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The editor will go out on a limb and state there has probably never been a closer finish for the Division III team championship than that between Shaw and Basile this year.  He could look it up, but it took 35 years of results to find a closer than four-point margin in Division I, and he really does not want to go through that process.

Shaw was favored to win.  They returned six placers from a team which placed second in Division II in 2022, and they defeated Basile 60-24 in the finals of the John Curtis Division III Duals on December 30th.  Yet the Bearcats remained as close as possible through the consolation rounds and were only behind by 5.5 points come the finals.  The lead was not insurmountable, but the Eagles had five finalists whereas Basile only had three.  Three Eagles were top seeds, whereas the Bearcats only had one number-one seed. 

Things got worse for the Bearcats immediately when Shaw's top-seeded Caden Judice quickly dispatched of third-seed Patrick Fontenot.  Now the Eagles were ahead by 11.5 points and still had four finals matches remaining.  The Bearcats needed three things to happen if they were to claim their fifth-consecutive Division III title.  First, Shaw could not win another match.  Another four points and any Bearcat title hopes would evaporate.   Second, Basile's remaining finalists, Luc Johnson and Christian Bergeron, had to win their matches.  They were both defending state champions, but Bergeron was seeded second to, and suffered a loss to, De la Salle's Jason Krail.  Third, Johnson and Bergeron would have to score at least three bonus points in their victories.

Unexpectedly, the first condition, which was probably the hardest of the three to come to pass, did so.  The Eagles lost all four of their remaining finals matches.  The second condition came to be also as Johnson defeated De la Salle's Liam O'Connor and Bergeron defeated Krail.  That may not have been much of a surprise as Bergeron defeated Krail in the 2022 state finals.  But the bonus points were not to be had.  Johnson scored one via a 13-1 major decision, but Bergeron's win was by a 5-3 margin.  Shaw won their first LHSAA wrestling team championship by 2.5 points.

Division III Champs Archbishop Shaw Eagles	Division III Runners-up Basile Bearcats

Division III Brackets in PDF

Despite the losses by O'Connor and Krail, the Cavaliers had more individual state champions than any other teams.  Dylan Duvernay at 113 lbs. and Shane Barbarin at 120 lbs. each won their second championships.  Senior Luke Walker won at 170 lbs. and De la Salle placed a very respectable third.  Joining Basile with two titles was fourth-place Evangel.  Michael Brame, III defeated top-seeded Hayden Tassin of Shaw at 126 lbs. and Michael Gilreath got past Basile's second seeded Luke Fontenot in the 160 lbs. semifinals prior to winning his second Division III championship. 

Third-seeded Antonio Barraza of St. Michael upset top-seeded Michael Gilreath of Evangel at 132 lbs.  He was followed by DeQuincy's Camden Gautreaux.  At 152 lbs. Preston Gautier became Hannan's second two-time champion in as many years (Grayson Pennison was the first in 2022).  John Curtis had a champion in Anthony Smith at 195 lbs.  He was followed by James Baldwin of Dunham, who won at 220 lbs.  And in what may have been viewed as a significant upset by some, second-seeded Ryan Fobbs of Erath, the Louisiana Classic champion, defeated Shaw's top-seeded Raymond Howard, who was a runner-up in 2022 as well.

Outstanding Wrestler

Dequincy senior Camden Gautreaux was selected the tournament's Division III Outstanding Wrestler.  Gautreaux pinned his first three opponents in times of 2:21, 1:39 and 1:31 prior to defeating Shaw's Carson Dalton 8-1 in the finals. Gautreaux's win was not just the first individual wrestling championship for the Tigers, it was the first state championship of any kind, in any sport, in Dequincy's history.  In 2000 Montana Harrison came close, losing his finals match 9-6.

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Final Team Scores

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