Just in case anyone was thinking to the contrary, Brother
Martin’s inability to participate in this season’s Louisiana Classic should in
no manner deflect any of the
éclat associated with winning
this prestigious event. Granted,
the Crusaders probably would have won the team title, but they probably would
not have dominated the finals as they have in the past.
As I see it the weight classes could easily have finished thusly had the
Crusaders been there (mind you, this is purely conjecture):
| 106 lbs. |
Alex Betteridge of East Ascension has not lost
since making it down to the 106 lbs. weight class.
Holy Cross’ Chris Zea is very capable but Betteridge bested him
9-6. Brother Martin has
some very capable freshman, but they may not be ready for the likes of
Betteridge. |
| 113 lbs. |
Freshman Kendon Lee-Kayser shows no ill effects
from cutting down from his initial 126 lbs. (at which he dominated
Comeaux’s 2013 Division I runner-up Connor Stampley), to 120 lbs. (at
which he avenged his only loss of the year against Ocean Springs’
Tristan Rupert - the 2014 LA Classic Outstanding Wrestler award winner)
or now at 113 lbs. at which, after pinning his first two opponents
(including last season’s Division III state champion), he defeated last
year’s Division I runner-up at 106
lbs. by a major decision and then dominated Jesuit’s Nicky
Charles. Mason Mauro is
great, but he does have the Spartan Open loss to Rummel’s Devyn Breaud,
and Lee-Kayser beat Breaud 10-0.
Mauro probably would have been seeded second, and it would
probably have been a great finals match. |
| 120 lbs. |
As well as Ryan Genco has filled in as a
starter for the Crusaders it is unlikely he would have made it into the
top four this year. Ben
D’Antonio of Jesuit seems to get better as the seasons near their end,
but even he could not handle the fourth-seeded champion, Tristan Rupert
of Ocean Springs. |
| 126 lbs. |
Seth Gambill could have made a difference in
this weight class. But
could he have gotten past Cody Hill in the semifinals?
That is doubtful as Hill seemed to be on a mission to get a
rematch with Airline’s Christian Walden.
Gambill may have been the second best were he in that field, but
he probably would have placed third due to the seeding. |
lbs. |
Well, one has to give George Benoit credit for
getting out of the meat grinder that was 138 lbs. this year and dropping
to 132, but it is doubtful he would have gotten the better of Klein,
Paul Klein, as nobody else in Louisiana has even come close yet.
This one almost assuredly would have gone to the Crusader.
But Benoit at 132 may do better for the Tigers in the long run at
the state championships, as Catholic’s Brennan Taylor and Brother
Martin’s Austin Meyn look very likely to meet in the state finals again at 138
lbs.. |
| 138 lbs. |
When it was Meyn, Lacava, Benoit and Taylor
this weight class was like 126 was last year with Hill, Taylor, Meyn,
Foster and Calcote. But
with Benoit dropping and LaCava moving up to 145, it looks like Meyn and
Taylor may be headed for a rematch of last season’s 126 finals.
But that will not include Division III Brusly’s Trevor Schermer, who has
avenged s previous loss to James Claitor at 145 this year, avenged two losses to Lacava
from last year with a pin at the Deep South Bayou Duals, and then
dominated Taylor 10-4 in the finals of this tournament.
Meyn would have been a factor, no doubt, but he might have faced
the same fate as Gambill, being the second best of the lot but only
taking third. |
| 145 lbs. |
Pierce Williams or Danny Evans would have
represented the Crusaders at 145 lbs., but on paper they would have had
to get through James Claitor as 4th or 5th seeds
behind Claitor, Funderburk and Lacava (Evans already beat 4th-seeded
Brandon Cowell of Dutchtown).
But Claitor did not get past Bryce Ballas, giving LaCava an
unexpectedly easier match than he might have expected. Claitor
relegated to the consolation bracket would have made it difficult for
the Crusader wrestlers to finish higher than fourth. |
| 152 lbs. |
Without Jesuit’s Efosa Eboigbe the Crusaders’
Mason Williams would have gotten the nod over Catholic’s Matthew Mire
due to a "Sudden Victory "win over Mire in the Spartan Open.
That was very close, but it would have been a safe bet putting
Williams in the finals. |
| 160 lbs. |
Brother Martin was probably looking at a third
place finish for Travis Quarterman, based on his previous losses to
Tanner Leblanc of St. Paul’s and the fact that Alex Martin of De la
Salle was seeded first.
Quarterman has a win over Gaston Eymard of Jesuit who did take third.
I will venture to say that 160 lbs. will be a hotly contested weight class at
state as nobody is beating anyone by a significant amount of
points. |
| 170 lbs. |
As well as Nicholas Comardelle is wrestling
this season, it is doubtful he would have placed better than fourth or fifth with
the likes of Holy Cross’ Brice Duhe, Jesuit’s Jake Eccles and Shaw’s
Kody Woodson in the mix.
Comardelle has a loss to Mandeville’s Frankie Arena who placed
fourth. |
| 182 lbs. |
Yehia Riles would have been seeded first, and
that would have knocked Guy Patron, the eventual winner, out of the
third seed spot and into fourth.
So Riles and Patron would have met in the semifinals. Tough call
there. Riles did beat
Patron at the Deep South Bayou Duals after losing to him twice at the
Culotta, but Patron has shown he can adapt well, as he had never
before beaten Fontainebleau’s Ethan Eisenhardt, and he did that 13-3
before scoring a 15-0 technical fall over Covington’s Brendan Allen.
Riles would have placed first or third. |
| 195 lbs. |
Josh Tapia is having a great season and
probably would have been seeded second.
He’ll eventually see Relayson, but give Brother Martin at least a
runner-up finish here. |
| 220 lbs. |
Jacob Clapp is doing fine, but C. E. Byrd's
Quin Gilliam is deservedly undefeated, and Yeatman, Thompson, Arnett and
Diaz would have made it difficult for Clapp to place better than fifth. |
| 285 lbs. |
One might have thought this was a sure thing, but once
again this weight class is “up in the air”
after Ryan Hanley defeated Conor Karwath.
Matt Montalbano is only a sophomore, so I believe he would have
had a difficult time placing in the top six. |
As such – I would give Brother Martin the following: first
at 132; first or second at 113, 152, 182 and 195; second or third at 126 and
138; third at 160; fourth or fifth at 106, 145, 170 and 220; maybe sixth at 120
and 285. Those places would
certainly have merited the team championship, but they would not have dominated
the finals.
However, Brother Martin’s absence from the LA Classic could
have a detrimental effect on their seeding at the state championships, even
though they made the correct choice in not participating.
That is why the Ken Cole Memorial will be a monstrous event, possibly
requiring that Comeaux build another gymnasium, and quick.
With Brother Martin, Jesuit, Holy Cross, East Ascension, Brusly, St.
Paul’s and a host of other teams that often do not participate in the event,
this could be a field that rivals the 1980 and 1981 ones when it was known as
the Lafayette Invitational.
