Holy Cross scored 184 points and placed six wrestlers in the finals of the
Sam Sara Invitational Saturday afternoon. They won all six finals
matches, leading the Tigers to a 13.5 point victory over the host Rummel Raiders
(170.5 points). Rummel had seven finalists, and crowned three champions.
Fontainebleau placed third with 123 points, one champion, three runners-up and
one third-place finisher. Brusly was
fourth with 88 points and Grace King rounded out the top five with 79 points.
Oddly enough, the Tigers and Raiders did not face each other in any of the
finals matches, with Rummel's four losses coming from wrestlers from other
schools. In fact, the Raiders and Tigers only faced each other four times
during the tournament, with Holy Cross winning two of the matches by way of
falls, and Rummel winning by a fall and a technical decision
Two champions remained undefeated on the season with their victories:
Christopher Marson of Denham Springs at 106 lbs. and Rick LaCava of Rummel at
132 lbs. Two others tasted defeat for the first time: Rummel's Tyler Frame
at 145 lbs. and Maycol Rizo of Grace King at 285 lbs.
| Weight |
Match |
Click to Enlarge Photos |
| 106 |
Christopher Marson, the sophomore phenom from
Denham Springs, started the finals with a 6-1 decision over Rummel's
Devyn Breaud. Marson's record for the season is now 12-0. As
the Denham Springs team consists of only two wrestlers, Marson's wins
have come via the five tournaments he has won. Breaud is 8-3
at 106 lbs., and fared much better in this match than in his previous
match against Marson. |
|
| 113 |
Dylan Soileau became Holy Cross' first winner
with a pin of Hahnville's Jordan Hernandez. Soileau improved his
record to 19-4, although two of those losses were due to medical or
other disqualifications. Hernandez is 7-3. |
|
| 120 |
Returning Division II state champion Alex
Nicosia claimed the next Tiger victory with a 10-3 decision over
third-seeded Angelo Medina-Perez of Grace King. Medina-Perez beat
another returning state champion, Division III's Baret Sanchez of
Brusly, 6-4 in a Sudden-Victory period in the semifinals. Nicosia
is now 15-2 on the season, losing only to two returning Division I state
champions. Medina-Perez is 6-2 at 120 lbs. this season. |
|
| 126 |
Rummel's first championship came courtesy of
two-time defending state champion Matt Calcote, with a 10-5 victory over
Wyatt LeJeune of Brusly. Calcote improved his record to 15-1, and
also won the Trygg Memorial last week. His only loss came in early
November. LeJeune, the third seed, is 11-5 for the season and
reached the finals with a tough 5-4 victory over Holy Cross' Collin
Guerra. |
|
| 132 |
Rummel's Rick LaCava remained undefeated in 10
matches with a 5-2 decision over Brusly's returning Division III state
champion and top seed, Trevor Schermer. Schermer's at times
unorthodox style did not faze LaCava, who scored two single-leg
takedowns and an escape to Schermer's two escapes. Schermer's
record is 15-2, with his only other loss being at 138 lbs. LaCava
received one of the Outstanding Wrestler awards for his performance. |
|
| 138 |
Thomas Jefferson's Brent
Matherne proved why he was the #1 seed by pinning last week's Trygg
Memorial Outstanding Wrestler winner Joe Kerry of Rummel in 4:10.
Matherne pinned three of his opponents in a combined time of 9:50 while
teching another 16-1. Matherne's record is now 22-2 while Kerry's
is 19-7. |
|
| 145 |
Entering the finals match Rummel's Tyler Frame
was 17-0, with the vast majority of his wins coming by falls and the
rest via major or technical decisions. For five minutes and 45 seconds
it looked like he would improve to 18-0. Redemptorist's Grant
Godso, a returning Division III state champion who has only tasted
defeat once this season, came close to scoring points at the end
of the first two rounds, yet was behind 3-0. First attempting a
Miller's cradle, he flipped over and caught Frame on his back for a two
point reversal and two near-fall points, winning 4.3. Godso was
awarded the other Outstanding Wrestler award. Frame fell to 17-1
and Godso improved his record to 9-1. |
|
| 152 |
Prior to the tournament St. Thomas More's Bryant
Montero may have had a 7-5 record which did not merit his being seeded.
Perhaps the seeding committee did not know he was the runner-up at the
Griffin Open and placed fourth at Central. Montero served notice in his
first match at the Sam Sara, defeating top-seeded Austin Doyle of Holy
Cross 5-4. Montero just got better as he moved on, winning his
semi-final match 17-3 and using a devastating cross-face cradle in the
finals to pin Rummel's Cody LaCoste in 4:50. LaCoste's record is a
very respectable 8-3 now, while Montero's is 10-5 and now includes a
tournament championship. |
 |
| 160 |
Holy Cross' Brice Duhe was seeded second behind
De la Salle's returning Division III state champion Alex Martin, but was
able to effectively counter Martin's takedown shots en route to an 8-2
victory. Duhe's record improved to 13-5 after the victory while
Martin's fell to 16-4. |
|
| 170 |
Rummel's Michael Darwin won his first
tournament of the season after pulling-off a tough 1-0 win over
third-seeded Ethan Eisenhardt of Fontainebleau. Each finalist had
pinned the wrestlers they faced prior to the finals. Darwin's
record moved
to an impressive 18-1 on the season. Eisenhardt showed much
improvement, however, having previously lost to Darwin 9-4, and his
record now stands at 12-6. |
With apologies, no photos available |
| 182 |
Top-seeded Porter Dazet improved his record to
16-2, but not easily, winning 4-2 in a Sudden Victory period over
third-seeded Brendan Allen of Covington. The Sam Sara is Dazet's
second tournament championship, having also won the St. Michael Warrior
Open. Allen's record is now 6-2. |
|
| 195 |
The fifth Tiger championship was delivered by
Daniel Relayson. Relayson met Fontainebleau's Daniel Priola in the
finals, pinning him in 5:00. His 18-2 record also includes a
championship at the Mandeville Open. Priola, the second seed, is
now 12-4, with three of his losses coming from Relayson. |
With apologies, no photos available |
| 220 |
Holy Cross's sixth champion was Michael
Yeatman, who improved to 15-2 with a 1:07 pin of Fontainebleau's
third-seeded Garrett Kugelmann. Kugelmann is 5-4. |
With apologies, no photos available |
| 285 |
Grace King's Maycol Rizo lost his first match of
the season, succumbing to a pin by second seeded Christian Ponson of
Fontainebleau. Ponson is 14-1 this season, and won every match of
the tournament via a pin. |
With apologies, no photos available |
* Records listed do not include forfeits or byes.
