WE ARE ADAPTIVE WRESTLING-SPECIFIC MEDIA

Place	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th
Podium
Name	Ernie Perry, III	Kristian Scott	Cole Mire	Aiden Krass	Ephraim Craddock	Matthew Krail
School	Airline	Catholic	Dutchtown	East Ascension	St. Amant	Holy Cross
Seed	1	2	3	6	8	4
Record	31-0	36-3	38-9	41-9	40-17	38-9
Class	12	9	12	10	12	9

Way back in December Ernie Perry, III must have tweeted (assuming Elon Musk did not suspend his account) that he was competing at 126 lbs. this season.  After his freshman year, at which he had little choice of competing at 106 lbs., he generally told the state what weight class he chose at the St. Michael Warrior.  It was basically a challenge.  If you want to try to beat me, this is where I am.  Otherwise, best of luck at whatever weight class you choose elsewise.

Think about being the other kid.  Do I want to try to dethrone the three-time defending Division I state champion who has never lost to a Louisiana competitor, or bulk up a tad to 132 lbs., or cut six pounds to make 120 lbs.?  Most chose the latter option, and thus 120 lbs. became a nightmare weight class which will haunt some of these kids well into their 40s, all thanks to Mr. Perry.  (See the D1 120 lbs. page.)  And while Reaux and Roach dominated the 120 lbs. tournament finals matches, some of the kids had to decide to stay at 120 lbs. for Divisional reasons, or to move back to 126 lbs. and hope they could place better than they might have at 120 lbs.  Bulking up to 132 lbs. was not much of an option as Brother Martin's defending state champion Richie Clementi was there.  Rumor had it for a little while that Clementi might drop to 126 lbs., but he chose not to. 

Dutchtown senior Cole Mire was one of the first to admit that he had enough of 120 lbs. weight class.  The move was not kind, though, as he was injured in his first match.  But he came back to make the Louisiana Classic finals, falling to Perry.  He did get past a pesky Catholic freshman named Kristian Scott in the semifinals.  After the LACL he was not really 100%.  He either aggravated his old injury or came up with a new one.  But it was apparent in a 5-3 loss in the Ken Cole finals and a 1-0 loss to Scott in the GBRs.  Apparently, it was evident in the state semifinals, in which he lost to Scott 1-0 and had one more second remained on the clock, might have won.  The editor, or course, did not see the match.  But it may have been nice to end his stellar Dutchtown career on a winning note as he placed third.

As for Scott, who lost to Perry in the finals...well...he is just going to be a mess of trouble for a lot of people in the next three years.

Early Championship Rounds

R1: (1) Ernie Perry, III (AIR) pinned Jack McGuire (BNT) in 1:12

R1: Cameron Bertoniere (MND) pinned Stephen Lato (CNT) in 0:33

R1: (8) Ephraim Craddock (StA) defeated Brayden Forman (ACA) in 9-7

R1: (5) John Michael Bourgeois (JES) pinned Louis Lindsey (HGT) in 3:37

R2: (3) Cole Mire (DUT) defeated Finn Brotherton (LAF) 17-0 TF

R2: (6) Aiden Krass (EA) pinned A.J. Bourg (StP) in 1:51

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Quarterfinals

(1) Ernie Perry, III pinned (8) Ephram Craddock (StA) in 1:18

(4) Matthew Krail (HC) defeated (5) John Michael Bourgeois (JES) 8-5

(3) Cole Mire (DUT) defeated (6) Aiden Krass (EA) 4-2

(2) Kristian Scott (CAT) defeated (7) Hunter Chabert (BM) 9-3

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Semifinals

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Consolation Rounds

C3: A.J. Bourg (StP) pinned Finn Brotherton (LAF) in 1:46

C3: Rhett Hill (LO) defeated Matt Umali (ZAC) 4-3

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Championship Consolation Rounds

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Finals

Ernie Perry, III became the third wrestler, and the first hailing from a public school, to win four Division I state championships when he defeated second-seeded Kristian Scott of Catholic 13-1 MD.

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