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Inanity is not limited to literary and historical pursuits (see Division I Preliminary Observations).  Mathematics, if one will forgive the third grade textbook pun, is in a subset all itself, devised by insatiably curious and often plainly sadistic minds.

Recall when "google" meant a number only written-out by someone trying to get listed in the Guinness Book of Records?  Why does a "negative balance" never fill one's wallet?  Are "irrational numbers" recognized by the American Psychological Association?  Does anyone ask the farmer why his cows have wandered far afield while he was trying to "maximize" the area within his fence line?  Do numbers not prostrate themselves, prevaricate, or both?  Can a thoroughbred do math?  Neigh.  For one cannot put DesCartes in front of the horse!

Numbers (seeds for the moment) make Holy Cross a heavy favorite to win Division II this year.  But numbers can be fickle.  Holy Cross has 13 seeded wrestlers.  Their average seed is 2.77.  Teurlings Catholic has 11 seeded wrestlers with an average of 3.42; Live Oak has 11 seeds averaging 4.36.  The numbers get worse for the Tigers' opponents when all 14 weight classes are involved.

Holy Cross and Teurlings Catholic were expected to provide a very exciting championship race in 2012.  But by the time the finals came the Tigers needed to win all four of their finals matches and Teurlings had to lose all four of theirs, which would have given Holy Cross a four point win.  That meant Teurlings' Phillip Miller had to lose, something that only happened once during the season to a wrestler from Georgia.  It also meant St. Michael's Steven Scardina had to lose, something that had not happened all year.

The math looked good in 2012, even when one does not use the #1 seeding and state championships won by graduating seniors Dexter Bass, Jr. and Nick Michael. 

Just using the eight wrestlers who were on the 2012 team and who are also on the 2013 team, those wrestlers amounted to a seeding average of 2.77 in 2012.  That means of those eight wrestlers, one of less than three were expected to be in the finals.  The expected "tight race," though, became a Teurlings Catholic championship by 28 points over the Tigers.

The actual results put that number in perspective without having to look up Z, t, and χ² tables in the back of a statistics text.  The actual places of those wrestlers averaged 5.25.  Anything jumping from 2.77 to 5.25 is considered statistically significant, even with only eight data points.  (That infers the variance of those data points is small enough and...it is!)

If one looks at placement points only, as in 1st = 16, 2nd = 12, etc. through 5th place, one placement point = 2.2 team points.  Just those eight wrestlers averaging being "off" of their seeding by 2.48 (5.25-2.77) places explains 19.8 points.  That two did not place at all means a minimum of 10 points not scored.  Add that to the 19.8 and one finds the 28 points with a couple to spare, and the Tigers are defending a championship this year.

But that was last year.  This year Holy Cross has better numbers behind them.  The Tigers posted a 25-1 dual meet record, only losing to a rejuvenated Jesuit team.  They beat Teurlings Catholic in a January 4th dual meet 46-30.  On January 26th, while winning the Live Oak duals, they beat Live Oak 36-34 without starters Dylan Soileau and Colin Guerra and forfeiting 220 lbs.  They defeated Parkway 60-12 and St. Louis 58-14.  In tournament competition they won the Sam Sara and placed fourth in the LA Classic behind Brother Martin, Catholic and Jesuit of Division I.  Three Tigers (Dylan Soileau, returning state champion Alex Nicosia and George Benoit) are #1 seeds.  Three Tigers are seeded second and five are seeded third.

Aside from wanting to avoid the disappointment of 2012, the Tigers want to finish their stint in Division II strong.  Next year Holy Cross has chosen to compete in Division I and try to capture a championship that they all but "owned" from 1945-1968, but which has eluded them since 1988.  (Some prefer to forget 1988, as the Division I championship was split between Holy Cross, Jesuit and Bonnabel, so 1983 might be more accurate when Holy Cross last won it by themselves.)

Teurlings Catholic also has three top seeds in Brock Bonin, Travis Thibodeaux and returning state champion Nick Schneider.  But the Rebels have only one second seed and four third seeds.  Their 18-8 dual meet record is deceiving as five of those losses were to Division I schools (Brother Martin, Catholic, Rummel, St. Paul's and Comeaux) and two were to out-of-state schools at the Deep South Bayou Duals.  They won their inaugural "Rebel Open" and placed third at the Ken Cole.

The Rebels will need head-to-head victories against the Tigers. Round 2 at 145 lbs. is their first chance with a guaranteed match between Teurlings Catholic's 5th-seeded Alexander Kellar and David Olivier of the Tigers.  Possible quarterfinals matches can be found at 126 lbs. and 160 lbs., but the Tigers will be favored in both.  In the semifinals 3rd-seeded Jacob Rees (TC) and 2nd-seeded Nicholas Bonck (HC) are expected to meet at 132 lbs.  The same holds true with the Rebels' Adam Garza (#3) and Holy Cross' Michael Yeatman (220 lbs.)  Teurlings will need some good fortune for a semifinals match with a Tiger at 195 lbs.  Any further matches will occur in the finals.

Live Oak has an outside shot to win a title.  But they need a lot of help from other teams, cannot make any mistakes on their part and Cody Hill can only be spread so far.  Senior Blake Brock has a chance of making the finals at 195 lbs., having the experiences of 41 matches under his belt this year.  And senior Dean Roberts, while only seeded 6th, would be a foolish Eagle to overlook.  But the Eagles are young, returning nine of their 14 starters in this year's tournament.  Re Mr. Hill, well, if you do not know by now, why are you even reading this?

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