Fini

Baton Rouge's Jarin Meyer complimented his 33-1 record with Coach Bill Bofinger's first Division I state champion since 1991.

Back to Top

Synopsis

Baton Rouge senior Jarin Meyer only had one blemish on his 2019-20 record - and it was not a bad one.  In the first match for both of them, East Ascension's two-time state champion Trent Mahoney went up to 182 lbs. to test Meyer, and barely escaped with a 4-2 win.  After that, Meyer was unstoppable.  His 28-0 victory streak before the state championships included wins at the Warrior Open, the Brusly 8, the Zachary Big Horse, the Louisiana Classic, the Titan Invitational and the Greater Baton Rouge championships.  He had some close matches with scores of 8-6, 3-0 and 4-3, but he prevailed in each.  Only four other matches, including the state finals, went the "full six."  One of those was a major decision, two others were 6-0 wins and in the finals he won 6-2.    In his 28 other wins he pinned 25 opponents and scored technical falls in the other three.

Meyer's path to the finals included a first-round bye, a second-round fall in 1:55, a quarterfinals pin in 3:07 and a semifinals fall in 1:37 over fifth-seeded Nawab Singh of Live Oak.

Parkway's Kaleb Garcia had a very successful season.  Of his six losses, two were to Meyer, including the state finals match.  Three were to defending Division II state champion David Bernard of Teurlings Catholic (who would win a second Division II title at the state championships).  One was to Live Oak's Nawab Singh, who he defeated in their next three matches.  Garcia won the Riot of the Red, placed third in the Gulf Coast Clash in Mobile, Alabama and at the Indian Classic in Kingsport, Tennessee.  He placed fifth at the Trey Culotta, third at the Lone Survivor, first at The Bash in Lynn Haven, Florida and the Big Cat Brawl.  Losing his semifinals match to Meyer, Garcia placed third at the Louisiana Classic, followed by a third-place finish at the Ken Cole Memorial and ended his pre-state season by winning the Northwest Louisiana Regionals.

Garcia spent a lot more time on the mats to reach the finals.  After a round-one bye he scored a 23-8 Technical Fall, followed by a 5-1 quarterfinals win.  In the semifinals, though, he defeated sixth-seeded Joshua Vitto of Barbe, who earlier upset third-seeded Macullen Mire of Catholic, via a 13-1 Major Decision

Early Rounds, Quarterfinals, Semifinals, Early Consolation Rounds

Consolation Finals

Back to Top

Finals

Jarin Meyer of Baton Rouge defeated Parkway's Kaleb Garcia 6-2

Video

Apathy and avarice on the part of two entities have prevented completing a comprehensive pictorial article on the 2020 Louisiana state wrestling championships.

Back to Top