Division II

2022 LHSAA State Wrestling Championships
February 11th-12th 2022
Raising Cane's River Center
Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Rebels three-peat for 10th title in 12 years

LHSAA State Wrestling Tournament: Division II

March 153rd, 2022 Written by: CAT

The Teurlings Catholic Rebels won their third Division II state wrestling championship in-a-row, healthily outdistancing runner-up Archbishop Shaw by 53.5 points, 323-269.5.

The Rebels won four individual titles, had seven runners-up and two third-place finishers in capturing their third consecutive Division II championship. That makes 10 team titles in 12 years - no other Division II schools have come close (Buras won four from 1987-90). The Rebels did something else this season, too. They bested Jesuit to lay claim to being the second-best team in the state (behind D1 champs Brother Martin). Arguments can be made, but will take forever to research, that perhaps the Rebels were not a better team. They defeated the Blue Jays 51-24 in the finals of the Beast on the Bayou at Shaw. A week later Jesuit prevailed 39-33, but the Rebels were lacking senior Ashton Sonnier. The definitive point was made at the Louisiana Classic. After having to adjust their lineup due to the loss of Zack Watkins, the Rebels bested the Blue Jays by 44 points. They went on to win the Ken Cole by 78 points over Shaw, followed by a win at the Lafayette Metro championship with only six state-starters participating.

Freshman Brennan Romero started the night off for the Rebels by winning at 106 lbs., making him the next eligible four-time winner in Division II. Senior Ashton Sonnier followed Romero by capturing his second title, and he was followed two matches later by Ethan Boudreaux, who also won a second championship. Four North Desoto championships later, senior John Paul Travasos won his second state championship in a TB-1 match. Brennan Boyer (10th grade), Coen Begnaud (12th), Brandt Babineaux (9th), Hudson Sharon (10th), Reid Bourgeois (12th), Eric Levert (12th) and Joel Lanclos (12th) placed second for the Rebels. Placing third were Owen de Boisbanc (11th) and Kole Hayes (12th).

Archbishop Shaw had their best year since the program started in 2002. The Eagles brought home their first runner-up plaque since 2015 but crushed their 2021 scoring record of 223.5 points by 46, for a total of 269.5. The Eagles were led by three senior state champions. At 120 lbs. Glenn Price capped off his second undefeated season with his fourth Division II state championship, a feat not accomplished since 2016. Jude Monaco also completed a second undefeated season and won his second title, at 182 lbs. He was followed by Nigel Whitehead, who crushed his three opponents in a combined 4:49 at 195 lbs.

Seniors Todd Ritter and Zalen Wilson, and sophomore Raymond Howard, placed second for the Eagles. Freshman Blake Andre, juniors Hayden Tassin and Jason Brown (unseeded) and senior Chad Gooden placed third. Juniors Kobe Nguyen (seeded 5th, placed 4th) and Jason Brown (unseeded, placed 3rd) and sophomore Carson Dalton (unseeded, placed 6th) exceeded expectations for the Eagles.

[LEFT] Division II Outstanding Wrestler award winner John Paul Travasos.

Defending state champion John Paul Travasos filled some big shoes when he moved from 160 lbs. to 170 lbs. after a season-ending injury to fellow senor Zack Watkins. At 160 lbs. his main Division II competition would have been North Desoto's Hunter Hanson, whom Travasos defeated 8-4 in the 2021 Division II 160 lbs. finals. That might have been preferable to his main competition at 170 lbs., Shaw's Zalen Wilson. Wilson pushed Travasos to the limit in the LACL quarterfinals, where the Rebel wrestler needed a reversal with a mere 21 seconds remaining, to win 3-2. He may have felt better in their rematch to place fifth, in which Travasos pinned Wilson in 3:31. Wilson did not share that sentiment. Travasos cruised through his first two matches in 0:36 and 1:14 before a 5:01 semifinals match. Wilson's two matches to reach the finals only took a combined 5:00. In the finals the two were tied 4-4 after regulation and a Sudden Victory period. Travasos scored an escape in the first TB-1 30-second round, and was able to ride Wilson for the entire second 30-second TB-1 round, to garner his second title. It was the third title for the Travasos family at Teurlings Catholic, as elder brother Charles won in 2020.

[RIGHT] Teurlings Catholic coaches Kirby Lee, Ken Masson, Mike Williford, Brad Macha and Dane Langley.

Division II Brackets in PDF

FINAL TEAM SCORES

Place	Team	Points	Place	Team	Points
1	Teurlings Catholic/ Kent Masson, Brad Macha, Kirby Lee, Dane Langley	323	13	Belle Chasse	45
2	Shaw	269.5	14	Pearl River	33
3	Rummel	218	T-15	Broadmoor	24
4	North Desoto	178.5	T-15	Plaquemine	24
5	Rayne	174	17	NOMMA	17
6	Carencro	94	18	Northside	13
7	Lakeshore	79	19	McKinley	7
8	North Vermillion	78	20	Riverdale	4
9	Haughton	73	21	Westgate	3
10	Benton	65.5	T-22	East Jefferson	0
11	Caddo Magnate	57	T-22	Salmen	0
12	St. Thomas More	46	T-22	Woodlawn	0

Rummel's third-place finish was their highest since their runner-up year of 2017, in which they had Blake Mateau and Josh Ramirez. The Raiders had two individual champions. Senior Carter Burgess was expected to win at 126 lbs., and he delivered. Senior Davell Dixon, however, was not supposed to make it past the quarterfinals as a #5 seed. Dixon won in a 2-1 TB-1 match against an opponent who had defeated him twice. Six other Raiders placed. Freshman Kaiden Triche and senior Cole Curry were runners-up. Juniors Stephen Kimball (seeded 2nd), Austen Shook (seeded 3rd) and Lucien Paternostro (seeded not) placed third. Freshman Jake Brandstetter placed fourth while senior Darnell Alexander and sophomore Cameron Gandolfi were fifth.

North Desoto placed fourth behind back-to-back-to-back-to-back titles won by Daniel Olivier, Lance Ferguson, Hunter Addison and Hunter Hanson, from 138-160 lbs., respectively. Five other Griffins also had spots on the podium. Cameron Hebert and Jacob Freeman placed fourth, while Collin Bell, Caden Robison and Marques Hampton placed fifth. Of the nine Griffin placers, only Ferguson, Hanson and Freeman graduate in 2022.

The lone state championship remaining went to Carencro's Quinn Collins at 220 lbs. Collins was the top seed at 220 lbs. in 2021 but was outlasted by Teurlings Catholic's Joel Lanclos, eventually succumbing to a fall in 5:21. This season Collins was also seeded first, but he had over three times as many matches under his belt than in the 2020-21 COVID season. It was still not a lot of matches. He had two prior to the 2021 state championship. This season he had seven, but one all-important one was a 7-4 win over Lanclos, who he also defeated in the finals.

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