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

Podium photo not available

*    Records include all wins but only losses to Louisiana wrestlers.  Forfeits and defaults are not counted.

Preston Gautier defeated second-seed Spencer Hughes of De la Salle (D3 3rd) 14-6 MD, and Evangel's third-seeded Michael Gilreath (D3 2nd) in 1:54, in the Brusly Invitational to earn the #1 seeding position.  Gilreath and Hughes had not met this season, and Gilreath came out of the bottom half of the bracket unscathed.  If the season meant anything, Gautier would have an easier time with the sophomore Gilreath than the 2021 runner-up senior Hughes.  The season meant something.

Senior Synopsis

Top-seeded Hannan junior Preston Gautier lost to four rather good wrestlers this season.  He got the last word in a 1-2 season against Dutchtown’s Foster Shank.  Brother Martin’s Ryan Corca (D1 4th) got the last word in a 1-1 season split.  Shaw’s Todd Ritter (D2 2nd) was the only opponent he did not defeat at least once, but a lot of people shared only losing to Ritter.  Mandeville’s Miles Edwards got the brunt of Gautier’s animosity for losing, falling in the last three of four matches against the Falcon.  After his first losses to Shank and Edwards, Gautier rebounded to place third at the Lakeshore Open and the Bulldog Brawl.  He finished 9^th in the Trey Culotta, but six of the higher placers were non-Louisiana wrestlers.  He won the Brusly Invitational over De la Salle 2021 runner-up Spencer Hughes 14-6 MD.  He placed second to Ritter by two points, 12-10, in the Ken Cole finals, and he won the St. Tammany Parish Championships.

De la Salle senior Spencer Hughes was seeded second.  Hughes was a runner-up in 2021, and in the 2021-22 season he lost only to Gautier (D3 1st), Ritter (D2 2nd), Kent Burandt of Brother Martin (D1 2nd), Teurlings Catholic's Owen De Boisbanc (D2 3rd) and Dutchtown's Foster Shank.  He won the Titan Invitational and the Trygg Memorial, and placed second at the Lakeshore Open and the Brusly Invitational.  During the season he had two wins over Sean King of John Curtis (D3 1st) and Aiden Guy of Fontainebleau (D1 6th), as well as wins over Basile's Luke Fontenot (D3 4th) and Teurlings Catholic's Brayden Hebert.

Evangel sophomore Michael Gilreath was a runner-up as an eighth-grader in 2020 and won a Division III title in 2021.  At Brusly, however, he lost to Gautier and placed third, which probably hindered his chance at being seeded second for the state championships after the second-seeded Gautier defeated the top-seeded Hughes.  He started the season with three losses at 160 lbs. (twice to a D2 runner-up and once to a D2 5^th-place winner).  It would be a month until he lost to another Louisiana wrestler, Sean King of John Curtis (D1 1st), and in that time he posted 13 wins over LA competition.  Other losses came from North Desoto’s Hunter Hanson (D2 1st) and two Division I opponents, until he fell to Gautier at Brusly.  He won the David Beeson Memorial, and the NWLA Regionals, placed second at the ArkLaTex Classic and third at Brusly (T-3^rd via 5-match rule) and the Lone Survivor.

Another to watch was Basile junior Luke  Fontenot.  Although losses to Hughes and Gilreath at Brusly cemented him in the fourth seed spot, Fontenot had a solid season in which he placed second at the Lafayette Metro, third at the Jacob McMillan and seventh at the Trey Culotta. 

Back to Top

Quarterfinals

(1) Preston Gautier (HAN) pinned Noah Williamson (StL) in 1:19

(4) Luke Fontenot (BAS) pinned (5) Brad Taylor (StM) in 4:36

(3) Michael Gilreath (EVA) pinned Sam Messina (EPI) in 0:34

(2) Spencer Hughes (DLS pinned (7) Beau Rabalais (BRU) in 1:41

Back to Top

Semifinals

Fourth-seeded Luke Fontenot gave the top-seeded Gautier all he could handle in the first semifinal match.  Gautier scored a takedown and a reversal in the first two periods, but Fontenot matched the four points via two escapes and two penalty points.  Fonenot's last point was scored with 30 seconds remaining in regulation, and Gautier scored the winning takedown with only 10 seconds remaining.

Being in the same half of the bracket this time, Gilreath met Hughes in the semifinals and held the Cavalier to one takedown, four escapes and one penalty point.  The young Eagle netted two takedowns and a three-point nearfall by the end of the second period, and led 7-1 before ceding an escape and a takedown to Hughes.  Leading 7-4 to start the third period, a penalty point and a Hughes escape made it practical for Gilreath, now only ahead 7-6, to score another takedown, which he did.  Hughes’ escape with 16 second remaining was not enough, and Gilreath walked away with a 9-7 win.

(1) Gavin Gautier (HAN) defeated (4) Luke Fontenot (BAS) 6-4

(3) Michael Gilreath (EVA) defeated (2) Spencer Hughes (DLS) 9-7

Back to Top

Championship Consolation Rounds

Hughes had a tough 9-6 win over Fontenot at Brusly and the Bearcat did not make it any easier for Hughes to place third in this event, succumbing only to a reversal after five minutes had elapsed.  Those were the only points Hughes required in a 2-0 win.

Neither Brusly's Beau Rabalais nor St. Louis' Noah Williamson were expected to be on the podium at the end of the evening.  Williamson got to the CSFs with a 11-2 MD over #5 Brad Taylor of St. Michael.  Rabalais, technically seeded seventh, got there via a 3:37 fall over John Curtis' Aleks Cruz, who, a match earlier, defeated #6 Sam Messina of Episcopal in 1:33.  Rabalais and Williamson had a tough match.  The Panther scored three points in the final 30 second to escape with a 4-2 win over the Patriot.

(2) Spencer Hughes (DLS) defeated (4) Luke Fontenot (BAS) 2-0 to place 3rd

(7) Beau Rabalais (BRU) defeated Noah Williamson (StL) 4-2 to place 5th

Back to Top

Finals

This match did not appear to be an easy one for the top seed.  Yet neither was the match at Brusly, initially.  There, Gilreath scored the first takedown and then exchanged reversals with Gautier.  But that meant Gautier had another chance for a reversal, and he took it, along with taking Gilreath to his back to score a fall in 1:54.

In this match, Gilreath scored two takedowns and a reversal to take a 6-3 first period lead.  Yet, scoring an escape after 30 seconds, Gautier took Gilreath down to his back and scored a fall in 3:18.

(1) Gavin Gautier (HAN) pinned (3) Michael Gilreath (EVA) in 3:18

Back to Top