126 Pounds


Comeaux senior Connor Stampley puts Brother Martin's Seth Gambill on his back at the end of the first period of their Division I 126 lbs. finals match (no nearfall points were scored).

Division I

Twenty-two wrestlers competed in the Division I 126 lbs. state championships.

Introduction

As a freshman Brother Martin's Taylor Gambill had a phenomenal start to the 2012-13 season.  He was 27-0 going into the Louisiana Classic, but he kind of fizzled there, finishing only fifth while seeded second, and he placed in the same position in the 2013 state championship when seeded third.  Not so this year.  Gambill had one blemish in his 32 matches against Louisiana opponents, when he allowed a last-second reversal to Rummel's Tyler Mire (whom Gambill had beaten previously) to lose the Trey Culotta finals by a point.  But Gambill had wins at the Mandeville Open, the Spartan Invitational, the Trygg Memorial and, after getting past Live Oak's Cody Hill in the semifinals and Comeaux's Connor Stampley in the finals, a Ken Cole championship.  He was a consensus #1 seed.  Stampley, with a record of 31-2 (his only other loss aside to Gambill was to Brusly "wunderkind" Kendon Lee Kayser), was seeded second and had wins at the Wildcat Open, the Woodlands in Texas, the Zachary "Big Horse," the Jacob McMillian Memorial and the Lafayette Metro Championships.  Seeded third was Airline freshman Christian Walden who gained notoriety with an early season pin over Cody Hill.  Walden had a record of 32-5 with wins at the Airline Invitational, the Northwest Louisiana Regionals and a runner-up spot (to Hill) at the Louisiana Classic.  Seeded fourth was Jesuit freshman Jake Rando with a 19-7 record.

Rounds 1 and 2

The top eight seeds advanced through the first two rounds with no surprises. 

Quarterfinals

The top two seeds advanced to the semifinals with each scoring 11 points.  Gambill scored a major 11-2 decision over St. Paul's Matthew Rader (photos left and center) and Stampley defeated #7 Austin LeBoeuf of St. Amant 11-6 (photo right).

Jesuit freshman Jake Rando, the fourth seed, scored a major 10-0 decision over East Ascension's #5 Matthew Ashford (photos left) and Airline freshman Christopher Walden also scored a major decision over #6 Zack Lawson of Fontainebleau, 9-1.

Semifinal #1

(1) Taylor Gambill (Brother Martin) vs. (4) Jake Rando (Jesuit)

This was the third meeting between the Crusader sophomore and the Blue Jay freshman, with Gambill coming out on top both times, 12-9 and 7-6.  This one was not quite as close as Rando could not uncork himself or Gambill simply did not let him.  Gambill prevailed 5-1 to make the 126 lbs. finals.

Semifinal #2

(2) Connor Stampley (Comeaux) vs. (3) Christian Walden (Airline)

The Comeaux senior had not met the Airline freshman during the regular season, but it seemed like Stampley was not going to let anything hinder another trip to the Division I finals, where he was a runner-up to Jesuit's Mitch Capella in 2013.  Stampley dominated his younger opponent with single-leg and double leg takedowns, and more than a few nearfall points to score a major 15-3 decision and earn a rematch with Gambill for the Division I 126 lbs. championship.

Consolation Rounds

East Ascension's Matthew Ashford made the trip back to the consolation semifinals with a 17-1 technical fall in a mere 3:38 and then a close 3-2 decision to face Walden. But the freshman from Airline is very talented, and he stopped Ashford's progress with a 10-0 major decision.   Dutchtown's unseeded Austin Blades used a fall in 2:24 and a 6-4 win after a first tie-break period to meet Rando in the other consolations semifinals.  But the Blue Jay freshman showed the Dutchtown senior the same respect Walden showed Ashford, pinning Blades in 1:54.

Blades came back to defeat Ashford in a very close 2-1 match which also was decided after the first tie-break round to place fifth for the Griffins.

The two freshmen in the consolation finals, Walden and Rando, wrestled a tough match, and it was Airline's Walden who prevailed 5-4 to place third for the Vikings.

Jesuit freshman Jake Rando on the awards podium receiving his fourth place awards.

Finals: (1) Taylor Gambill (Brother Martin) versus (2) Connor Stampley (Comeaux)

Gambill and Stampley had a great Ken Coles finals match which was won by Gambill 3-2.  This match was just as nerve-wracking.  In the first period Gambill was awarded a penalty point, but Stampley took the lead by stopping a Gambill shot, lifting up Gambill's leg and maneuvering on top.  At the end of the period Stampley had Gambill in a cradle and on his back, but time expired before any nearfall points could be awarded.  In the second period Gambill escaped to tie the match 2-2.  The two wrestlers traded shots and duck-under attempts but neither could break the tie before the second round ended.  On bottom to start the third period, Stampley fought off a tenacious Gambill crab-ride to earn an escape and a 3-2 lead.  Stampley shot a deep double-leg which Gambill fended off as best he could, but Stampley kept driving tenaciously.  He lifted Gambill again in an attempt to turn him with a double-leg takedown, and once on the top side of the Crusader finally was able to flatten-out his opponent for a second takedown.  Gambill scored a reversal to make the score 5-4, but time ran out on the Crusader and Comeaux had another state champion.  For his efforts over the weekend Stampley was recognized as the Outstanding Wrestler in Division I.

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Division II

Fifteen wrestlers competed in the Division II 126 lbs. state championships.

Introduction

Describing Cody Hill's season poses interesting possibilities.  One could say he was two little mental errors and six pounds away from being undefeated.  One misjudgment came against the talented freshman from Airline, Christian Walden.  Walden caught Hill at the Warrior Open and pinned him in 4:36.  The repercussions were honestly heard as far as the Florida Panhandle.  As is his wont, though, Hill came back to defeat Walden 14-3 in the Louisiana Classic finals and 5-3 in the Ken Cole.  Another error occurred in the Ken Cole semifinals when he again found himself on his back against Brother Martin's Taylor Gambill, in a match Hill should have been able to control and win by, instead of lose by, one point.  (Gambill later admitted that, while not conceding anything, he did not mind that he would not have to face Hill again.)  The six pounds reflects the two times Hill decided to wrestle at 132 lbs. to face Brother Martin's Paul Klein.  Much like Trevor Schermer opting to compete at 145 lbs. at the Greater Baton Rouge Championships to face Catholic's James Claitor to break their 1-1 tie on the season, Hill did not want anyone to think he purposely avoided Klein.

One could also look at the times Hill did not make any mistakes in the 2013-14 season - all 74 of them!  (OK - only 67 against Louisiana competition – the others were from Oklahoma and Alabama.)  One should note that Hill won the Warrior Open for at least the second time.  He won the Griffin Open for the second time.  He won the Istrouma and Parkway Division II Lone Survivor tournaments.  He won his second Louisiana Classic title.  He won his third Greater Baton Rouge Championship.  Put it this way - Hill won more matches than the other three top seeds combined.  Along the way he set a new Louisiana high school wins record with 252 wins.  Hill was already a two-time defending Division II state champion and was recognized as the wrestler of the year in the 2012-13 season by all who spent the time crunching such numbers.

The second seed was Sam Houston's Andrew Aucoin.  Only a sophomore, Aucoin was a state runner-up in his freshman year.  In the 2013-14 season Aucoin won the Ronnie Suarez 5A District Tournament.   After a match against Sulphur's Brennan Taylor, Aucoin was sidelined with an injury from December 12th until February 5th.  Upon his return he won the Southwest Louisiana Shootout and entered the state championships with a 9-2 record.  With an 18-4 record Parkway freshman Ryan Huckaby was seeded third while Rayne's Anthony Seaux, at 23-7, was seeded fourth.

Round 1 and Quarterfinals

One seed fell and another two forfeited their matches in the first round.  Teurlings Catholic sophomore Trey Hebert upset the fourth-seeded Seaux in a 15-13 Sudden Victory match, while eighth-seeded Johntrell Blue of Huntington and Pearl River's Tyler Lawshe`, at #7, forfeited their first round matches to Shaw's Peyton Matherne and North Desoto's Shawn Helmsley.

Hebert continued his run to the semifinals with a 2:26 fall over #5 Taylor Dubois of Benton.  But another seed fell as # 6 Daulton Rainwater, a Central High School junior, defeated #3 Huckaby 15-9.  Hill cruised past Matherne in 3:29 (photo left) and Aucoin did the same over Hensley, this time in 1:18.

Semifinal #1

(1) Cody Hill (Live Oak) vs. Trey Hebert (Teurlings Catholic)

Somehow in his 20 matches of the 2013-14 season Hebert managed to avoid wrestling Cody Hill.  This is not to say Hebert planned it that way, but he might have wished to avoid Hill this time as the defending champ scored a fall over him in 3:19 to advance to his third consecutive Division II finals match.

Semifinal #2

(2) Andrew Aucoin (Sam Houston) vs. (6) Daulton Rainwater (Central)

Aucoin had a tougher time with Central's Rainwater.  Like several other of Justin Stafford's Central wrestlers, Rainwater did better than predicted. But despite his lack of matches this season Aucoin controlled the match and advanced to his second Division II finals match with a 5-0 victory.

Consolation Rounds

Parkway's Huckaby made it back to the consolation semifinals via a 15-11 decision and a fall in 2:59.  But there he met Hebert again and the Teurlings Catholic sophomore continued scoring points for the Rebels with a fall in 2:51.  The unseeded junior from Shaw, Matherne, used an 11-6 decision and a fall in 2:12 for the same opportunity, but his the sixth-seeded Rainwater was having none of that and scored a fall in 32 seconds.

Huckaby was able to hold off Matherne, scoring a fall in 2:37 to place fifth for the Panthers.

Hebert pinned Rainwater in 4:00 to place third for Teurlings Catholic, and as he was unseeded, may have proved the difference in the championship race between the Rebels and Live Oak.

Finals: #1 Cody Hill (Live Oak) versus #2 Andrew Aucoin (Sam Houston)

The Division II 126 lbs. finals was Cody Hill's 77th match of the season - one could think he might be a tad weary.  But that was not the case as Hill scored quickly and often.  In the first period he held Aucoin to an escape while scoring two takedowns for a 4-1 lead.  In the second period Aucoin scored another escape, but Hill followed that with a takedown and a cross-face cradle that netted him two nearfall points twice, taking a 10-2 lead a minute into the round.  On the bottom to start the third period, Hill escaped and took Aucoin down again for a 13-2 lead, and then tacked on an additional two nearfall points.  Aucoin did mage a reversal, briefly, but Hill escaped and was on his way to another takedown as time expired.  Hill seems to like the finals stage as he went six minutes in his 9-3 win over Holy Cross' George Benoit in 2012 and another six minutes in this match.  In 2013 he only went 3:05 against Holy Cross' Colin Guerra, but that was due to a pesky technical fall rule that robbed him of 2:55 of finals time.

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Division III

Fifteen wrestlers competed in the Division III 126 lbs. state championships.

Introduction

Wyatt LeJeune was one of only two defending state champions for Brusly, and during his 34-8 senior year did not lose to a Division III opponent. His losses were to guys like Connor Stampley of Comeaux and Cody Hill of Live Oak - no slouches there.  LeJeune was the Brusly Invitational champion and the obvious Division III 126 lbs. top seed.  John Curtis' Brice Cortez was 20-5 on the season, won the John Curtis tournament and scored a fall over South Cameron's Kelby Comeaux in the Ken Cole.  Hence Cortez was seeded second and Comeaux, last year's state runner-up to LeJeune, was seeded third with a 6-6 record.  Fisher freshman Troy Bourgeois, at 14-7, was the fourth seed.

Round 1 and Quarterfinals

Of the top eight seeds only #6, Ouachita Christian eighth-grader Matthew Webre, failed to make it out of the first round as De la Salle sophomore Glenn Gebo scored a major 13-4 decision over him.

In the quarterfinals another seed fell when #4 Bourgeois of Fisher was upset by #5, North Vermillion freshman Brennen Landry, in a 4-2 Sudden Victory match.  LeJeune pinned #8 James Nerthery of Holy Rosary in 5:15, Cortez decisioned #7 Riley Smith of Lakeside 8-1 and Comeaux pinned  Gebo in 3:34.

Semifinal #1

(1) Wayne LeJeune (Brusly) vs. (5) Brennen Landry (North Vermillion

Landry had faced LeJeune once during the regular season in the Louisiana Classic, and it may have been a match Landry would have preferred to forget as LeJeune pinned him in 43 seconds.  LeJeune took a little more time in this match but he was still too much for the Patriot freshman, whom he pinned in 1:48 to advance to his third consecutive Division III finals match (LeJeune was a 10-8 runner-up to Bossier's Korea' Venus in 2012).

Semifinal #2

(2) Bryce Cortez (John Curtis) vs. (3) Kelby Comeaux (South Cameron)

Comeaux did not forget his trip to the finals in 2013 nor his loss to Cortez at the Ken Cole.  The Tarpon sophomore avenged the Ken Cole loss with a 6-4 win over Cortez to set-up a finals rematch with the Panther LeJeune.

Consolation Rounds

Gebo used a fall in 3:53 and then was taken to the limit by #7 Riley Smith of Lakeside in a 5-5 Ultimate Tie-breaker match victory.  But that was all Gebo could muster and Landry took full advantage in scoring a 4:07 fall to make the consolation finals.  Bourgeois battled back with two major decisions, 9-0 and 15-5, to meet Cortez in the other consolation semifinal, but the Patriot senior came out on top with a 9-3 decision.

Bourgeois took fifth place for Fisher with a 4:23 fall over the Cavaliers' Gebo.

The second-seeded Patriot senior decisioned Landry 6-4 to place third, the highest placement for this season's young Curtis team.

Finals: #1 Wyatt LeJeune (Brusly) versus #3 Kelby Comeaux (South Cameron)

LeJeune wasted little time in his final match as a Brusly Panther.  Eschewing the fame associated with Website photo publications much like Sanchez before him, LeJeune went for the quick win, and he got it via a first period throw.  LeJeune earned his second Division III state championship with one second remaining in the first period (1:59).