeded #1. St. Paul's Zach Mangrum has a
2-0 record versus Karwath, but those wins were in December.
Karwath's success in January, including a win over Jesuit's
Zachary Creel in the LA Classic, combined with Creel's defeat of
Mangrum on February 6th, might put the Spartan in the 2nd spot,
or at worst the third. Simpson and Mangrum should be #4
and #5 seeds, but either way they will be in Brister's half of
the bracket. |
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