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For the third time in five years, a Louisiana team won the South Walton Border Wars.  And for the second time, a Louisiana team also placed second.

The Fifth Annual South Walton Border Wars was held on December 1st and 2nd at South Walton High School in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida.  The twenty-three teams included 15 from Florida, three from Louisiana, three from Georgia, one from Alabama and one from Tennessee.

The Holy Cross Tigers, although they had no individual champions, placed five wrestlers in the finals and scored 641.5 points, 37.5 points more than their nearest competitor, St. Paul's.  The Wolves scored 604 points, and had four champions.  The remaining Louisiana team, Jesuit, placed fifth with 439.5 points and a champion in Paul Treuting.

Holy Cross won the 2016 Border Wars "wire to wire."  Jesuit placed second in that year and St. Paul's placed seventh.  In the first Border Wars competition in 2012, Louisiana's Brusly High School, with the likes of Kendon Kayser and Trevor Schermer, won the event.  St. Paul's placed third and East Ascension placed 11th.

The Holy Cross Tigers won their second consecutive South Walton Border Wars

Every scoring Tiger placed 9th or better.  Logan Lacoste, a non-scoring Tiger wrestler, placed two spots higher than his scoring teammate at 132 lbs., placing 7th.  A table indicating their places is below:

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St. Paul's went 4 for 4 in the finals, including three in a row from 138 to 152 lbs.

Eleven of the St. Paul's wrestlers placed in the top-eight places, and the remaining three finished no less than 12th - all scoring team points. 

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Soddy Daisy High School of Soddy Daisy, Tennessee (outside of Chattanooga), placed third with 522.5 points and a champion in Ty Boeck at 220 lbs.

With one champion in Ty Boeck (at 220 lbs.), Soddy Daisy High School from Tennessee placed third.

Wakulla High School of Florida placed fourth by one point over Jesuit, 440.5 to 439.5.  Wakulla's Darius Wilkins won the 285 lbs. championship for the War Eagles.

Jesuit, who placed second to Holy Cross in last year's Border Wars, lacked an entry in the 285 lbs. weight class yet still managed to place fifth.  The Blue Jays had a champion in Paul Treuting at 170 lbs.  Defending Louisiana Division I state champion Nathan Koenig found himself with defending state champions from Florida and Georgia, and placed third.  Perry Ganci, a defending Louisiana Division I state champion, who only recently started practicing due to football requirements, also placed third.  Thomas Arceneaux placed 4th and Colby Queyrouze placed fifth for the Jay's.

Outstanding Wrestlers

At left, South Walton Coach Carey Nick presents the Lower Weight Classes Outstanding Wrestler award to Tate's Jacob Cochran, who pinned Holy Cross' Caruso Signorelli in the 113 lbs. finals. At right, Jack Johnson of Niceville accepts the Outstanding Wrestler award for the heavier weight classes.  Jackson was an obvious choice.  He defeated Jesuit's Nathan Koenig, a defending Louisiana Division I state champion, in the semifinals, and, in the finals, defeated Gavin Kane, a defending Georgia Class 6A state champion.

Best Match Award

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The Best Match Award winners were if the editor guessed correctly, competed in the first round of Pool C at 170 lbs. on Friday.  Hayden Maynor of Soddy Daisy scored a fall over Jared Kyle of Marietta.  Maynor won the match via a fall in 5:41.

Best Match award winners

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Team Scores

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The "Coach Harrison Courage Award"

In a very unexpected twist, the Coach Harrison Courage Award, usually reserved for a wrestler deemed to have overcome some significant challenges during or before the tournament, was amended to a "Dedication to Wrestling" status, and awarded to, of all people, Martin Muller (a.k.a. the Louisiana Wrestling News editor).  This came as a complete surprise to me (and evidently one South Park gnome), and I am humbled to have been recognized by Coach Carey Nick in this manner, particularly in front of some Louisiana wrestlers and wrestling parents.  In the editor's River Ridge, Louisiana home, the statue is generally referred to as the "Viking Statue," and the editor's second floor "man cave" has been rechristened the "Mead Hall."  Someone could have suggested I wear a tie to the finals, but the photo of a worn-out, then 54-year-old, was the only option at the time.

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