106 Pounds

#1 Mason Mauro of Brother Martin vs. #3 Devyn Breaud of Rummel in the Division I finals.

Division I

Twenty-one wrestlers competed in the Division I 106 lbs. state championships.

Introduction

106 lbs. had a clear favorite for most of the season.  Denham Springs sophomore Christopher Marson was 19-0 upon entering the Louisiana Classic.  He won seven tournaments, including the Trygg, Sam Sara (photo left-top) and the Brusly Invitational.  Actually, tournaments were the only place he could find matches.  Comprising exactly half of the entire Denham Springs team, dual meets were not an option.  But, as the #1 seed at the Louisiana Classic, he sustained a season-ending shoulder injury. With the absence of Marson and lacking Brother Martin's 106 lbs. starter, sophomore Mason Mauro, due to illness, it was Jesuit's Ben D'Antonio who took the reins in the weight class in somewhat of a "trial by fire" in his first competition at that weight.  D'Antonio, also a sophomore, and who had been competing at 113 lbs. and 120 lbs. during most of the season, got through the best that Catholic, Rummel, East Ascension and Teurlings Catholic had to offer and won the Louisiana Classic with a 14-8 win over Brock Bonin of Teurlings Catholic. Four days after D'Antonio took over the frontrunner spot Brother Martin visited Jesuit for a dual meet.  D'Antonio and Mauro met in the first match.  D'Antonio dominated the match, except for in the pesky aspect of scoring.  He gave up a takedown from which he escaped, escaped in the second round to tie Mauro, and rode Mauro for 1:54 of the third round.  But after a stoppage, and with six seconds left, Mauro escaped, securing a 3-2 victory (photo left-bottom).  D'Antonio won the Ken Cole in the following week, and a week later Mauro lost in the Greater New Orleans Championships finals to Jesuit's second-team 106 lbs. wrestler, Nicky Charles.  But those events were not enough to negate the head-to-head victory by Mauro.  The Crusader was seeded first and the Blue Jay second. Rummel junior Devyn Breaud had a strong season behind him, but losses to D'Antonio and Mauro placed him in the third spot.  A win in the Louisiana Classic by Breaud over East Ascension's Alex Betteridge placed Betteridge in the fourth spot.

Rounds 1, 2 and Quarterfinals

All of the top-eight seeds had byes in the first round and all won in the second.  In the quarterfinals #1 Mauro decisioned Catholic sophomore and eighth-seed Dominic Dewey 13-8 (bottom left), while #4 Betteridge defeated Mandeville's #5 Nicholas des Bordes (bottom center).  #3 Breaud pinned Hahnville's #6 Nicholas Lirette and D'Antonio took 5:25 to pin #7 Ryan Reames of Dutchtown (bottom right).

Mauro and Betteridge met on December 22nd in the finals of the Trey Culotta.  Mauro won that match 10-8.  The first 106 lbs. semifinal was similar, and Mauro advanced to the finals with a 10-6 decision.  D'Antonio met Breaud in the quarterfinals of the Louisiana Classic and the Blue Jay pinned the Raider in 5:48.  Breaud's most valuable experience against 106 lbs. competition may have come after that match with victories over Catholic's Dewey and East Ascension's Betteridge.  He used it to his full advantage in this match, earning a 4-4 tie at the end of regulation and scoring a takedown for a 6-4 "Sudden Victory" win and a trip to the finals.

Consolation Rounds

Catholic's #8 Dominic Dewey advanced through the wrestlebacks with a major decision over Airline freshman Javarious Jones, 14-4, and an 11-7 decision over #5 Nicholas des Bordes of Mandeville, to set-up a consolation semifinals match against D'Antonio.  Dutchtown senior Ryan Reames did the same thing in the other half of the consolation bracket.  Reames defeated St. Paul's Stevie Van Zandt 5-1 and then needed a "Sudden Victory" period to get past Hahnville's #6 Nicholas Lirette 7-2.

Consolation semifinals

D'Antonio pinned Catholic's Dewey in 2:55 at the Louisiana Classic but this time the Catholic sophomore  a much more formidable opponent, only succumbing to D'Antonio by a score of 7-1.  In the other consolation semifinals #4 Betteridge of East Ascension, who had dominated #7 Reames three times during the season, did so again with a 15-0 technical fall in 3:21 (bottom three photos).  Reames and Dewey had not met during the regular season and it was Dewey taking their first and only match by a score of 13-9 to place fifth for the Bears.  D'Antonio owned a 9-1 decision over Betteridge from the Louisiana Classic, but the consolation finals match was much closer, with D'Antonio prevailing 3-0 for the Blue Jays.

Betteridge "picks" Reames' leg for a takedown.	Betteridge cradle: Type I.	Betteridge cradle: Type II.

Finals: #1 Mason Mauro (Brother Martin) versus #3 Devin Breaud (Rummel)

The #1-seeded sophomore Mauro had faced the #3-seeded junior Breaud once on January 5th in a dual meet.  The Crusaders dominated the Raiders 58-9 that evening at Brother Martin and Mauro defeated Breaud 10-6.   This match was similar in that Mauro answered each of Breaud's points with two of his own, winning the state championship 10-5.  Mauro finished the season 15-1 (23-3) while Breaud finished 30-8 (38-12).

Mauro attempts to take Breaud down to the mat.	Mauro defends against a Breaud takedown shot.	Mauro and Breaud on the podium.	East Ascension junior Alex Betteridge, who placed 4th, on the podium.

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Division II

Ten wrestlers competed in the Division II 106 lbs. state championships.

Introduction

Teurlings Catholic freshman Brock Bonin's six losses all came from Division I wrestlers who ended up placing in the state tournament.  Since the Deep South Bayou Duals Bonin only had two losses, both to Jesuit's Ben D'Antonio: 14-8 in the Louisiana Classic finals and 7-4 in the Ken Cole finals.  He was the #1 seed at 106 lbs. in Division II.  Live Oak sophomore Colt Olinde was seeded #2 behind Bonin due to a loss to Parkway's Alex Simmaly, whom Bonin defeated at the Louisiana Classic. Due to a loss to Olinde, Holy Cross freshman Beau Bush was seeded third, and perhaps due to a heavily-laden north Louisiana schedule, Haughton freshman Dylan Holliday was seeded fourth. 

Round 1 and Quarterfinals

Round 1 only consisted of two matches but an upset was recorded in one of them as McKinley freshman Javante Hales scored an 11-9 "Sudden Victory" win over #7 Anthony Washington of St. Michael.  The quarterfinals went as predicted, though, as Bonin pinned #8 Wallace Robinson of Grace King in 3:22 and Holliday pinned East Jefferson's Jonathan Townsend in 2:39.  In the following two matches, Bush spent only 0:34 to pin #6 Garret Perkins of Northwood and Olinde required only 1:24 to defeat Hales (photo left).

Semifinals

#1 Bonin and #4 Holliday had not met during the regular season, but that made little difference to the freshman from Teurlings Catholic.  He took almost the whole first period, 1:57 of the 2:00, to pin Holliday and advance to the finals (photo left). #2 Olinde defeated #3 Bush 12-9 at the Holy Cross Division II Duals, and this match was every bit as close.  Olinde, however, was able to win another three-point decision 11-8 to face Bonin in the finals.

Consolation Rounds

Pearl River's unseeded Kyle Orleans fought through two matches to reach the consolation semifinals against Holliday.  Orleans scored a major decision, 11-3, over McKinley's Hales, and a fall in 3:16 over Northwood's #6 Perkins, before being stopped by Holliday in 4:08.  East Jefferson's #5 Townsend did not have to wrestle a match to make the consolation semifinals as he received a forfeit from Grace King's #8 Robinson.  More match experience might have helped, though, as Bush pinned the Warrior in 1:24.  Townsend pinned Orleans in 2:25 on January 12th at the Belle Chasse Cardinal Duals.  Orleans did much better in this match but lost by a point, 8-7, and East Jefferson's Townsend took fifth place for the Warriors. 

Finals: #1 Brock Bonin (Teurlings Catholic) versus #2 Colt Olinde (Live Oak)

This was the first meeting between the freshman from Teurlings Catholic and the sophomore from Live Oak.  Their significant opponent in common was Parkway's Alex Simmaly.  Bonin defeated Simmaly 12-6 and Olinde lost to him 3-1.  Mathematically, that translates into an eight point advantage for Bonin, and that is exactly what happened.  In this match Bonin won his first tournament of the year with a 10-2 victory over his Live Oak opponent.  The win gave Bonin a "step up" on his older brother Trey, who won state championships for the Rebels in his junior and senior seasons.  Bonin finished the year with a 26-6 (26-7) record while Olinde finished at 31-12 (31-13) record.

Olinde rides Bonin.	Bonin's hand is raised in victory.	The Division II 106 lbs. podium ceremony.	Bonin & coaches Kent Masson and Brad Macha.

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Division III

Sixteen wrestlers competed in the Division III 106 lbs. state championships.

Introduction

At first glance the seeding in this weight class seemed "off."  At second glance it did as well.  It really took seeing who made it into the finals before it could be validated, if not explained.

John Curtis' Prentice Spurlock was seeded first due to a victory over Thomas Jefferson's #2 Logan Griffin in the District 9-2A Championships on February 9th.  The two had wrestled three close matches and Spurlock won their last meeting.  But while Curtis did venture to north Louisiana to wrestle, they did not meet Bossier there, and in their Division II, I, A, B and C Tournament North Vermillion was not present as it is a 3-A school.  Neither Spurlock nor Griffin had wrestled #3 seed Evan Taylor of Bossier or #4 seed Gavin Becker of North Vermillion and there were no common opponents, just an event.  Spurlock was at the Ken Cole, but was knocked out of the tournament before he could face Taylor or Becker, who both advanced farther than Spurlock.  It was in that tournament that Taylor evened the season series between Becker and himself at 1-1, earning him a higher seed at the state tournament.

Round 1 and Quarterfinals

Round 1 provided two upsets.  Basile's Zack Vinson pinned #8 Joey Cavolaski in 5:53 and Kaplan's Taylor Harrington scored a 17-4 major decision over #7 Peyton Pannell of Doyline.

The quarterfinals also did not pan-out as predicted.  #5 Armand Zachary of Loyola College Prep. defeated #4 Gavin Becker by a 16-3 major decision and #3 Evan Taylor lost a close 13-10 match against Episcopal's #6 William Medick.  The two top seeds took care of the upset winners in the previous round.  Spurlock proved too much for Vinson, winning 7-1, and Griffin ended Harrington's bid with a fall in 1:26.  If it ever was, the seeding was no longer an issue.

Semifinals

Spurlock had no prior experience against Zachary, and the two wrestled a close match.  The top seed advanced to the finals, though with a 5-2 victory.  Griffin had met Medick at the Warrior Open and at the St. Paul's Invitational, pinning him both times, first in 3:33 and then in 4:44.  This match was little different, with Griffin prevailing by a fall again, this time in 4:26.  Spurlock and Griffin would meet again, this time in the state finals.

Consolation Rounds

#3 Taylor did not advance after his quarterfinals match, losing via a disqualification against Brusly's Brandon Bourgoyne.  Bourgoyne edged Kaplan's Harrington 6-5 to advance to the consolation semifinals. But there Loyola's Zachary pinned him in 2:17.   #4 Becker advanced to a consolation semifinal match against #6 Medick by first pinning Calvary Baptist's Bryce Rogers in 0:44 and then scoring a 6-1 win over Basile's Vinson (a 2:14 winner over Doyline's Peyton Pannell - photo left).  Becker then defeated Medick to advance to the consolation finals against Zachary.  Medick rebounded to barely edge Bourgoyne 3-2 and place fifth for Episcopal.  Becker pinned Zachary in 4:29, earning third place points for North Vermillion.

Finals: #1 Prentice Spurlock (John Curtis) versus #2 Logan Griffin (Thomas Jefferson)

Prentice Spurlock and Logan Griffin were no strangers to one another.  Griffin defeated Spurlock in their first meeting on December 21st 7-4 at the Jefferson Parish Championships.  Spurlock won their next two matches though: 4-3 in a January 30th dual meet and via a 2-2 "Ultimate Tie-breaker" in the finals of the Division 9-2A Championships.  It was safe to believe this would be a close finals match, and, despite there being a lot of action, few points were scored.

Spurlock almost took Griffin down to his back in the first period, but Griffin was able to roll through it and off of the mat.  The period ended with no points being awarded to either wrestler.  Griffin started the second period on the bottom but within a minute had reversed Spurlock to his back to score two nearfall points and take a 4-0 lead.  Once off of his back Spurlock was able to escape and second period ended 4-1 in Griffin's favor.  Spurlock started on bottom in the third and was able to escape, but he was not able to score a match-tying takedown and when time ran out Thomas Jefferson had their first state champion in their school's brief history.  Griffin finished the season with a 39-14 and Spurlock was 16-7.

Griffin and Spurlock (right) "lock-up" in the first period.	Griffin (bottom) rolled through this and no points were scored.	Spurlock's lift resulted in a reversal and two nearfall points for Griffin.	Griffin acknowledged as the winner.

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