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| Fini |
 |
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| Third time's a
charm for Pitts - junior wins Ouachita Christian's first state championship |
| LHSAA State
Wrestling Tournament |
| Division III, 120
Pounds |
| May 12th, 2017 | Written by:
Editor |
|
|
| Third-seed Sam Pitts won Ouachita Christian's
first state championship in a 13-6 win over De LaSalle's
first-seed Jeffrey Hefner. |
Ouachita Christian's Sam Pitts had participated in Division III finals matches
since he was a freshman in 2015. He lost his first chance for a title to
Episcopal's John Rollins 12-6. In 2016 Pitts again made the finals, this
time against North Vermillion's Gavin Becker 7-0. Both of those times
Pitts was seeded second and lost to the top seed in the finals. This year
Pitts was seeded third, behind Brusly's Hunter Richey, who defeated him in a 5-3
Sudden Victory match at the Ken Cole, and De LaSalle's top-seeded Jeffrey
Hefner.
Hefner was 40-7 and defeated Richey in the Brusly Invitational finals in 1:51.
Hefner also won the Trygg Memorial and the Division III District tournament.
He placed second at the Ken Cole (in a 13-12 loss to Brother Martin's Logan
Bertot), third in the Casio-Shriever and fifth at the Louisiana Classic.
Of his seven losses, three were to Division I wrestlers who placed 2nd, 3rd and
4th at the state championships. Two more were to Division I opponents who
did not compete in the state tournament, and one was to Brusly's Calep Balcuns
on November 19th, which Hefner avenged for 5th-place at the Louisiana Classic.
His only other loss was to Blake Mateu of Rummel, who won his second Division II
title in 2017 to go with his Division I runner-up finish in 2015.
Pitts and Hefner met once before during their freshman years at the Brusly
Invitational. Pitts recorded a fall in 5:04 on his way to winning the
event in 2015.
In this event, mat time may have been the difference. Hefner wrestled a
mere 43 seconds to advance to the finals. Pitts went the full 12 minutes,
scoring a 17-5 Major Decision over Gavin Hatfield of NOMMA, followed by a 4-1
revenge match over Richey in the semifinals. Pitts dominated the finals in
a 13-6 win, the first for Pitts and the first for Ouachita Christian.
Pitts, Hefner and Richey should look forward to very successful senior years.
| 1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
5th |
6th |
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Sam Pitts |
Jeffrey Hefner |
Hunter Richey |
Gavin Hatfield |
Hunter Langley |
Hung Nguyen |
| Ouachita Christian |
De LaSalle |
Brusly |
NOMMA |
Basile |
Thomas Jefferson |
| #3 Seed |
#1 Seed |
#2 Seed |
#6 Seed |
#5 Seed |
#4 Seed |
| Junior |
Junior |
Junior |
Junior |
Freshman |
Freshman |
Back to Top
Quarterfinals
| #1 Jeffrey Hefner (DLS) pinned #8 Dakota
LeMaire (NV) in 0:18. |
|
|
|
#5 Hunter Langley (BAS) defeated #4 Hung Nguyen (TJ) 5-4. |
|
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#3 Sam Pitts (OC) defeated #6 Gavin Hatfield (NOMMA) via a 17-5 Major
Decision. |
|
#2 Hunter Richey (BRU) pinned #7 David Diecidue (HAN) in 0:41. |
Back to Top
Semifinals
| #1 Jeffrey Hefner (DLS) pinned #5 Hunter
Langley (BAS) in 0:25. |
|
|
|
#3 Sam Pitts (OC) defeated #2 Hunter Richey (BRU) 4-1. |
Back to Top
Consolation Rounds
|
|
| C2: David Diecidue (HAN) pinned Chase Citizen
(CP) in 1:30. |
|
|
|
C2: #8 Dakota LeMaire (NV) pinned Kolby Jimenez (SC) in 2:03. |
|
|
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C2: #4 Hung Nguyen (TJ) defeated Joshua McGee (CC) 8-6. |
Back to Top
Championship Consolation Rounds
|
#2 Hunter Richey (BRU) defeated #6 Gavin Hatfield (NOMMA) 8-3
to place 3rd. |
|
|
|
#5 Hunter Langley (BAS) defeated #4 Hung Nguyen (TJ) 6-2
to place 5th. |
Back to Top
Finals
| #3 Sam Pitts of Ouachita Christian defeated
top-seeded Jeffrey Hefner of De LaSalle 13-6. |
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Back to Top
|
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