2013 State - Cover

The 2013 LHSAA State Wrestling Championships did not disappoint. The three teams favored to win each division did so convincingly, but the competition for the runner-up trophies was fierce, with less than 36 points combined providing the difference between the six teams involved. Overall it was not very different than a lot of past state championship tournaments, but only in the sense that it was comprised of very different athletes, coaches, fans - personalities.


Division I State Champions	Division II State Champions	Division III State Champions

NOTES: 1) In the individual weight class pages almost all photos should open into larger images when clicked. 2) Records provided do not include forfeits or matches affected by medical reasons, and as such will not reflect records listed on ncaaonline.com. 3) Records in parentheses include matches against non-Louisiana wrestlers and, if applicable, follow records against only Louisiana wrestlers. 4) Photo captions are not always included. Seeds in bold typeface placed in the same position in which they were seeded.

In 2012 the Crusaders had six state finalists and only needed one champion to guarantee a thirteenth Division I state championship. They got that win early when Paul Klein upset Jesuit's Mitch Capella at 106 lbs. Nobody guessed that would be the one that mattered though, as they lost their other five finals matches.

In the 2012-13 season the Crusaders posted an 29-1 dual meet record, defeating all Louisiana opponents, defeating a Colorado opponent that had not lost in 60 straight dual meets. Their only loss came to the second-ranked team in the state of Oklahoma in the finals of the Deep South Bayou Duals. Brother Martin won the Cinco Ranch "Big 12" in Texas and placed 2nd at the Blackhorse Invitational in Tennessee. They won the Lone Star Duals in Arlington, Texas, the Louisiana Classic and the Greater New Orleans Championships. They set a new scoring record in their own Trey Culotta Invitational.

In 2013 the Crusaders had eight state finalists, but the only pressure they felt they put upon themselves. Brother Martin had won the team title before the finals even started. But they had a chance at a team points record. That goal was put to rest when Daniel Albrecht won at 170 lbs. The Crusaders added two more wins and eight more points just for good measure.

Individual state championships were won for the Crusaders by sophomores Mason Mauro and Paul Klein, and seniors Daniel Albrecht, Kyle Delaune, and Ross Brister.

The race for the runner-up spot was between Catholic and Jesuit. In two dual meets the Bears beat the Blue Jays first by 10 points, and then just on a tie-breaking penalty point at the Deep South Bayou duals. But Jesuit had not finished retooling its lineup yet, and they surprised a lot of people by finishing only four points behind Catholic in the Louisiana Classic and then, with a mixture of starters and second string wrestlers, winning the Ken Cole. Catholic had four state championships to Jesuit's two, but the Blue Jays fared much better in the wrestlebacks to defeat the Bears by 11.5 points and place second.

Full Division II Brackets in PDF

Holy Cross won their first, also referred to as the first, state championship in 1945, back when Pius XII was Pope. Interest in wrestling matches between schools was fostered the year before when a group of Holy Cross wrestlers competed against a group of wrestlers from Newman, with Holy Cross winning eight of the 15 matches. The Tigers won state championships from 1945 to 1950 and from 1952 to 1968 (Holy Cross did not participate in the 1951 state championships, which was won by Jesuit.) Those Tiger wrestlers were under the tutelage of Brother Melchior Polowy, for who the state championship trophies are named.

The Tigers next won Division I championships in 1983 and 1985, coached by Tiger alum Ed Kavanaugh. A drought occurred and Holy Cross did not win a team state championship again until 2009, when, coached by Eric Desormeaux, the Tigers won Division II. Two years and a Division down later they won Division III in 2011. Back in Division II again for the 2012-13 season, the Tigers wanted to "go out with a win," as Holy Cross will become a part of Division I, despite having a much smaller enrollment than their competition, in the 2013-14 season.

The 2012-13 Holy Cross squad won the Fontainebleau "Bulldog Duals," the Sam Sara Invitational and the Holy Cross Division II Duals before dominating the Division II ranks at the state tournament. While it may be said that "winning wrestlebacks win tournaments," Holy Cross did not put that theory to the test as nine of their 13 wrestlers were in the finals. Only senior Alex Nicosia won a championship, his third, at 120 lbs. Of the remaining eight finalists, though, four are sophomores and two are juniors, and they should serve the Tigers well in their move to Division I.

There was a chance Teurlings Catholic would make a run for the championship but the Tigers of Holy Cross dashed that by the end of the quarterfinals. Live Oak was the next concern of the Teurlings Rebels. The Eagles had three champions to the Rebels' two, but the Rebels had one more runner-up, one more 4th place wrestler, and a 4-1 advantage in 5th and 6th place wrestlers, which was enough to end up with 20.5 points more than Live Oak.

Some said 2013 was an "off year" for the Brusly Panthers. In their previous eight championships dating back to 2004 and only interrupted by Holy Cross in 2011, the Panthers averaged 265 points per tournament and a winning margin of 85 points. (That margin would soar if their 4.5 point victory over Rayne in 2005 were not counted, but one has to keep the Panthers human.) In 2013 Brusly only had four finalists and two state champions, but they had already won Division III by that time, and with a total of 222 points they ended up winning by a 45 point margin. Everyone should have such "off years."

Brusly crown state champions in Wyatt LeJeune and Trevor Schermer. Both will return as seniors in the 2013-14 season - LeJeune looking to win his second championship, and Schermer, his fourth.

North Vermillion High School placed second with 177 points. This tied the highest finish in the Patriots' eight-year-old wrestling program but they only placed second by 2.5 points over John Curtis.

North Vermillion had a 4.5 point lead over the returning runner-up Patriots of John Curtis entering the finals. North Vermillion had three finalists and Curtis had four, giving the edge to Curtis. But Curtis lost their first finals match and North Vermillion won theirs, giving the NV Patriots an 8.5 lead. Next was a head-to-head match between the two schools, and that was won by North Vermillion, increasing their lead to 12.5 and sealing their second place finish. North Vermillion lost their last finals match, whereas John Curtis won their last two, including one via a pin, adding ten more points but still leaving them 2.5 points short. A team penalty point cost them one more point, and North Vermillion prevailed by 3.5 points.