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| Holy Cross serves notice at Mandeville Open |
| November 18th, 2014 | Written by: Editor |
With Brother Martin's absence at this year's Mandeville Open the question to be
answered was which team will present the Crusaders with the sterner test this
season - Holy Cross or Jesuit? The Tigers got the nod in a fairly
convincing manner. Holy Cross won seven championships to Jesuit's three,
but what really stood out were the five head-to-head finals matches between the
two schools. After Brody Martin defeated Chris Zea in the first one, Holy
Cross won the next four match-ups in a row. Aside from those matches each
team scored two more victories in the finals. Yet the Blue Jays should not
be overly concerned about relinquishing their projected number two spot behind
the Crusaders just yet. Ben D'Antonio will soon stop running away from
wrestling events (he's currently in cross-country - the state championships are
Tuesday) and Jesuit had 12 1st-4th placers to the Tigers' 10.
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| Early Rounds and Consolations | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 106 | 113 | 120 | 126 | 132 | 138 | 145 | 152 | 160 | 170 | 182 | 195 | 220 | 285 |
| Semifinals | |||||||||
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| Consolation Finals: Adam Larriviere (JES-B) defeated Daniel Varnado (BM) 4-2. | |||||||||
| Finals | |||||||||
| Brody Martin (JES) defeated Chris Zea (HC) 4-1. | |||||||||
| Martin put on a riding clinic in the first and third rounds to win his second tournament championship in as many weeks. He took Zea down in the first period with a single-leg and then used a crab ride to control Zea through most of the round. Martin was assessed a penalty point for locking hands after a Zea escape attempt, but that was all of the scoring Zea would get. Zea rode Martin for the vast majority of the second period but got too high on a crab ride and, as time was about to expire, Martin was able to pop his head out from under Zea's legs for a reversal. Martin then used a crab ride and a leg Turk while trying to apply forced nelsons during the third period to hold Zea scoreless and preserve the 4-1 victory. | |||||||||
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| Semifinals | ||||||
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| Consolation Finals: Brady Butler (HC-B) defeated Austin Pfister (JES) 8-6. | ||||||
| Finals | ||||||
| Robert Fairchild (RUM) defeated Paul Schmidt (BM) 4-0. | ||||||
| This was the second finals match in as many weeks between the Raider and Crusader juniors (Fairchild won 9-3 at the St. Michael Warrior Open) and it was a match wholly controlled by Fairchild and his simple yet very well-executed fundamentals. He used a single-leg shot and turned it into a double-leg takedown for a 2-0 first period lead and then used a tight-waist and arm bars to ride Schmidt to the end of the round. In the second period Fairchild tried a stand-up switch which got his legs out, but Schmidt was able to hang on to one to earn a stalemate. Fairchild's second stand-up switch worked and he took a 4-0 lead. In the third period Fairchild rode Schmidt the entire time to join Brody Martin with two successive championships on the season. | ||||||
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| Semifinals | ||||||||||
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Beau Bush (HC) defeated Michael Mort (NS) 14-3.
Mark Stevenson (RUM) defeated Jordan Giewat (JES) 2-0. |
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| Consolation Finals: Jordan Giewat (JES) pinned Michael Mort (NS) in 4:02. | ||||||||||
| Finals | ||||||||||
| Beau Bush (HC) defeated Mark Stevenson (RUM) 10-2 | ||||||||||
| Holy Cross' Beau Bush used single-leg takedowns, arm-bars, chicken-wings and a ball-and-chain to stifle Rummel's Mark Stevenson in a 10-2 major decision. Two other points came Bush's way when Stevenson let him go in attempts to score on his feet. Stevenson's lone two points came after a Granby roll attempt forced Bush to ride a little high, allowing the Raider to turn into Bush and duck under and then on top of him. Stevenson spent last year backing up Fairchild and Devyn Breaud, so one may expect to see him often this season. | ||||||||||
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| Semifinals | ||||||||||
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| Consolation Finals: Joseph Dupre (JES) defeated Leaf Ballast (FNT) 7-1. | ||||||||||
| Finals | ||||||||||
| Collin Guerra (HC) defeated Nick Des Bordes 6-5. | ||||||||||
| Collin Guerra wrestled three matches yet only compiled a combined margin of victory of four points, but it was enough to earn his first championship of the season. His opponent was Mandeville's Nick Des Bordes, who was seeking his second tournament win after winning the Warrior Open. Guerra started the scoring by shucking Des Bordes' head down and spinning behind his opponent, and then he rode Des Bordes with a cross-body ride to end the period. Des Bordes chose to start the second period on his feet and the strategy worked as when Guerra tried a duck-under, Des Bordes stepped over it and whipped Guerra to his back for a takedown and two nearfall points, taking a 4-3 lead. (At some point in the first or second round Guerra was awarded a penalty point, but the video did not show why.) In bridging off of his back Guerra ended up underneath Des Bordes and was able to grab two legs, lift Des Bordes up and get behind him for a reversal, and the round ended with Guerra ahead 5-4. Guerra scored an escape in the third period for a 6-4 lead but was assessed a stalling point, making it a 6-5 match with both wrestlers on their feet. Near the end Des Bordes got deep on a single-leg shot but Guerra was able to hang on to a leg long enough for time to run out. | ||||||||||
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| Semifinals | ||||||
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| Consolation Finals: Ryan Genco (BM) win by forfeit via the 5-match rule over Billy Harrison (STP) | ||||||
| Finals | ||||||
| Dylan Soileau (HC) pinned Payton Markey (JES) in 1:36. | ||||||
| After missing the state championships by being sick in 2013 and injured in 2014, this is Soileau's last year to make his mark in Division I competition. He started off just fine. Against Jesuit's Peyton Markey Soileau shot a deep single-leg attempt that Markey was able to fend off, but it left Soileau with a standing whizzer. With that Soileau reached over Markey's head and spun him down to the mat on his back, securing a fall in 1:36 and the first of four straight wins for Holy Cross over Blue Jay opponents. | ||||||
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| Semifinals | |||||||||||||
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| Consolation Finals: Harrison Donnell (BM) win by forfeit via the 5-match rule over Max Grosch (JES) | |||||||||||||
| Finals | |||||||||||||
| Adding twenty-five pounds in a year makes little difference when one has the drive and energy Holy Cross sophomore Joey Foret exhibited last year and thus far this season. Foret used a single-leg trip in the first round and, after an escape in the second period, an ankle dive which he lifted to a high single to take a 5-0 lead after two rounds against Jesuit's Brandon Wolff. Wolff got in on Foret several times but was unable to score until the third period when he was able to turn in on Foret and secure a double-leg-style reversal. He let Foret go, hoping to come back via takedowns, but Foret stopped a shot with a sprawl, and used a leg hook to spin behind Wolff for the 8-2 win, his second Mandeville Open title in two years. | |||||||||||||
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| Semifinals | ||||||||||||
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Jake Rando (HC) pinned Tony Sode (SPL) in 1:11.
Jacob Rovira (JES) pinned Seth Dragon (STP) in 0:57. |
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| Consolation Finals: Seth Dragon (STP) pinned Gavin Wright (BM) in 2:08. | ||||||||||||
| Finals | ||||||||||||
| Jake Rando (HC) defeated Jacob Rovira (JES) 3-2. | ||||||||||||
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Last year Jake Rovira placed sixth for Jesuit in the state championships
while Jake Rando placed fourth, helping the blue Jays to a second place
finish in Division I. This season the former teammates find
themselves on opposing teams vying for a mythical second place ranking
behind Brother Martin. Rando, now a Holy Cross Tiger, and Rovira
both used quick falls in their first two matches to reach the finals,
but falls were not an option in this match. Five points were
scored, all in the first round, and the tying and go-ahead points were
but inches away from not counting. Rovira scored first by stopping a low single-leg shot by Rando, hooking a leg behind Rando's hips and wrenching himself behind his opponent. Rovira could not turn Rando, however, and Rando managed an escape to put both wrestlers back on their feet with Rovira leading by one. Rando stayed aggressive and shot a double-leg attempt which, after Rovira stopped it, he then switched to a single-leg which he lifted off of the mat. Rando attempted a trip and Rovira spun away from his back and apparently off of the mat. Rando, however, caught both of Rovira's legs and had the presence of mind, for he probably could not tell exactly how close he was to the edge, to stretch his feet back hoping to catch a part of the in-bounds area of the mat with both of them. He did, with both feet on the line, and that was enough to earn the takedown that eventually decided the match. Rovira rode Rando through the second round and Rando rode Rovira through the third, with neither one of them exhibiting signs of stalling or resignation. This was a stellar match and one that hopefully will be repeated several times during the course of the season. |
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| Semifinals | ||||||||||||
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George Benoit (HC) advanced via a forfeit over Zackary Lawson (FNT).
Griffin Mason (JES) defeated Michael Benton (HC-B) 5-1. |
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| Consolation Finals: Brad Albarado (SHW) defeated Michael Benton (HC-B) 9-2. | ||||||||||||
| Finals | ||||||||||||
| George Benoit (HC) defeated Griffin Mason (JES) 6-4. | ||||||||||||
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Jesuit's Griffin Mason might have considered himself a little fortunate
at the Warrior Open in that his side of the bracket did not contain
Airline's Christian Walden or Dutchtown's Brandon Cowell. Not that
Mr. Mason could not have had good matches against them, but he ended up
facing the guy who beat both of them and who happened to be the
returning Division I state champion, in Catholic's Matthew Mire.
After making it to the finals again in his second tournament, this time
he got to face the three-time state runner-up and the only wrestler to
beat Brother Martin's Paul Klein last season, Holy Cross' George Benoit.
There is solace, though, in that one only gets better when wrestling
against the best. After working each other out of bounds once, on the second start Benoit dove on the whistle and got ahold of Mason ankle, which he parlayed into a takedown for the match's first two points. Using a leg ride for control he tried forced-nelsons but was unable to turn Mason over. On bottom to start the second period Benoit simply turned into Mason and rather stepped over him to gain reversal points. After spending a little time trying to turn Mason over he decided to let him escape and try takedowns again. He shot another single-leg, lifted it and turned Mason over, and then pounced on both legs when Mason hit the mat to score his second takedown. The round ended with Benoit ahead 4-1. In the third Benoit initially stopped Mason's stand-up but eventually decided to let him go again, halving his lead to 4-2. When Mason got close to gaining a low ankle, Benoit did what anyone would do in a similar situation - he cartwheeled off of the mat and out of danger! With seven seconds remaining the two both attempted double-leg shots at the same time, but evidently Mason's had a little more OOMPH to it as Benoit was knocked backward and Mason was able to cover him for his first takedown of the match. The clock ran out just afterward and Holy Cross had its sixth title of the night and fourth in a row over Blue Jay opponents. |
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| Semifinals | |||||||||
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| Consolation Finals: Cole Alfonso (BM) defeated Evan Palmisano (JES) 5-3. | |||||||||
| Finals | |||||||||
| Jack Fontenot (EHR) pinned Austin Many (RIV) in 3:46. | |||||||||
| Fontenot, last week's Warrior Open OW, breezed into the finals with two first period pins. Many's route was tougher, having to survive a 3-2 match against Brother Martin's Cole Alfonso and then needing 5:42 to get past Jesuit's Evan Palmisano. After initially sparring each other out of bounds Many tried the first shot but Fontenot sprawled on it and spun around for a takedown. Fontenot then tried forcing half-nelsons, and when trying one he got too far in front of Many, allowing the Scottish Rebel to jump his legs over Fontenot's for a two-point reversal. When Fontenot then stood up, Many lifted him to put him back on the mat, but as soon as he did Fontenot popped a switch on him to forge a 4-2 lead, and before the round ended forced Many over to score two nearfall points and increase his lead to 6-2. In the second period Fontenot, on bottom, stood up again and when Many lifted him to bring him back to the mat the Ehret wrestler used a Granby roll and ended up in front and under Many, a position he used for a double-leg takedown and an 8-2 lead. At that point Fontenot just used brute strength to turn Many over with a bar-arm half-nelson once for three backpoints, and then he did it again to record a fall in 3:46. | |||||||||
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| Semifinals | ||||||||||||
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| Consolation Finals: Max Chambers (SHW) pinned Kyler Pisciotta (JES) in 2:19. | ||||||||||||
| Finals | ||||||||||||
| Brice Duhe (HC) pinned Joe Kerry (RUM) in 4:32. | ||||||||||||
| Duhe started off fast against last week's Warrior Open champion, and after grabbing a high single-leg tried for a near-side cradle and nearfall points, but Kerry was having none of that and Duhe had to settle for just a takedown. After being ridden for a while Kerry managed to stand up and quickly turned in on Duhe to score an escape. On the resulting tie-up Kerry used a nice head shuck and spun around Duhe for a quick takedown and a 3-2 lead. Duhe stood up and appeared to escape but the officials deemed the first period had ended and he was not awarded the point. The second round consisted entirely of Duhe riding Kerry but unable to turn the Raider to his back. The match score remained 3-2 in Kerry's favor heading into the third round. Having successfully taken down Duhe in the first period Kerry opted to start in the neutral position, giving Duhe an escape point to tie the match. An ankle dive on the whistle did not work for Kerry so he tried a duck-under next. That proved to be a mistake as the taller Duhe used his chest to push Kerry's head and shoulders straight back to the mat, resulting in a fall in 4:32. | ||||||||||||
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| Semifinals | |||||||||
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Brandon Verges (FNT) defeated Josh Mascaro (STP) 6-0.
Mason Williams (HC) defeated Evan Andrews (HC-B) 6-0. |
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| Consolation Finals: Matt Bowman (RUM) defeated Josh Mascaro (STP) 5-0. | |||||||||
| Finals | |||||||||
| Brandon Verges (FNT) defeated Mason Williams (HC) 2-1. | |||||||||
| This was a low scoring one point affair but not quite like the one earlier between Rando and Rovira. In the first period neither wrestler could gain an advantage and the round ended scoreless. In the second period a brief explosion of energy resulted in a switch by Verges and a 2-0 lead. The points scored against him spurred Williams to action in the form of Granby roll attempts, but Verges was deftly able to remain with his opponent through two of them. The round ended with Verges still ahead 2-0. On bottom for the third period Williams again found himself unable to escape from Verges' grasp, and this round remained scoreless aside from a penalty point awarded to Williams after a Verges cross-face was deemed a tad aggressive. | |||||||||
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| Semifinals | ||||||||
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| Consolation Finals: Bailey Dufrene (MND) pinned Alexander San (SPL) in 1:59. | ||||||||
| Finals | ||||||||
| Guy Patron, Jr. pinned Tyler Troncoso (RUM) in 1:53. | ||||||||
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Guy Patron, Jr. is simply "on a tear," so to speak. In his five
matches prior to this finals match he registered falls in 2:43, 1:03,
0:28 and then settled for a 15-0 technical fall. His opponent
though, Tyler Troncoso of Rummel, had a pretty good start to his season
with a third place finish at the Warrior Open. But that was last
week, and that was at 220 pounds. This week in a relatively small
weight class (for young men of that size) he survived a tough 4-2
semifinals match against St. Paul's Matt Krutzfelt to meet Patron in the
finals. Alas, he would fare no better than anyone else had before
him. Patron used a double-leg takedown off of a Russian-tie for the first two points, let Troncoso escape and then used a double-leg trip for his second takedown. From there he used a cross-face cradle to register three nearfall points and finally used a Turk with a cross-face to turn Troncoso on his back for good, scoring the fall in 1:53. |
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| Semifinals | |||||||||
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Kyser Franklin (RIV) defeated Blake Degioanni (MND) via default. Colin Francis (STP) pinned Nathaniel Perdue (BM) in 1:04. |
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| Consolation Finals: Nathaniel Perdue (BM) defeated Blake Degioanni (MND) via default. | |||||||||
| Finals | |||||||||
| Colin Francis (STP) pinned Kyser Franklin (RIV) in 0:42. | |||||||||
| This day probably was not what Riverdale's Kyser Franklin expected as in a bracket with only four entrants he won his semifinal match via default and all of a sudden he was a finalist. Collin Francis of St. Paul at least had a warm-up match that lasted 1:04. In this match Franklin started attacking Francis around the shoulders and head, and it did not take long for Francis to find the double-leg shot that strategy invariably opens. Francis found it and Franklin was unable to turn to his stomach after Francis was on top of him. Francis took advantage and scored a fall in 0:42 to win the title. | |||||||||
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| Semifinals | ||||||||||||
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| Consolation Finals: Matt Blair (SHW) defeated Travis Gardner (HC) via a forfeit. | ||||||||||||
| Finals | ||||||||||||
| Dom Carmello (JES) defeated Christian Ponson (FNT) via an injury default while leading 5-2 in the 3rd period. | ||||||||||||
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This was no typical early season match between heavyweights. This
was a battle between two big guys who wrestle instead of play football
and thus have no reason to be out of shape as many others are at this
time of the season. This was also a rematch of the first 285
pounds semifinal match of the 2014 state championships, a match Ponson
won 7-5 prior to a runner-up finish, and after which Carmello advanced
to a third place finish. Suffice to say, these are two best 285
pound wrestlers seen so far this year and they should meet many, many
times in the future. Both were aggressive from the first whistle and it was Ponson attempting the first leg shots. The taller Carmello was ready, though, and sprawled on one of them hard enough to be able to spin around Ponson for the match's first takedown. Carmello tried but failed to turn Ponson, and near the end of the round Ponson was able to stand up. While trying to take Ponson back down to the mat Carmello instead pulled his opponent on top of him which allowed Ponson to escape. The round ended with Carmello ahead 2-1. In the second period Ponson started on the bottom and, while he aggressively turned in on Carmello the Jesuit wrestler did not let him go. At one point Ponson stood up and Carmello, as he did earlier against Travis Gardner of Holy Cross, lifted his opponent entirely off of and back down to the mat, retaining control throughout. After a restart caused by a stalemate Ponson tried a switch which enabled him to score another escape point, tying the score 2-2 where it remained until the period ended. In the third period it was Carmello's turn on bottom and his turn to score an escape point to take the lead. Ponson then tried a low single shot but Carmello reacted quickly, jumping up and kicking his legs back, and then falling heavy on top of the reaching Ponson, then spinning around him for a takedown and a 5-2 lead. Unbeknownst to anyone at the time, that sprawl basically ended the match. After almost a minute went by the officials noticed that Ponson was only moving what Carmello was moving for him, and they stopped the match to see if the Bulldog wrestler was OK. He was not and the match was called in Carmello's favor due to an injury default. As what was hopefully just a precautionary measure trainers and coaches did not allow Ponson to move until an ambulance arrived and he was taken to a local hospital for evaluation. As of this publishing no definitive word on his condition has been released re his post-match condition. As soon as information is received the Louisiana Wrestling News Website will report it. |
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¹ How's that, T.M.?
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