Defending state champions:

Glenn Price Shaw	Joshua Sarpy North Desoto	Richard Mack, III North Desoto 2018 State Champion	Kendrall Williams Carencro	David Bernard Teurlings Catholic

NOTES:

As a freshman Shaw's Glenn Price took his first step toward becoming a four-time Division II state champion, a feat which has not been accomplished since Zachary's Cade Felps, who won from 2004-07.

Healthy for a full season, North Desoto's Joshua Sarpy made his presence known fast in the 2018-19 season, losing only one match, a 2-0 decision versus Jacob Frost of Holy Cross in the Louisiana Classic finals. 

Joining Sarpy is 2018 state champion Richard Mack, III.  Of the five wrestlers who defeated him last season, only Teurlings Catholic's Charles Travasos remains for the upcoming season.

Carencro junior Kendrall Williams lost only two matches last season.  He later avenged one of them, but both of them have graduated and neither were in Division II (one each in Divisions I and III). 

David Bernard of Teurlings Catholic lost to only two opponents last season, and he defeated each of them (one twice) in their last matches.

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Good bets:

Nick McClendon - 3rd Belle Chasse	Raheem Bonnet - 2nd Shaw	Cameron Selmon - 3rd St. Michael	Francisco Castro - 3rd Belle Chasse

Ashton Surrency - 3rd Shaw	Ryder Hawley - 3rd Rayne	Jacob Ramirez - 2nd Rummel	Charles Travasos - 2nd Teurlings Catholic	Vaughn Romero - 3rd Teurlings Catholic

Miles Doucet - 2nd Rayne	Dylan Olivier - 3rd North Desoto	David Norris - 2nd North Desoto	Zavionne Willis - 3rd Carencro	Zachary Bernard - 3rd Lakeshore	Matthew Carrier - DNW Teurlings Catholic

Three top-seeds in 2019 who placed 2nd or third are returning this season.  Ashton Surrency of Shaw, Jacob Chittom of Parkway and Charles Travasos placed third, third and second respectively.  Surrency was upset by Carencro's Tyrick Clay in the quarterfinals at 126 lbs.  Chittom was upset by fourth-seeded Jacob Ramirez of Rummel 5-3 in the semifinals at 138 lbs.  Ramirez, who placed second, will also be back this season.  Teurlings Catholic's Charles Travasos alternated wins in his four matches against defending state champion Morgan Manuel of Rayne, but it was Manuel winning their fourth match 8-6 on his way to a Division II Outstanding Wrestler award.

Aside from Ramirez and Travasos, six other 2019 runners-up will be back.    Parkway's Jacob Keeler lost to Price by two points in the finals at 106 lbs. and only lost to Price in a Sudden Victory round, determined by a penalty point, in the Trey Culotta semifinals.  Price was the only Louisiana wrestler to defeat Keeler last season.  Shaw's Raheem Bonnet had a great 2018-19 season, but, as everyone but Jacob Frost did, lost to Sarpy in the Division II finals.  Kaleb Garcia of Parkway put up a good finals match against defending state champion Taylor Clay, losing only 5-2, which was the closest anyone got to Clay all season aside from a one-point loss to Brother Martin's Mason Massicot in the Louisiana Classic finals.  

Taylor Clay graduated this year, as did Sam Houston's Mataius Lavine, Parkway's Connor Cloinger and Miles Santiago of Teurlings Catholic.  In the state finals Lavine defeated Rayne's Mile Doucet, Cloinger defeated North Desoto's David Norris and Santiago defeated Parkway's Dezrel Eloph.  Garcia, Doucet Norris and Eloph will return with finals experience which should prove beneficial to them all.

The two wrestlers who placed ahead of Rayne's Ryder Hawley have graduated, as did the two who placed higher than Carencro's Zavione Willis.  Vaughn Romero of Teurlings Catholic should make waves all season as the only four wrestlers to which he lost last season have all graduated (two from Division I, one from Division II and one from Division III).  Carencro's Williams, however, should be lurking around the weight classes Vaughn might choose.  But the two did not wrestle last season, and a lot of things can happen over a summer.  The same can be said re Lakeshore's Zachary Bernard.  While Eloph is also returning this season, Bernard and Eloph did not meet last season.

Belle Chasse's Francisco Castro and St. Michael's Cameron Selmon were both seeded fourth but placed third.  In the state championships Castro lost to Trey Fontenot of Parkway, who has since graduated.  Selmon lost to Sarpy.  Sarpy and Clayton Hill should be around their weight classes, but both Castro and Seldom have proven they are "seed busters."  And Castro only lost 8-4 to Fontenot - only one other wrestler came closer to beating him.

Nicholas McClendon of Belle Chasse only lost to two Division II wrestlers all season.  Keeler beat him in the state semifinals and Matthew Carrier of Teurlings Catholic bested him at the Rauch Duals at Belle Chasse.  Keeler and Carrier are both returning, but... (see the "summer" thing two paragraphs up).

One should not forget about Teurlings Catholic senior Matthew Carrier.  He placed fifth as a freshman in 2017 (the photograph above is from 2017) and followed that with a runner-up finish in 2018.  Carrier would have been seeded second at 113 lbs. last year as, while he and Bonnet split their matches, Carrier defeated Bonnet last, at the Louisiana Classic.  After that match, however, he was injured wrestling against Alex Yokubaitis of St. Louis and did not compete for the rest of the year.

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Dark horses:

Tyrick Clay - 4th Carencro	Riley Baumgardner - 3rd North Vermillion	Brandon Turner - 6th Parkway	Michael Seal - 4th Shaw	Steven Driggers - 5th Parkway	Terrence Murray - 4th Parkway	Trey Winkler - 5th Benton

Of the "dark horses" Tyrick Clay may be the one to watch.  He is the younger brother of 2017 and 2018 runner-up William Clay and of the 2018 and 2019 state champion Taylor Clay.  Working with those siblings over the summer may make Tyrick dangerous in his junior year.

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