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Four teams won Louisiana championships last weekend while one won a Mississippi event and one had a Top-8 placer in a very tough Missouri tournament.

Pink Panther Invitational

The Baton Rouge Bulldogs ran away with the Pink Panther Invitational, making Bill Bofinger's squad the first team to win a...sigh...JV-Select Only tournament in Louisiana.  The Bulldogs scored 110.5 points, exceeding runner-up Brusly's 63 points by 47.5 points.  South Beauregard placed third.

The lady Bulldogs were helped by entering 11 wrestlers, but entering that many in a JV-Select tournament is a win of a different nature.  They did have three champions, and junior Lea LeDuff remains undefeated on the season with a 10-0 record.

Brusly's 138 lbs. champion Sara Daley, also a junior is also undefeated at 14-0.  South Beauregard entered two wrestlers and the Knights came away with two championships and a third-place team finish.  Haughton's 120 lbs. champion, sophomore Natalie Davis, is now 4-0 on the JV-Select circuit and has a runner-up finish to Teurlings Catholic's defending Division II state champion Brennan Romero at the Riot on the Red.  Chalmette's Ta'ken Alexander, a junior and the 126 lbs. champion, is also undefeated on the JV-Select circuit with a 11-0 record.

Individual champions and Baton Rouge champions and placers	Haughton's Natalie Davis with coaches Stanley, Washington and O'Nishea

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Jacob McMillan Memorial

Teurlings Catholic demolished 28 other teams at the Jacob McMillan Memorial, held at Comeaux High School on Saturday.  The Rebels had seven individual champions, one runner-up and two third-place finishes and scored 250.5 points, 148.5 points more than runner-up Basile.

What is interesting is that the Bearcats, although only in their first non-dual meet tournament or event, still had 12 wrestlers, whereas Shaw, who placed third with 98 points, four behind the Bearcats, only entered seven, and Raymond Howard, the 2022 Division I runner-up, was at Hahnville.  Neither was Carson Dalton.  Division III may be tougher than the Bearcats might like with the invasion of the Eagles come February. 

There were some pretty seed-influencing matches at this event re the Louisiana Classic:

At 120 lbs. Tyson Roach of Sam Houston upended Southside's Landon Reaux 14-5 MD.  This was an answer to Reaux's pasting of Roach 16-9 in a November 29th dual meet, which was Reaux's answer to Roach's 13-1 MD shellacking of Reaux in the Spartan Invitational finals.  It is highly likely these two will meet again at the Trey Culotta Invitational's second day on December 22nd.  The winner will likely meet Brother Martin's undefeated Jacob Elsensohn, who defeated Roach in 5:30 on November 26th.

At 160 lbs. Fontainebleau's Aiden Lindsey laid claim to the top-spot at 160 lbs. with a 4:21 fall over Teurlings Catholic's Owen deBoisbanc.  In the Spartan Invitational finals Lindsey upset Holy Cross' Nicholas DiGeralamo 6-4.  Before the Spartan Lindsey was 8-4.  Counting and since then he is 12-0.

At 126 lbs. Hunter Tassin of Shaw edged South Beauregard's Bryce Fontenot 7-6 in the finals, which could be an preview of the Division III state finals.  The consolation finals proved just as interesting.  Pollex Coleman of Sam Houston took a seasonal 3-1 match lead over Acadiana's Cayden Richard via a 7-6 score.  The first three matches between the two ended in a first-period and two third-period falls.

Southside's Wiley Boudreaux has fluctuated at 138 and 145 lbs. this season, but went 132 lbs. for this event.  The Shark senior has a 16-0 record including wins over Holy Cross' Sebastian Vidacovich and Dutchtown's Cole Gross.  Sharks are natural hunters and absolutely fearless.  Someone might need a bigger boat.

At 152 lbs. Hudson Sharon of the Rebels avenged a 15-10 loss to Basile's defending Division III state champion Luc Johnson with an 8-7 win.  Expect to see these two again, and probably before the Lafayette Metro.

"Bye" once again was the only opponent to avoid losing via a technical fall to the Rebels' undefeated freshman Alex Rozas at 106 lbs.

Team Champions: Teurlings Catholic	St. Amant placers: JV - 1st Britton Mcgurety, 2nd Mason Asevado; Varsity - 2nd Bradley Anderson

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Hahnville Tiger Clash

Shaw won the Hahnville Tiger Clash, scoring 28 more points than the runner-up host team.  The Eagles scored 158.5 points to the Tigers' 130.5.  Destrehan was third with 83 points.

Team Champion: Shaw	Team Runner-up: Hahnville

East Jefferson entered eight wrestlers in the event, while Glen Oaks, which last had a team in 2021, which was the first since the school fielded teams in 1970, 1971 and 1972, entered five.  Each also had a champion.  The only school to field a full 14-wrestler team was Mike Savage's and Dan Erwin's (the former Hahnville coach) Kenner Discovery Health Sciences Academy.  The Swamp Owls did not have a champion, but had three runner-up and three third-place finishers in their fourth-place team finish.

Worth mentioning also is the stalwart Tylan Watts of St. Augustine.  Watts did not win a match, but he won most of one.  He was ahead 5-3 after two periods but lost the third 4-0.  Regardless, it was a learning experience and the sophomore deserves credit for being the only member of the school's wrestling team.  Watts is 3-2 on the season with a third-place finish at the Duplessis Invitational.

East Jefferson	Glen Oaks	Kenner Discover Health Science Academy

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Belle Chasse Duals

Brusly won a three-way tie between the Panthers, Dutchtown and East Ascension by criteria at the Belle Chasse duals.  Ducthtown placed second and East Ascension third. 

Belle Chasse Duals Winners: Brusly

Bulldog Brawl, MS

Brother Martin won the Bulldog Brawl at Van Cleave High School in Mississippi.  The Crusaders had two scoring champions and three scoring runners-up.  John Curtis placed ninth and had two champion, a third-place finisher and a fourth-place finisher.

Brother Martin's Noah Confident, a non-scoring Crusader, defeated teammate Blake McDonald 3-1 and was selected the tournament's Outstanding Wrestler.

First-place Team: Brother Martin	Outstanding Wrestler: Noah Confidant

John Curtis 182 lbs. Champion Aden LaBorde (top)	John Curtis 195 lbs. champion Anthony Smith (top)	John Curtis 170 lbs. third-place finisher Jerome Bridges (right)

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Kansas City Stampede

In a brutal Midwest tournament, North Desoto freshman Jacob Kershaw placed eighth.  The 106 lbs. bracket at the Kansas City Stampede had 50 entrants.

In the "Second Chance" event, Lathan Tabor and Sam Mills placed second, Nathan Adams placed third and Caden Robison and Collin Bell placed fourth.

Kershaw with his 8th-place Kansas City Stampede medal	the Top-8 106 lbs. wrestlers at the Kansas City Stampede

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