220 Pounds

#1 Miles Nash of Catholic vs. #2 Ora Wayne Broussard of Sulphur in the Division I finals.

Parity is striven for by many and accursed by others.  Ask a seeding committee. "Well, he beat him.  But he lost to that guy, who beat the other guy who he lost to, but beat him, whereas the guy beat whatshisname that beat him and the other guy."  "Who?"  "Yeah, him, who lost to that guy." For the longest time nobody stood out as a clear favorite at 220 lbs., particularly in Division I, as everyone kept beating everyone else.  When a clear favorite emerged in January, it did so in the form of Daniel Kincade of Northside, whose first match was not until January 4th.  But that only solved the problem in Division II. However they did it, though, the seeding committee correctly predicted the finalists in Division I and Division II.  But for an injury to a #1 seed and a seed-busting Friday by a Bossier wrestler, they might have done the same in Division III and gone six for six.

Division I

Seventeen wrestlers competed in the Division I 220 lbs. state championships.

Introduction

Miles Nash of Catholic got the nod over Ora Wayne Broussard of Sulphur due to a 6-3 win at the Louisiana Classic.  But honestly, with Nash losing later to #7 Christopher Wright in the Greater Baton Rouge Championships, and Broussard losing to Jesuit's #5 Dominic Carmello in the Ken Cole, nobody was a clear-cut favorite.  Nash had lost to Brother Martin's #4 Joshua Tapia, Carmello and Dutchtown's #8 Brandon Thongsavanh.  #3 Rae Juan Marbley lost to Division III Holy Rosary's Lyle Greary and to Broussard.  Tapia had lost to Nash and Holy Cross' Michael Yeatman of Division II.  (Yeatman lost to Marbley, Tapia and Carmello.)  Carmello lost to Rummel's unseeded Tyler Fontana of Rummel.  Matthew Tillman, the #6 seed from Comeaux, had lost to Thongsavanh.  Las Vegas would not touch this weight class.  Yet only one of the top six seeds did not win a medal.

Rounds 1, 2 and Quarterfinals

Only one match comprised the firt round.  Byrd's Niles Watson pinned Acadiana's Chris Thibeaux in 1:22 to advance.  In the second round only Jesuit lost a seeded wrestler in # 5 Dominic Carmello, who lost a 4-3 decision to Rummel's Tyler Fontana.  After that the quarterfinals went very smoothly.  Nash was challenged by Fontainebleau sophomore Christian Ponson, but prevailed 5-2.  Fontana lost to Brother Martin's Josh Tapia in 0:53 on January 5th, but proved tougher this time, making Tapia work for a 9-3 decision.  Destrehan's Rae Juan Marbley recorded two falls in 3:56 and Sulphur's Ora Wayne Broussard, after a 0:26 pin, defeated Greater Baton Rouge champion Christopher Wright of Zachary 14-6.

Semifinals

Nash and Tapia had split their regular season matches.  Tapia defeated Nash 6-4 at the Trey Culotta on December 22nd, but Nash decisioned Tapia 5-2 at a January 9th dual meet at Catholic.  It was a close match again, but Nash reached the finals via a 3-1 win.  Broussard and Marbley had not met during the regular season.  But Broussard was coming off of third place finishes at the Louisiana Classic and the Ken Cole, and having momentum on his side (momentum that lasted four weeks) he pinned Marbley in 2:44.

03/03/13 at 11:56 p.m.

This is probably just news to the Louisiana Wrestling News editor, but if anyone else wondered how Destrehan's Rae Juan Marbley earned a #3 seed, this is why: he earned it. The LWN editor spent the better part of an hour trying to figure out how Mr. Marbley earned that spot when TrackWrestling and NWCAonline records indicated that he only wrestled five matches before the state tournament.  Sheer luck led the LWN to the 2013 Louisiana Classic results on the LHSWA Website.  Marbley placed fourth.  Obviously Marbley had competed in more matches than were reported to the on-line databases, and the seeding committee had records of those match results. It is reassuring that the coaches and seeding committee had the information required to make the correct choice.  For the general public, it is a privilege to know such things, but not a right.

Consolation Rounds

Jesuit's Carmello came back strong and won two matches in the consolation round before bowing out to #6 Tillman 5-4.  Ponson, who proved tough against Nash, won his first two consolation matches before giving Marbley a hard time in the consolation semifinals, yielding 3-1.  Tillman lost a 4-1 decision to Tapia and succumbed to an injury prior to his fifth place match with Ponson.  Marbley proved the seeding committee correct in pinning Tapia in 2:14 to take third place and finish highest among his Destrehan teammates.

Finals: #1 Miles Nash (Catholic) versus #2 Ora Wayne Broussard (Sulphur)

Nash entered the tournament with an 18-5 record against Louisiana wrestlers (27-10 overall).  Broussard was 22-3 vs. Louisiana competition, with one of those three losses a 5-3 decision by Nash at the Louisiana Classic. Neither wrestler could score any points in the first period.  In the second period Broussard gained the upper hand, scoring two nearfall points, and four total points to Nash's one.  The third period was all Broussard, who used less than a minute to turn Nash and score a fall at 5:06.  Broussard, a junior, finished the season 26-3 (34-5).  Nash, a senior, ended with a 21-6 (30-11) record.

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Division II

Seventeen wrestlers competed for the Division II 220 lbs. state championship

Introduction

Here the seeding was easy.  After losing four of his first seven matches, all between January 4th and January 12th, Northside's Daniel Cormier set an unwavering course, winning the Louisiana Classic, the Ken Cole and the Lafayette Metro tournaments prior to entering the state championships with a 21-4 record.  Second seed Michael Yeatman of Holy Cross beat Kincade in the Northside wrestler's first match with a pin in 5:54.  But Yeatman lost to the Viking in their next meeting in the quarterfinals of the Louisiana Classic, in which Yeatman was the second seed and Kincade was yet to make his presence widely known with a 3-1 "Sudden Victory" win.  #3 Adam Garza beat Kincade in Kincade's second match, and was the last one to defeat him in a match held on January 12th match.  But Kincade defeated Garza in the Ken Cole semifinals.  Robert Kennedy of Belle Chasse and his 19-2 record could not be overlooked and was seeded fourth behind Garza.

Rounds 1, 2 and Quarterfinals

The top eight seeds all advanced through matches in the second round (Round 1 consisted only of a forfeit). In the quarterfinals only one of the top four seeds fell.  This time it was #3 Adam Garza of Teurlings Catholic, who was pinned by #6 Trey Jones of Riverdale in 4:52.  Top seed Kincade spent only 0:39 to get past Parkway's Dillon Long, while #4 Robert Kennedy had a very difficult time with St. Louis' #5 Robert McPherson, clawing out a 10-9 win.  In the last quarterfinal, Holy Cross' Yeatman required only 1:53 to pin East Jefferson's #7 Robert Lavergne.

Semifinal #1

Kincade had not met Kennedy, who entered the tournament with a 19-2 record and the Trygg Memorial championship, in which he pinned Destrehan's Rae Juan Marbley.  And Kennedy was in no mood to go quietly.  He pushed the Louisiana Classic and Ken Cole champion to the brink, finally succumbing 6-5. 

Kincade gets his first look at Kennedy as an opponent.	Kincade sprawls on Kennedy prior to a takedown.	Kincade celebrates a chance to repeat as the Division II state champion.

Semifinal #2

Holy Cross' #2 Michael Yeatman had met Riverdale's #6 Trey Jones twice before, resulting in pins by Yeatman both times.  But in this match Jones came out throwing and caught Yeatman with a five-point head-and-arm.  But Yeatman clawed back, scoring seven points to Jones' two to tie the score with 0:29 remaining.  In those 0:29 seconds Yeatman scored three more points to come from behind to win 10-7 and earn the junior a trip to the finals for the junior.

Jones threw Yeatman in the first period to take a 5-0 lead.	With less than 30 seconds remaining, Yeatman had tied the score at seven apiece.	Yeatman was able to escape and take Jones down, scoring three points in 29 seconds.	Final match score.

Consolation Rounds

Jones apparently gave everything he had in the semifinals loss to Yeatman.  He lost his consolation semifinals match to McPherson 2-1, and then the fifth-place match 6-4 to #3 Garza.  Kennedy took the short route to the consolation finals via a pin in 1:27 over Garza, who got that far with a9-1 win over McKinley's Darien Alexander and a 2:13 pin over East Jefferson's #7 Robert Lavergne.  McPherson took a longer path, going through Tara's George Blunt in 1:53 and Live Oak's Brennan Burrick in 4:09 prior to his win over Garza.  But that was all McPherson could muster and he fell 11-9 to Kennedy in the consolation finals.

Finals: #1 Daniel Kincade (Northside) versus #2 Michael Yeatman (Holy Cross)

Kincade got a late start on the wrestling season, wrestling his first match on January 4th.  That happened to be a dual meet with Holy Cross, and the Tigers' Yeatman pinned the Viking in 5:54.  The two met again in the quarterfinals of the Louisiana Classic in which Yeatman was seeded second and Kincade was not seeded.  Tied 1-1 after six minutes, Kincade scored a takedown in the "Sudden Victory" period to win 3-1, and went on to win the tournament. In the 220 lbs. finals Kincade "raised the bar" even higher and prevailed 4-1. Kincade finished the season 25-4 with championships in the state's top three tournaments.  Yeatman finished the season 31-7 (35-10) including a Sam Sara championship.

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Division III

Fifteen wrestlers competed for the Division III 220 lbs. state championships.

Introduction

Brennan McKnight of Rayne was the defending Division III 220 lbs. state champion, had a 23-4 record and won the Jacob McMillan Memorial, the Teurlings Catholic Rebel Open and the Brusly Invitational.  Three of his four losses were at 285 lbs. and his other was to Division II's Adam Garza of Teurlings Catholic.  As such he was the clear choice for the #1 seed. Second seeded Dustin Brossette of North Desoto entered the tournament with a 24-3 record and a win over #3 seed Bradley Ashlock of Evangel.  Ashlock had two wins versus John Curtis' #4 seed Mason Pembo. 

Round 1 and Quarterfinals

In round 1 only returning state champion and #1 seed Brennan McKnight was awarded a bye.  All of the other seeds advanced except #7 Jordan Bruno, who was pinned by Bossier's Donnie Edwards in 1:17.

But Edwards was not finished, as he pinned #2 Dustin Brossette of North Desoto in 4:36 to set up a semifinal match with #3 Bradley Ashlock of Evangel, who pinned #6 Taylor McKay of Episcopal in 3:42.  John Curtis #4 Mason Pembo had a scare but got by Brusly's #5 Donald Johnson in a 2-1 "Ultimate Tie-breaker" match.  #1 seed McKnight had trouble but got past Lakeside's #8 Luke Griffith in 4:15 (photo left).

Semifinal # 1

Rumors spread shortly after the Ken Cole that Brennan McKnight, Rayne's returning Division III state champion and the current season's Jacob McMillan, TCH Rebel Open and Brusly Invitational champion, had seriously injured his knee.  But the injury did not stop McKnight from trying to repeat as a state champion.  With his left knee protected by what may have been a flak jacket wrapped in Kevlar, McKnight showed no signs of an injury in his quarterfinal match or in the first period of his semifinal match.  But 43 seconds into the second period of a very tight match with #4 Mason Pembo of John Curtis, his knee could take no more.  McKnight was forced to retire from the match in obvious agony and Pembo found himself in the 220 lbs. finals.

Pembo sprawls on McKnight after the latter tries a single-leg takedown.	McKnight continues with his single-leg attempt.	Pembo puts himself in a position to flatten McKnight and spin behind for two points.

Semifinal # 2

On Friday unseeded Donnie Edwards of Bossier pinned #7 Jordan Bruno of North Vermillion.  He then pinned #2 Dustin Brossette of North Desoto, to whom Edwards had previously lost to in 41 seconds.  In the semifinals Edwards faced #3 Bradley Ashlock of Evangel, who had also previously pinned Edwards in a time of 2:12.  This time history repeated itself as Ashlock took care of his northwest Louisiana rival in 2:51.

Ashlock and Edwards size each other up.	Ashlock attempts a single-leg takedown as Edwards sprawls.	Despite a decent bridge by Edwards, Ashlock scores a fall in 2:51.

Consolation Rounds

In the consolation rounds Brossette only had to wrestle one match, a 4-2 victory over Episcopal's #6 Taylor McKay, to take advantage of a previous bye and a forthcoming forfeit (due to McKnight's injury) to make the consolation finals.  Lakeside's #8 Luke Griffith had to go through # 7 Bruno in 2:56, #5 Johnson in a 9-5 win and the unpredictable Donnie Edwards of Bossier, 4-2, to meet Brossette for third place.  The two had split first period falls during the season, but this match went the full five minutes, with Griffith winning 5-2 to place third for the Warriors.

Finals: #3 Bradley Ashlock (Evangel) versus #4 Mason Pembo (John Curtis)

Seniors Ashlock and Pembo had the pleasure of each other's acquaintance twice during the season.  On December 27th Ashlock defeated Pembo by a point, 3-2, at Evangel.  On January 12th Ashlock outscored Pembo 8-5 in the quarterfinals of the Brusly Invitational.  Neither wrestler was predicted to be in the finals and neither wanted to bow out gracefully.  After six minutes the match was tied 1-1.  After the "Sudden Victory" period the match was tied 1-1.  After the first and second 30-second overtime rounds it was still 1-1.  It was not until the 30-second 'Ultimate tie-breaker" overtime round when, with Pembo on bottom, the Patriot wrestler was able to reverse Ashlock to Ashlock's back.  While the move ensured a victory for Pembo, the match was allowed to continue in the event he scored a fall.  Pembo was awarded a two-point reversal and then three nearfall points in the end, prevailing 6-1.  Pembo finished the season at 24-9 while Ashlock was 27-10.

Pembo and Ashlock end regulation time tied 1-1.	Ashlock chose the "down" position in the first OT period after a scoreless "Sudden Victory" period.	Ashlock stands up to try to escape.	Pembo counters the stand-up

In the finals 30-second round, Pembo ends the match with a reversal putting Ashlock on his back, scoring five points and capping a 6-1 win.	Pembo's hand is raised after winning his 8.5-minute-long match.	Pembo is congratulated by teammates Patrick Martin and Baron Clofer.	State champion Pembo on the awards podium.

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