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WE ARE ADAPTIVE
WRESTLING-SPECIFIC MEDIA |
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Already the best
in the state at 152 lbs., Johnson give 145 lbs. a try |
LHSAA State
Wrestling Tournament |
Division III - 145
Pounds |
August 20th, 2023| Written by:
Staff Writer |
Place |
1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
5th |
6th |
Podium |
![](../../Match%20Photos/Division%20III/D3%20Photos%20Thumbnails/D3%20145%201st%20Johnson_small1.JPG) |
![](../../Match%20Photos/Division%20III/D3%20Photos%20Thumbnails/D3%20145%202nd%20O'Connor_small2.JPG) |
![](../../Match%20Photos/Division%20III/D3%20Photos%20Thumbnails/D3%20145%203rd%20Curtis_small2.JPG) |
![](../../Match%20Photos/Division%20III/D3%20Photos%20Thumbnails/D3%20145%204th%20Turnley_small2.JPG) |
![](../../Match%20Photos/Division%20III/D3%20Photos%20Thumbnails/D3%20145%205th%20Wagner_small2.JPG) |
![](../../Match%20Photos/Division%20III/D3%20Photos%20Thumbnails/D3%20145%206th%20McMichael_small2.JPG) |
Name |
Luc Johnson |
Liam O'Connor |
Preston Curtis |
Lane Turnley |
Tristan Wagner |
Nolan McMichael |
School |
Basile |
De la Salle |
John Curtis |
Kaplan |
St. Michael |
St. Louis |
Seed |
1 |
2 |
3 |
6 |
5 |
4 |
Record |
33-1 |
44-7 |
24-9 |
22-14 |
24-17 |
20-12 |
Class |
12 |
12 |
11 |
10 |
12 |
11 |
Basile senior Luc Johnson was the best wrestler at 152 lbs. in the state.
Quite often a Division III wrestler of Johnson's caliber might move up a weight
class. Johnson, however, possibly to help eliminate De la Salle from
championship or runner-up contention dropped to 145 lbs. He was pretty
sure to find De la Salle senior Liam O'Connor there. Without Johnson in
that weight class, O'Connor would have been a heavy favorite to win a fourth
title for the Cavaliers.
Defending Division III state champion Luc Johnson lost one match all season.
That was an 8-7 loss to Teurlings Catholic's soon-to-be state champion Hudson
Sharon. Johnson defeated Sharon in an earlier dual meet and later in the
Ken Cole finals. So he won everything else: the Trey Culotta over Brother
Martin's Tai Leblanc, the Jimmy Vidrine over soon to be two-time Division III
state champion Preston Gautier of Hannan, the Louisiana Classic over Covington's
Anthony Hernandez and the Ken Cole. He defeated Brother Martin's Nick
Cusimano when he was still a darn good member of the Crusaders' team. He
beat the Division III state champion Gautier, and the top-seed at 152 lbs. at
the state championships Jensen Bergeron of Lafayette (D1 3rd). Nobody want
Johnson in their weight Class.
Liam O'Connor, a senior at De la Salle, placed fourth in 2021 and second in
2022. This season he was 41-6 entering the state championships. One
loss was to Brother Martin's Kent Burandt (D1 1st). Two were to Teurlings
Catholic's Brandt Babineaux (D2 2nd), one was to North Desoto's Dalton Compton
(D2 1st). Another was to a D1 state placer and a D1 wrestler who did not
compete at the state championships. O'Connor won the Warrior Open, the
Lakeshore Open, the Bulldog Brawl, the Trygg Memorial and the Jimmy Vidrine
Division III. He placed second at the Titan Invitational, 4th at the
Louisiana Classic and fifth at the the Trey Culotta. He split matches with
Chalmette's Leeland Webb (D1 5th) and defeated Catholic's Elijah Gilmore (D1
2nd) and Covington's Anthony Hernandez (D1 4th).
Quarterfinals
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(5) Tristan Wagner (StM) defeated (4) Nolan McMichael (StL) 6-2 |
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(3) Preston Curtis (JC) defeated (6) Lane
Turnley (KAP) 8-5 |
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(2) Liam O'Connor (DLS) pinned (7) Ian Barns (ROS) in 3:22 |
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Semifinals
(1) Luc Johnson (BAS) pinned (5) Tristan Wagner (StM) in 1:08 |
(2) Liam O'Connor (DLS) defeated (3) Preston
Curtis (JC) in 3:01 |
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Consolation Rounds
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C2: (7) Ian Barns (ROS) pinned Ethan Lentz (SHW) in 3:36 |
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Championship Consolation Rounds
(3) Preston Curtis (JC) defeated (6) Lane Turnley (KAP) 8-4
to place 3rd |
(5) Tristan Wagner (StM) pinned (4) Nolan
McMichael (StL) in 4:48 to place 5th |
Back to Top
Finals
(1) Luc Johnson of Basile defeated (2) Liam
O'Connor of De la Salle 12-2 MD
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Johnson started off the match with a
5-0 first-period lead. O'Connor won the second period 2-1,
In the third period Johnson ruled, scoring six points and not
allowing O'Connor to score anything. Johnson had his
second Division III title with a 12-2 Major Decision. |
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