Untitled 1

Fini

2020 State Wrestling Championships - Division II 126 pounds

April 15th, 2020 | Written by: Editor

Shaw's Raheem Bonnet "all but owned" Teurlings Catholic Matthew Carrier in a match ending with a fall in 3:31

Photo		of two entities have prevented completing a comprehensive pictorial article on the 2020	of two entities have prevented completing a comprehensive pictorial article on the 2020	of two entities have prevented completing a comprehensive pictorial article on the 2020	of two entities have prevented completing a comprehensive pictorial article on the 2020	of two entities have prevented completing a comprehensive pictorial article on the 2020
Place	1	2	3	4	5	6
Name	Raheem Bonnet	Matthew Carrier	Lance Ferguson	Dominic Spizale	Gabe Mejia	Garrett Hudgins
School	Shaw	Teurlings Catholic	North Desoto	Lakeshore	Belle Chasse	Rummel
Seed	3	1	2	5	7	NS
Final Record	38-1	35-3	25-3	34-16	11-3	9-17
Year	Senior	Senior	Sophomore	Sophomore	Sophomore	Freshman

Synopsis

After placing fifth as a freshman in 2017 (photo left), Matthew Carrier was not able to participate in the 2018 and 2019 due to two season-ending injuries. This year he was season-ending-injury-free, and was seeded first in the Division II 126 lbs. weight class. His pre-state 32-2 record included only two losses very high-caliber opponents. Ethan Castex of Brother Martin defeated him in the Louisiana Classic semifinals. A week later Colton Hill of Live Oak defeated him in the finals of the Ken Cole.

Carrier won the Dale Ketelsen Memorial and the Parkway Lone Survivor. During the season he did not lose in a dual meet despite that six of them were against Division I schools. One of those wins was a fall over Acadiana senior Luke LaFleur, who placed fourth in the Division I championships.

To reach the finals Carrier pinned Jasten Ortiz of Pearl River in 0:34, Christopher Milburn of Carencro in 1:00 and then needed only 0:44 to dispatch fifth-seeded Dominic Spizale of Lakeshore.

Seeded second was North Desoto's Lance Ferguson, who had a 22-2 record upon entering the state championships. He placed fourth at the Louisiana Classic, losing to Carrier in 2:45. Technically, he beat Shaw's Raheem Bonnet in that event, as Bonnet injured himself in the semifinals and was forced to forfeit his last two matches, one of which was a consolation semifinals match with Bonnet. In the out-of-state tournaments Ferguson placed third twice and second once. His only tournament championship was at the Northwest Louisiana Regionals.

Seeded only third due to the two forfeits at the Louisiana Classic (as well as a loss after he was injured yet decided not to quit), Shaw's Raheem Bonnet had arguably the best season of the three top seeds. He won the Warrior Open, the Lakeshore open (over 120 lbs. Division II finalist Carter Burgess of Rummel), the Dale Ketelsen over Carter Duet of St. Paul, who would later become a Division I runner-up. And in the Catholic League District championships he defeated another Rummel wrestler, Dylan Lauriano of Holy Cross, and then he pinned Brother Martin's Ethan Castex in 3:22. (Castex would go on to be a Division I runner-up, his second of his career.)

Bonnet seemed not to care where he was in the 126 lbs. bracket. After a first-round pin in 0:35, Bonnet breezed through sixth-seeded Reese Carrier of Rayne in 2:45 and then through second-seeded Lance Ferguson of North Desoto. That left another Carrier, the Teurlings Catholic kind, first-seeded Matthew, in the finals match. (It seems odd now, in these days of "social distancing," that Bonnet was even allowed to compete after spending 5:23 in extreme physical conduct with two "Carriers.")

Early Rounds