Status: Fini

LWN "Best of 2013-14" Rankings

Things fell into place fairly easily this year.  Naturally, some will feeling certain wrestlers were slighted, but I tried to build this list as fairly as possible.  Several athletes deserve notice even if they did not make my top three. Of those who won tournaments in 2013-14, Nicholas Lirette of Hahnville deserves merit, as do Joshua Matthews of Catholic, Rick LaCava of Rummel, Gaston Eymard of Jesuit, Conor Karwath of East Ascension and Christian Ponson of Fontainebleau.  Add to that list Brusly's Noah Landry, who was also the first opponent to score an offensive point against Brother Martin's Paul Klein (and that was not until February 1st).  Sulphur's Trey Duhon had a good season, albeit a relatively short one with only 16 matches wrestled, yet still placed third in Division I.  Christopher Zea of Holy Cross placed third in Division I, but 106 lbs. proved to be one tough weight class.  So was 182 lbs., and Brendan Allen of Covington and Holy Cross' Porter Dazet had good seasons, if not the best of state tournaments.  Listing those mentioned above, of course, just digs the editor a deeper hole due to others whom he did not cite.  T'is the folly of compiling such lists, but they are simply subjective selections which, while based on facts, are solely one man's opinion.  The editor welcomes polite harangues, of course. (For Messrs. Klein and Claitor, I trust this year's award, though still flawed, makes up for last year's!)

Let the flaying begin!  Email: Muller, you're an idiot!

(The first record listed is against Louisiana competition.  The second record includes matches with opponents from out-of-state.  Forfeits and byes are not counted.)

The freshman Shields lost to Martin twice, yet defeated him four times, including in the state semifinals.  Shields lost to Holy Cross' Chris Zea but beat the Tiger twice after that.  His other loss was to Nick Charles of Jesuit, but Charles spent most of his time at 113 lbs. Martin had a 2-1 advantage over Betteridge, including their last two matches.  Betteridge cannot be overlooked, however, due to his Louisiana Classic and Greater Baton Rouge championships, not to mention that injuries in his first tournament and the day before his last were dealt with in a courageous manner.

106 Pounds Steven Shields - Brother Martin 28-4 (40-8) 1st Spartan Open, Trey Culotta, Division I State 2nd Warrior Open, Trygg Memorial 3rd Soddy Daisy, Ken Cole Brody Martin - Jesuit 36-7 (43-7) 1st Ken Cole 2nd Trey Culotta 3rd Warrior Open, Wildcat Open, Louisiana Classic Alex Betteridge - East Ascension 25-5 (30-6) 1st Louisiana Classic, Greater Baton Rouge 2nd Trey Culotta, Ken Cole

That the Brusly freshman and the Brother Martin junior did not face each other this season was a shame.  Only two events were scheduled in which they might have met, but the Crusaders were unable to compete in the Louisiana Classic and Lee-Kayser was not able to compete in the Ken Cole.  The Panther freshman gets the nod, however, due to a common opponent whom Lee-Kayser defeated 10-0 while Mauro only managed a split in their two matches. Mauro, with only the loss to Breaud, ranks ahead of Charles due to a 3-0 record against the Blue Jay.

113 Pounds Kendon Lee-Kayser - Brusly 31-0 (47-1) 1st Warrior Open, South Walton Border Wars, Brusly Invitational, Louisiana Classic, Greater Baton Rouge, Division III State Mason Mauro - Brother Martin 25-1 (32-2) 1st Mandeville Open, Trey Culotta, Ken Cole, Division I State 2nd Spartan Open, Soddy Daisy Nick Charles - Jesuit 24-7 (37-9) 2nd Louisiana Classic, Ken Cole, Division I State 3rd Warrior Open, Trey Culotta

120 was a little wide open at the beginning of the season, but the cream rose to the top in the end.  All three earned stellar wins.  Bernard won the Ken Cole, Mire the Trey Culotta and D'Antonio the Division I state championship.  Bernard had a win over D'Antonio, Mire had a win over Bernard and D'Antonio had two wins over Mire, including the state finals. That was the difference.

120 Pounds Ben D'Antonio - Jesuit 23-4 (33-10) 1st Division I State 2nd Trygg Memorial, Trey Culotta, Louisiana Classic 3rd Raider Open Tyler Mire - Rummel 32-4 (38-5) 1st Trey Culotta, St. Paul's 2nd Mandeville Open, Division I State 3rd Spartan Open, Louisiana Classic Jacob Bernard - East Ascension 41-9 (47-9) 1st Griffin Open, Ken Cole 2nd Warrior Open, Spartan Open, Greater Baton Rouge 3rd Division I State

This one did come down to the state finals.  Stampley and Gambill split during the season, both defeating the other by one point.  Gambill won the Ken Cole and Stampley the Division I title.  Stampley did have an early season loss to Kendon Lee-Kayser, but who in Louisiana did not that wrestled the kid from Brusly?  Placing Cody Hill third generates an odd feeling, but he did have a one point loss to Gambill as well as one loss (albeit followed by two victories) over Airline's phenomenal freshman Christian Walden (whom Stampley handled quite well in the Division I semifinals).  Hill did get his second Louisiana Classic title along the way, however, en route to a season ending LHSAA career victories record of 243.  And for good measure, why not tack on the 2014 Dave Schultz Award?

126 Pounds Connor Stampley - Comeaux 30-2 (35-3) 1st Wildcat Open, The Woodlands, Big Horse Open, Jacob McMillan, Lafayette Metro, Division I State 2nd Ken Cole 3rd Warrior Open Taylor Gambill - Brother Martin 30-2 (40-4) 1st Mandeville Open, Spartan Open, Trygg Memorial, Ken Cole 2nd Trey Culotta, Soddy Daisy, Division I State Cody Hill - Live Oak 67-4 (71-4) 1st Wildcat Open, Griffin Open, Istrouma Open, Lone Survivor, Louisiana Classic, Greater Baton Rouge, Division II State 2nd Spartan Open, Trey Culotta 3rd Warrior Open, Ken Cole

Klein had one loss all season, and it was to Benoit, but the Crusader defeated the Tiger twice, the last time in the Division I finals.  Taylor had quite a year, but a semifinals loss to Klein at the state tournament and two major decision losses against Benoit kept him the sophomore of their league this year at least.

132 Pounds Paul Klein - Brother Martin 30-1 (43-1) 1st Mandeville Open, Spartan Open, Trygg Memorial, Trey Culotta, Soddy Daisy, Division I State 2nd Ken Cole George Benoit - Holy Cross 33-5 (33-6) 1st Louisiana Classic, Ken Cole, Greater New Orleans 2nd Raider Open, Division I State 3rd Mandeville Open, Spartan Open, Las Vegas Holiday Classic Brennan Taylor - Sulphur 35-4 (37-4) 1st Ronnie Suarez, Raider Open, Jacob McMillan, Southwest Shoot-Out 2nd Louisiana Classic 3rd Division I State

Trevor Schermer dominated 138 lbs. with a 17-0 record that included decisive victories over the Division I state champion Meyn at the Ken Cole and over the Division I runner-up Taylor at the Louisiana Classic.  He was also undefeated at 152, including a win over the Division I state champion.  Both of the wrestlers who defeated him this year won state championships (Claitor in LA, Breindel in FL). Meyn gets the nod over Taylor with a 2-0 season record against the Catholic wrestler who defeated him in the 2013 126 lbs. Division I championship.

138 Pounds Trevor Schermer - Brusly 34-2 (51-3) 1st Warrior Open, Brusly Invitational, Louisiana Classic, Ken Cole, Division III State 2nd South Walton Border Wars, Greater Baton Rouge Austin Meyn - Brother Martin 29-1 (39-4) 1st Mandeville Open, Spartan Open, Trey Culotta, Division I State 2nd Ken Cole 3rd Soddy Daisy Brennan Taylor - Catholic 30-3 (47-7) 1st Warrior Open, Wildcat Open, Hoover Invitational, Greater Baton Rouge 2nd Spartan Open, Louisiana Classic, Division I State

Claitor, a two-time Division I state champion, is the only wrestler with a winning match record against Schermer.  Evans had a phenomenal year in which he was undefeated against Louisiana wrestlers until the state tournament, which was just a bad weekend for him.  But he had victories at the Trey Culotta and the Ken Cole.  Prior to the weekend of the state tournament he had two victories over Dutchtown's Brandon Cowell. Cowell was due to break into the upper echelon of wrestlers in Louisiana, and he did so with his defeat of Evans to make the Division I state finals.

145 Pounds James Claitor - Catholic 18-2 (34-3) 1st Hoover Invitational, Greater Baton Rouge, Division I State 3rd Louisiana Classic Danny Evans - Brother Martin 31-2 (35-3) 1st Mandeville Open, Griffin Open, Trey Culotta, Ken Cole 2nd Trygg Memorial Brandon Cowell - Dutchtown 52-9 (54-11) 1st Wildcat Open, Istrouma Open, Big Horse Open 2nd Griffin Open, Spartan Open, Ken Cole, Division I State 3rd Trygg Memorial

Williams and Mire split matches over the season, but Mire won the last one in the Division I finals. Fontenot, despite a fifth-place finish at the state championships, won four tournament championships and notched runner-up places at the Louisiana Classic (falling to Mire) and the Ken Cole (falling to Williams).

152 Pounds Matthew Mire - Catholic 28-4 (40-5) 1st Louisiana Classic, Division I State 2nd Warrior Open, Wildcat Open, Spartan Open, Hoover Invitational, Greater Baton Rouge Mason Williams - Brother Martin 27-3 (37-4) 1st Spartan Open, Trygg Memorial, Soddy Daisy, Ken Cole 2nd Division I State 3rd Trey Culotta Jack Fontenot - John Ehret 37-5 1st Pearl River Open, Griffin Open, Jefferson Invitational, Greater New Orleans 2nd Louisiana Classic, Ken Cole

This one came down to the Louisiana Classic finals, which LeBlanc won by a point over Martin (who gave LeBlanc his only loss in the Trygg Memorial finals).  It would have been harder had Martin not lost a 170 lbs. match against Shaw's Kody Woodson.  In his third try, though, Martin did get a Ken Cole title. Quarterman did a fine job all season despite not winning a tournament title due to the likes of LeBlanc, Martin and Holy Cross' Brice Duhe.  The Texas transfer (who most likely followed his family to New Orleans rather than the opposite just to compete with the Crusaders) came through strong in the end by making the Division I finals.

160 Pounds Tanner Leblanc - St. Paul's 36-1 (43-1) 1st Mandeville Open, South Walton Border Wars, St. Tammany Open, Trey Culotta, Louisiana Classic, St. Paul's Invitational, Division I State 2nd Trygg Memorial Alex Martin - De la Salle 42-2 (44-2) 1st Pearl River Open, Trygg Memorial, GNO Division III, Brusly Invitational, Greater New Orleans, Ken Cole, Division III State 2nd Louisiana Classic Travis Quarterman - Brother Martin 26-7 (32-11) 2nd Mandeville Open, Spartan Open, Ken Cole, Division I State 3rd Trey Culotta, Soddy Daisy

Brice Duhe won just about everything he entered, including the Louisiana Classic against Eccles, but in the last two of their three matches, including the Division I finals, Eccles came out on top. Woodson finally won the title he came so close to in 2012 and in which he was denied a second opportunity in 2013 by Duhe.

170 Pounds Jake Eccles - Jesuit 25-1 (35-2) 1st Warrior Open, Greater New Orleans, Division I State 2nd Louisiana Classic Brice Duhe - Holy Cross 32-2 (38-4) 1st Mandeville Open, Spartan Open, Raider Open, Louisiana Classic, Ken Cole 2nd Greater New Orleans, Division I State Kody Woodson - Shaw 33-6 (36-6) 1st Jefferson Invitational, Skipper "Last Chance", Division II State 2nd Jefferson Parish Championships 3rd Mandeville Open, Louisiana Classic

It does not get any closer of a contest than it was between the junior Crusader and the sophomore Blue Jay.  Patron, Jr. dominated the first two matches at the Trey Culotta, whereas Riles solved the Blue Jay's attacks at the Deep South Bayou Duals and in the Jesuit-Brother Martin dual meet.  And then there was the match in the finals that only ended after the two fought each other for 7 1/2 minutes.  Riles won that and gets the nod. Eisenhardt, in a very tough weight class, notched third with his win over Covington's Brendan Allen in the state consolation finals.

182 Pounds Yehia Riles - Brother Martin 35-4 (45-4) 1st Mandeville Open, Spartan Open, Soddy Daisy, St. Paul's, Division I State 3rd Trygg Memorial, Ken Cole Guy Patron, Jr. - Jesuit 33-4 (47-5) 1st Warrior Open, Raider Open, Trey Culotta, Louisiana Classic 2nd Division I State Ethan Eisenhardt - Fontainebleau 38-6 (39-6) 1st St. Tammany Parish 2nd Louisiana Classic 3rd Trey Culotta, St. Paul's, Division I State

The only major tournament in which Jones participated before the state championships was the Louisiana Classic, in which he lost his only match to a Louisiana wrestler, 3-0 versus Sulphur's Matthew Perez.  At the state tournament he was unstoppable, pinning Brother Martin's Joshua Tapia as well as Perez, and then surprising Relayson with a quick takedown shot in the Sudden Victory period of the Division I state finals. Relayson gets the nod over Perez due to a 4-0 match record against him.  Perez is a solid third, though, as his only losses were to Relayson and Jones.

195 Pounds Kenderick Jones - Hahnville 37-1 (39-4) 1st Pearl River Open, Jefferson Invitational, St. Paul's, Division I State 2nd Big Horse Open Daniel Relayson - Holy Cross 27-4 (37-5) 1st Raider Open, Louisiana Classic, Ken Cole 2nd Mandeville Open, Spartan Open, Las Vegas Holiday Classic, Division I State Matthew Perez - Sulphur 27-7 (34-10) 1st Ronnie Suarez, Jacob McMillan, Southwest Shoot-Out 2nd Raider Open, Ken Cole 3rd Cy-Fair ISD, Louisiana Classic, Division I State

At 42-0 Gilliam was the only undefeated wrestler at the state championships and had wins at the Louisiana Classic and the Ken Cole before the Division I state championships.  The Byrd senior was unbeatable in Louisiana. Marbley was also undefeated until he met Gilliam. Yeatman lost to two Louisiana wrestlers all season, but they were Gilliam and Marbley.  (Yeatman was injured in his match against Marbley and was forced to forfeit against two wrestlers whom he had defeated a combined seven times during the season.)

220 Pounds Quin Gilliam - C.E. Byrd 38-0 (42-0) 1st Griffin Open, Spartan Open, Airline Invitational, Louisiana Classic, Shreveport City, Ken Cole, Northwest Louisiana Regionals, Division I State Rae Juan Marbley - Destrehan 14-1 (15-1) 1st Istrouma Open, Big Horse Open, St. Paul's 2nd Division I State Michael Yeatman - Holy Cross 24-4 (30-5) 1st Mandeville Open, Raider Open, Greater New Orleans 2nd Spartan Open, Las Vegas Holiday Classic, Louisiana Classic, Ken Cole

The Division III champion Williams get the nod here as his only loss all season was to Byrd's Gilliam, 1-0.  He also defeated Dugas, who split two matches with Kennedy, but won the last one in the Division II finals.

285 Pounds Logan Williams - Evangel 25-1 (25-2) 1st Eagle Open, Teurlings Catholic Open, Brusly Invitational, Tri-State Regionals, Northwest Louisiana Regionals, Division III State 2nd Shreveport City O'Shea Dugas - Northside 27-2 1st Rayne Invitational, Jacob McMillan, Lafayette Metro, Division II State 2nd Teurlings Catholic Open, Ken Cole Robert Kennedy - Belle Chasse 26-2 1st Trygg Memorial, Jefferson Invitational, Big Horse Open, Ken Cole 2nd Division II State 3rd Louisiana Classic

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