Fini

The editor chose the photo on the left as the best one in this weight class as it shows the comaraderie and respect of the competitors after the event was over.  It also epitomizes the fact that even after losing a state championship finals match, Luke Romano is an unflappable young man.  Bertot's father Carlos was a Division I state-runner-up in 1985 and 1986 for Jesuit and led the Blue Jays to two Division I team championships.  His uncle, Dennis, now an official, won state championships for the Blue Jays in 1981 and 1982.

Place	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th
Podium
Name	Logan Bertot	Luke Romano	Corey Brownell	Brandon Stein	Reid Folley	Dylan Lauriano
School	Brother Martin	Catholic	St. Amant	St. Paul's	Acadiana	Holy Cross
Seed	1	3	4	2	5	6
Class	Junior	Senior	Junior	Senior	Senior	Sophomore
Final Record*	23-2	34-12	53-11	21-8	31-13	20-16

*    Louisiana opponents only, not including any types of forfeits, byes or junior varsity events.

Weight Class Synopsis

Competing at 126 lbs. Brother Martin's Logan Bertot was 13-1 versus Louisiana competition and won the Mandeville Open and the Trey Culotta.  His sole loss was 10-4 against Holy Cross' defending state champion Michael Lundin.  For the Louisiana Classic and the remainder of the year, Bertot dropped to 120 lbs.  At the Louisiana Classic he lost to Division II defending champion Clayton Hill in the semifinals but defeated St. Amant junior Corey Brownell in a close 4-3 match. 

Brownell and Hill had a spectacular series from November 3rd through January 19th.   The two wrestled eight times, with each winning four matches. 

Defending Division I state champion Luke Romano started at 132 lbs. at the St. Michael Warrior Open, losing one match to Live Oak's Rayden Ingram and placing fifth.  In mid-November Romano dropped to 126 lbs. for an out-of-state tournament, four dual meets and the Trey Culotta.  In the St Paul's dual meet he beat the Wolves' Brandon Stein 4-2.  In the Culotta, Romano went 4-4, losing to Division II's Ashton Surrency of Shaw and Daryl Nicholas of Parkway.  Romano also lost to Brother Martin freshman Quinn Williams, who went undefeated on the first day of the event.  He avenged a November dual meet loss to Comeaux's Hunter Broussard and also defeated De la Salle's Jamar Brown.  Dropping to 120 lbs., Romano went 9-4, losing to Stein, Brownell, Hill and Colten Sonnier of Teurlings Catholic.  However, as Romano had two wins over Brownell, he was seeded third with Brownell seeded fourth.  But such a record is not unusual to Romano.  In the 2017-18 season he started at 126 lbs., going 4-1.  At 120 lbs. he went 8-2.  he was at 113 lbs. for the Louisiana Classic, but all anyone cared about was the finals match between Rummel's Blake Mateu and Alex Yokubaitis of St. Louis.  He placed the highest among Division I wrestlers in that event, placing third, and then won the Greater Baton Rouge championships.  Hence, he was the top-seed at the 2018 state championships.

Romano and Stein were 1-1 on the season, but Stein's win was at a tournament while Romano's was in a dual meet, so it was Stein who was seeded second behind Bertot.  Bertot earned that seed due to a win over Brownell as he had not wrestled Stein or Romano prior to the state championships.  Stein lost three matches at 126 lbs., but dropping to 120 lbs. on January 4th, he went 7-1, only losing to Hill from Division II.  Hence Stein was seeded in the second spot.

At the state championships, after a first-round bye, Bertot reached the semifinals easily with a fall in 0:36 and a 19-5 major decision.  The fourth-seeded Brownell, however, fresh off of a one-point win over #5 Reid Folley of Acadiana, forced Bertot to win by one point, 6-5.

Winning the other side of the bracket, not surprisingly, was the defending Division I 113 lbs. state champion Romano.  After a round one fall in 0:58, nothing else came easy to the champ.  He beat Sulphur's unseeded Kyle Thibodeaux 6-2.  In the semifinals he got a little respite, shutting out #6 Dylan Lauriano of Holy Cross 5-0.  The came his rematch against Stein in the semifinals.  Romano did all of the scoring with a second period escape and a third period takedown to win 3-0.

Early Championship Rounds

R1: (6) Dylan  Lauriano (HC) defeated Lane White (ZAC) 6-3

R2: (1) Logan Bertot (BM) pinned Matthew Born (BYR) in 0:36

R2: (8) Trevor Hanson (COM) pinned Carlos Alvarez (BON) 5:24

R2: (5) Reid Folley (ACA) pinned Tyler Bourque (DUT) in 0:46

R2: (3) Luke Romano (CAT) defeated Kyle Thibodeaux (SUL) 6-2

R2: (7) Clayton Cambre (HNV) pinned Anthony Krass (EA) in 0:23

R2: (2) Brandon Stein (StP) pinned Marco Spicuzzo (CHL) in 1:45

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Quarterfinals

(1) Logan Bertot (BM) defeated (8) Trevor Hanson (COM) 19-5 MD

(4) Corey Brownell (StA) defeated (5) Reid Folley (ACA) 7-6

(3) Luke Romano (CAT) defeated (6) Dylan Lauriano (HC) 5-0

(2) Brandon Stein (StP) pinned (7) Clayton Cambre (HNV) in 1:25

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Semifinals

(1) Logan Bertot (BM) defeated (4) Corey Brownell (StA) 6-5

(3) Luke Romano (CAT) defeated (2) Brandon Stein (StP) 3-0

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Consolation Rounds

C2: Marco Spicuzzo (CHL) pinned Brennan Dawson (CEN) in 1:55; C2: Matthew Born (BYR) pinned Brock Barrios (COV) in 0:49

C2: Anthony Krass (EA) defeated Patrick Rowan (MND) 13-6

C2: John LeMaster (FNT) defeated Carlos Alvarez (BON) 11-7

C3: Anthony Krass (EA) pinned Marco Spicuzzo (CHL) in 2:04

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Championship Consolation Rounds

(4) Corey Brownell (StA) defeated (2) Brandon Stein (StP) 5-4 to place 3rd

(5) Reid Folley (ACA) defeated (6) Dylan Lauriano (HC) 9-7 SV to place 5th

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Finals

(1) Logan Bertot of Brother Martin defeated (3) Luke Romano of Catholic 10-4

Bertot wasted little time, scoring a takedown in 0:20 with a forced quarter-nelson which put Romano on his back, leading to three nearfall points and a 5-0 lead.  Romano escaped with a minute remaining, and the first round ended in Bertot's favor 5-1.  Bertot started the second period on the bottom and escaped in less than 10 seconds.  The two remained on their feet for the vast majority of the second period until Bertot scored a late double-leg takedown to bring an 8-1 lead into the third period.  Romano chose to start from the bottom in the final period and escaped after 12 seconds.  With 39 seconds remaining Bertot was warned for stalling, and about 20 seconds later Romano was awarded a stalling point.  At the very end of the match, Bertot scored a takedown with a duck-under while kneeling, which put Romano on his back for two more nearfall points to secure a 12-4 victory. It should be known that Bertot is a legacy.  His uncle Dennis Bertot, now an official, won state championships for Jesuit in 1981 and 1982.  His father and one of his Brother Martin coaches, Carlos Bertot, placed second for the Blue Jays in 1985 and 1986.  Carlos Bertot also was the head coach of the last Jesuit teams to win state championships, in 2006 and 2009.

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