| Status: Finis |
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| Holy Cross sets sights on Division I titles |
| Editor/October 17, 2013 | Contributors: Eric Desormeaux, T.J. Miller, Donald Ortego, Ben Kritsonis, Chuck Stall, Sue Ellen Lyons, Chris Guillot |
“The first day of practice was better than any other year I
have been a part of the program.”
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This was the observation of Holy Cross co-head
coach T.J. Miller, who is starting his fourth year as a Tiger wrestling
coach and his first as a “co-head coach.” “Kids seemed crisp and in shape.
I’m excited to see what happens at the first competition.
You never really know where you are until you start wrestling
some other people.” The caveat in his last statement was typical of any coach after only one practice. But he was nevertheless very impressed by his wrestlers. [Left: Tiger wrestlers spar to the sounds of Led Zeppelin in the background.] |
Head coach Eric Desormeaux, who resuscitated the team after
Coaches Sue Ellen Lyons and Donald Ortego kept it on life-support after
Hurricane Katrina destroyed the
school in 2005, was a little more reserved.
“Every day’s a great practice for us,” he said.
“Our only goal is to make tomorrow better.
Most of my seniors and juniors have been wrestling with me for seven
years now. Every kid 9th
through 12th believes they or the kid next to them can win a state
championship this year. That’s the kind of wrestling room I like to walk into.
That kind of dedication is fun to coach.”
The Tigers have good reason to be “fired-up” this season.
For the first time since the 2006-7 season Holy Cross will be competing
in Division I at the LHSAA State Wrestling Tournament in February.
After several other Holy Cross athletic programs were allowed to compete
at the 5A division this year, Desormeaux still had to face an LHSAA board to
allow his Tigers to do the same at the state tournament.
Holy Cross had been placed in Division II for the 2007-8 season due to a
smaller enrollment after Katrina.
But it would have been tough for the LHSAA to deny the
request after the record Desormeaux’s Tigers have posted since leaving Division
I. That would include:
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Two Division II state titles (2009, 2013);
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One Division III state title (2011);
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Two Division II two runner-up places – 2010,
2012);
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An initial Division II 6th place (with
a still very post-Katrina team) -
2008.
The Tigers were slight favorites in 2011 but were upset by
a very strong team from Teurlings Catholic in Baton Rouge.
They remedied that fast in 2013, securing the championship before any of
their nine finals matches began.
“Our return to Division I was never a question for us,
Desormeaux continued.” “Football,
baseball and basketball moved up a division [to 5A in 2013-14], and we jumped at
the chance. The boys on my team
want to wrestle at the next level and I want to give them every opportunity to
be seen and recruited by colleges.”
Since 2003 the top three spots (championship years in
parentheses) have been dominated by Brother Martin (2003, 2007, 2012 and 2013),
Jesuit (2004-6, 2009), Catholic (2008, 2010) and Rummel (2011).
Without winning, Rummel has broken into the top three places three times
and St. Paul’s has twice. The four
through six spots have been dominated by Rummel, St. Paul’s Comeaux, and
Airline. Holy Cross’ last top-10
finish was 6th place in 2003.
The Tigers want a reserved place among the top three teams.
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To compete consistently at the top of the Division
I ladder Holy Cross has amassed a stellar coaching staff as well as a
new coaching structure that includes a head coach and a co-head coach. “My friendship with Coach Miller and new Wartburg
coach Eric Keller gave me some insight into the head coach/co-head coach
dynamic,” said Desormeaux.
Their success at the college level can’t be questioned[1]
. Coach T.J. Miller’s
responsibilities have allowed me to be a better head coach for the
entire team. It has allowed
me to unite and develop our entire 5th through 12th-grade program.” Miller welcomed the idea of being a “co-head
coach.” “I think one of the best attributes Desormeaux has
as a head coach is that there is no ego with him.
You see ego at many other places where two coaches collide and
hurt their programs. But
here it has always been about the kids and improving them each day.
I’ve never felt like I’ve been Eric’s assistant and that’s a
tribute to him.” Now in his fourth year at Holy Cross, Miller is a
Wartburg College alumnus who won a 2007 NCAA Division III national
championship and placed second in 2008, while wrestling for his father,
recently retired Wartburg Coach Jim Miller. |
Predating and alongside Desormeaux since
Katrina has been Coach Donald Ortego,
who is entering his ninth season as a Tiger wrestling coach and sixth year as a
Holy Cross faculty member. Ortego
is a 1985 graduate of Holy Cross, who wrestled for the Tigers and started
coaching when his son Donnie began wrestling there in 2005.
When Desormeaux took the reins, Ortego
honed his coaching skills while traveling to clinics across the country with the
Tigers. Desormeaux commented that
Ortego “is a lot of man to move” for his heavier wrestlers.
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In their third seasons at Holy Cross are Carlos Bertot and
Richie Dixon. A Division I state
runner-up in 1985 and 1986 for Jesuit, Bertot later led the Blue Jays to
Division I championships as their head coach in 2006 and 2009.
Dixon was a three-time Division I state champion for the Brother Martin
Crusaders in 1999-2001.
This season two new members joined the Holy Cross faculty
and the wrestling coaching staff.
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Chuck Stall was a two-time Division I state finalist for
Brother Martin in 2001-02, years in which he won Lee High Invitational
(Louisiana Classic) against the same Division I competition, as well as
competition from the other divisions and out-of-state schools.
Ben Kritsonis won three Division I state championships for
Tara High School in Baton rouge from 1992-94, and followed that with a stellar
collegiate career including a third-place NCAA Division III finish for Wartburg
in 2000 and a NJCWA championship for Colby Community College in Kansas in 1997.
Kritsonis also started for Dan Gable’s 1999 University of Iowa squad at
125 lbs.
When asked about his staff Desormeaux said “The coaches
were all attracted to Holy Cross’ mission of developing athletes and the
administration’s dedication to the sport.”
| The Holy Cross vs. Newman match was well promoted by the Times-Picayune in 1944: | ||||||
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Nobody can come close to predicting accurately how teams
will fare in Division I this year.
It is a long and arduous season and “match one” has yet to be contested.
But the inclusion of the Tigers should upset the accustomed balance of
the top six Division I teams at the state championships.
Holy Cross returns eight Division II finalists from last season and
another wrestler who was a #1 seed but was forced to withdraw due to illness.
Two-time defending Division I state champion Brother Martin will be the
favorite to win Division I as the season starts.
Some preseason favorites are pretty safe bets, but several weight
classes do not have clear favorites entering the season.
This could be a season in which not every star in the universe has to
align themselves in a straight line for a team such as Jesuit, Catholic or Holy
Cross to earn that first place trophy.
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References:
Bofinger, William, “Ready….Wrestle
– Louisiana High School State Wrestling History.”
Derry, Jim,
“One of the Guys” – Sue Ellen Lyons takes over Holy Cross Wrestling
Post-Katrina.” The New Orleans
Times-Picayune, December 23rd,
2005.
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© 2013 by Louisiana Wrestling News |
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