WE ARE RETIRED WRESTLING-SPECIFIC MEDIA

The last weekend of tournaments is over.  A few dual meets remain scheduled, but it is doubtful any coaches will risk seeding positions their wrestlers already earned.

There were no doubt some outstanding matches held today.  It would be tough to beat the match in which Catholic’s Kristian Scott scored four points in the last 10 seconds to defeat East Ascension’s Aiden Krass in the Greater Baton Rouge Championships (GBRs). 

There were some great team races as well.  For the first time in its 54-year history, the GBR team trophy and the right to host the event in 2025 goes to a school in a parish that does not have Baton Rouge in its name.  The East Ascension Spartans won the event with 275.5 points.  Should the Spartans need a fail-safe in the event their gymnasium renovations are not completed enough to host the tournament, Dutchtown High School, also in Ascension Parish, finished second with 264 points.  Catholic High School, who has won the event 33 times, finished in third place with 251 points.

KUDOS Award

Something I do not believe I have ever done is to recognize a wrestler and team of the weekend.  East Ascension comes to mind, as does North Desoto, which ran away with the Northwest Louisiana Regionals by 122 points.  Or, I could choose Kenner Discovery as they won the Jefferson Parish Public School Championships in only their second year of existence. But I am picking a wrestler whose participation today was not to improve his seeding.  Luckily for me, that wrestler also literally embodies his team, making my team choice very easy.  My Kudos Award goes to junior Tylan Watts, the only wrestler for St. Augustine.  Watts is 7-6 on the season, and that record shows three losses to out-of-state wrestlers.  The record reflects only 13 matches because he was injured at the Trey Culotta.  Yet he and his coach chose to enter the Catholic District Duals, which is something Holy Cross, Shaw, John Curtis and De la Salle chose not to do.  Did he think he was going to beat Jesuit or Brother Martin’s first-string wrestler?  Doubtful.  He needed some time on the mats, though, and he got just that.  He should be a safe #6 seed in Division II in Bossier City.

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Catholic League District Duals Championship

I had to wake up at 10 a.m. to watch the dual between Brother Martin and Jesuit.  I do not awaken that early on weekdays unless I have outpatient surgery scheduled.  But this was on a Saturday.  And I found it a disappointing match. By no means am I inferring that the kids wrestled second rate or that the coaches did not do what they thought was best for their wrestlers before making their lineups.   First, though, let us look at the event as it was.  It was the Catholic League District Duals Championship.  As a duals championship, if a Catholic League wrestler earned a certain seed over another Catholic League wrestler at the Louisiana Classic (LACL), the dual meet status of this event means the kid who won at the LACL will keep his seeding if he loses to the kid he beat at that event.  Basically, it means some kids can lose but it will not cost them anything.

That does not happen in the greater Baton Rouge area. 

Just as disappointing was that Holy Cross, De la Salle, Shaw and John Curtis chose not to participate in the event. 

That does not happen in the greater Baton Rouge area, either.

Brother Martin, Jesuit, Rummel and St. Augustine went to Rummel for the event.

Re the Brother Martin-Jesuit match, Jesuit put three starters up a weight class.  After Spencer Lanosga’s match at 285 lbs. they were ahead 41-20, so they forfeited the next two matches. 

It was just disappointing to wake up for a match in which it appeared nobody really gave a damn about winning.

That begs the question: would the same thing have occurred if the scheduled dual meet at Jesuit last Wednesday were not cancelled? 

I understand if the Crusaders kept Hunter Chabert out of their lineup for that particular dual meet.  Coach Andrew Nicola has been very careful about using Chabert due to a back injury, and it has worked quite well so far, as Chabert should be the #1 seed at 132 lbs. in Bossier City.  I would have bet that Chabert would have asked to compete in the match were it held last Wednesday.

Instead of the rather ridiculous event at Rummel on Saturday, could not the Blue Jays have rescheduled the dual meet at Jesuit for Friday night.  The Blue Jay basketball players did not have a game that evening.  Were that the case, then the match people want to see more than just once a year could have been held, with Jesuit fans filling the Carrolton Avenue side of the gym and Crusader fans filling the City Park Avenue side.  Come the next day neither Brother Martin nor Jesuit could be blamed for sending their second-string teams to Rummel.  Rummel might have appreciated that, having lost to Jesuit 58-20 and Brother Martin 51-18.  Rummel forfeited four matches against the Blue Jays and Crusaders in each match.  St. Augustine’s Tylan Watts certainly might have appreciated not facing the opponents he did that Saturday.

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Greater Baton Rouge Championships

GNR Champions: East Ascension Spartans	GBR Runners-up: Dutchtown Griffins

East Ascension had the team title before the finals began.  (They scored 10 points in the finals, and Catholic could only have won six more if they won at 285 lbs.)    The best Catholic could have done was finish 10.5 points behind the Spartans, and Dutchtown would still have placed second.  What EA might want to keep in mind during the next two weeks, though, was that they had nine finalists but only won two weight classes.

Scott’s win over Krass makes seeding Division I 132 lbs. a mess.  Scott beat Krass.  Yet Jesuit’s J. P. Webre beat Scott at the LACL.  Krass beat Webre in a dual meet and again for 3^rd at the LACL. If the #2-#4 seeds represent a Mobius Loop then Krass is the only wrestler with two wins over the other two.  I think that puts Krass at #2, Scott #3 and Webre #4.

East Ascension’s Jesse Maneckshaw won the 120 lbs. weight class.

Another match with seeding implications was the 126 lbs. final between Catholic senior Christian Worley and Walker junior Kye Karcher.  Worley will probably get the #1 spot over Holy Cross’ Landon Smith.  Jose Rincon of Jesuit looks to be seeded third.  That leaves Karcher in the #4 spot, except for the presence of Acadiana sophomore Ozias Gray.  Gray has only four losses.  One was a 4-3 decision by Texas state champion Kelby Bernard.  The other three were to the best 126 lbs. wrestler in the state, Division II’s Tyson Roach of Sam Houston.  Either way, Karcher looks to be in the top part of the bracket at #4 or #5.

Dutchtown junior Cole Gros solidified his #1 seed with a 40 seconds finals fall.  Gros’ only loss on the season was to a Gilroy, California kid in the LACL finals. 

Zachary senior Sergio Houston solidified a #2 seed with a fall over Live Oak’s Kolton West.  West will probably be at #4 with Chalmette’s Leeland Webb at #3.

Dutchtown’s Foster Shank has five losses but only one of them is to a Division I wrestler.  Nick DiGeralamo of Holy Cross will be seeded first at 157 lbs., but Shank moved himself out of DiGeralamo’s half of the championship bracket by knocking off EA freshman Braylon Stewart in 2:34.  Dutchtown had another champion in Noah Hyatt at 113 lbs.

William Mathis probably locked-up the #1 seed at 175 lbs. with a fall over St. Amant’s Bradley Anderson.  Anderson should be looking at a #4 seed, pitting him against Mathis again in the semifinals should state seeding hold.  That is not necessarily a bad thing, though, as Anderson defeated Mathis in the 5-5A District finals in late December.

The 190 lbs. weight class has been EA senior Jacobi Clement’s all year.  He is now 56-0 with wins over guys who beat guys who beat St. Paul’s Jackson Peak, who should be the #2 seed.  Clement does not need much motivation for February.  His whole season appears to be a statement that he remembers February of 2023 very well.

Live Oak’s Gage Kelly looks to be seeded sixth at 215 lbs.  To make the semifinals he will probably have to go through a third-seeded Danon Walker of Airline, and then Samuel Torres in the semifinals to reach, odds are, Jackson Calderaro of Jesuit in the finals.  This is no easy weight class.. 

Walker’s Gabriel Millbern should be seeded #2 at 285 lbs.  And we all know who he should meet in the finals.  No matter what Spencer Lanosga may be ranked nationally, anyone at 285 lbs. who makes a simple mistake can find someone else’s 285 lbs. on their chest with their back to the mat.

Beau Rabalais and Braylin Poston did very well for themselves in winning titles for Brusly at 106 lbs. and 165 lbs.  Poston should be seeded third in Division II at 106 lbs.  Rabalais should be third at 165 lbs.

Catholic did get a championship by Reece Knight at 138 lbs. 

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Jesse James Southwest Shootout

Sulphur won the Jesse James Southwest Shootout by 52 points over Sam Houston, 178.5 to 126.5.  South Beauregard and St. Louis were the only other teams to break 100 points as they tied for third with 102 points. Chevy Coleman won her second Shootout championship via three falls.  Junior Landon Royer of DeQuincy won at 120 lbs. and Tyson Roach of Sam Houston spent 3:08 to win his four matches.  Senior Nolan McMichael of St. Louis should have earned the #2 seed in the Division III 132 lbs. weight class.  Sam Houston’s Peyton Miller should be the top seed in Division II at 157.  Miller scored falls in 2:58, 0:18 and 1:23.  His only losses came from out-of-state opponents, Division I opponents and to Division II’s Larry Davis of Parkway.  Miller had defeated Davis earlier in the year and his fifth-place finish at the LACL supersedes Davis’s failure to place in that event.

St. Louis’ Graham Montet used four falls and a technical fall to win the 190 lbs. weight class.  Nobody should forget that while Montet placed third in Division III in 2023, he placed first in 2022.  The Saint has some game!  St. Louis’ Nolan McMichael won at 138 lbs. and should be a #2 seed behind Evangel’s #1 Joseph Gilreath. 

Colt Fisher has some game as well for the Broncos of Sam Houston.  He should be a solid #3 seed in the Division II 285 lbs. class.

Other champions were Caleb Walker of Sulphur at 113 lbs., Lawton Royer of South Beauregard at 120 lbs., Tyson Roach (really?) of Sam Houston at 126 lbs., Karlin Ducote of Sulphur at 132 lbs. and Jess LeBlanc of Sulphur at 144 lbs..  LeBlanc upset Sam Houston’s Trent Hudson, but losses in January often work well toward wins in February.  Aydan Green  picked up another title for South Beauregard at 150 lbs.  Isaias Lebaron of Sulphur won at 165 lbs. and the Golden Tornado’s Dax Duhon won at 175 lbs.  At 215 lbs. sophomore Dominique Delacruz of Lake Charles College Prep pinned his four opponents in just under 3:00 of mat time.

Lafayette Metro

Acadiana High School champions of the 2024 Lafayette METRO: Preston Courville 165 champion Cayden Wiggins 190 champion  Brayden Forman 138 Champion  Neimiah White 157 Champion

Lafayette High School nipped the Teurlings Catholic Rebels by three points, 182 to 179.  Teurlings rested most of their starters save Carter Macha and Kendra James, who both won their weight classes.

I think a lot of 106 lbs. wrestlers in Division I and III are glad that Basile freshman Logan Bergeron is in Division III.  On RankWrestlers Bergeron is second to Shaw’s Kale Muscarello, but Bergeron has a 4-0 shutout over Muscarello from finals of the Jimmy Vidrine Division III tournament.  If that is the case then Bergeron should get the #1 seed.

St. Edmund eighth-grader Cooper Berzas should be seeded second in Division III 113  lbs. behind Shaw’s Blake Andre  He is the third best on RW, but the two above him both wrestler for Shaw.  And that will place Basile’s Patrick Fontenot in the #3 spot.  Rayne’s Ayden Broussard looks like a solid #6 seed in the Division II 132 lbs. weight class and may a fifth-seed if winning this championship counts more than Brusly’s Cameron Reddit placing 3^rd at the GBRs. 

At 138 lbs. Acadiana’s Brayden Forman won, which should solidify his #2 seed just below Brother Martin’s Richie Clementi.

At 175 lbs. freshman Carter Macha kept himself in the #2 spot for state, behind #1 Lake Bates of North Desoto.  Senior Rebel and #1 seed in Division II at 215 lbs., Kendra James won this championship 15-3 MD over the probable second seed, Mateo Peterson of North Vermillion.   Two days earlier James pinned Peterson.

Comeaux senior Royal Lazard won at 285 lbs. and probably a #2 seed in the Division II 285 lbs. weight class.

Other champions were Lafayette’s Johnathan Johnlouis at 120 lbs., Comeaux’s Jaxon Muffoletto at 126 lbs., Comeaux’s Ryan Jenkins at 144 lbs., Lafayette’s Jonathan Tassi at 150 lbs., Acadiana’s Neimiah White at 157 lbs., White’s Ram teammate Preston Courville at 165 lbs. as did Cayden Wiggins, another Acadiana Ram, at 190 lbs.

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District 7/8 5A

Chalmette scored 243 points, which was 89 better than Destrehan could muster to win the District 7/8 5A championships.  The Owls had champions at 106 lbs., 132 lbs., 144 lbs., 150 lbs., 157 lbs.,  165 lbs., 175 lbs. and 190 lbs.  OK, those kids have names, too:  Hasan Khala, Amir Gaber, Cole Caruso, Mohammed Gaber, Leeland Webb, Leo Gonzales, Mohammed Altayeb, and Derrick Bennett.  They placed second twice,  placed third twice and placed fourth once.  Only one Owl failed to make the top-four.  With the loss in the GBR finals of Live Oak’s Kolton West, and the fact that Webb defeated West 7-3 to place 3rd at the LACL, Webb looks to a seeded second at 150 lbs.

Other winning Battle of New Orleans titles were Hahnville’s Alex Cook, Destrehan’s Jacob Britt, Jordan Breaux of John Ehret, Davin Weiland of Hahnville, Gideon Bowman of Destrehan and Sterling Barthelemy of Belle Chasse.

Jefferson Parish Public School Championships

In their second year of wrestling the Swamp Owls of Kenner Discovery Health Sciences Academy won the Jefferson Parish Public Schools Championships.    KDH scored 183 points, besting runner-up Riverdale by 39 points.  The Swamp Owls put 10 wrestlers into the finals and won titles at 126 lbs., 150 lbs. and 165 lbs. The winners for Kenner Discovery were Dominick Rose, Franklin Hernandez and Ala Odetallah.  Lance Leblanc, Sypher Tamborella and Isac Tamborella won for Fisher, Tristan Cantrelle, Justin Smith, Ethan Smith and Taylor Mahoney for the Scottish Rebels of Riverdale,    Haynes had champions in Joshua Bertuglia, Anashe Gaseller, Henry Travis and Ben So.

North Louisiana Regionals

After a fifth-place showing at the LACL, which is very good, North Desoto held nothing back at the Northwest Louisiana Regions.  The Griffins scored 278 points which was 122 points better than runner-up Benton could garner.  Parkway was third, followed by Evangel and Airline. The Griffins won the first eight titles, from 106 lbs. to 150 lbs., before they were held to a mere runner-up spot at 157 lbs.  After that they took three more championships, making 11 on the day, and another runner-up spot.  Parkway, Benton and Airline won the other three titles. Griffin champions were Lathan Tabor, Jacob Kershaw, Michael Washington, Nathan Adams, Collin Bell, Dylan Compton, Dalton Compton, Chase Smart, Lake Bates, Caden Robison and Caiden Burns. Larry Davis won a title for Parkway at 157 lbs. as did Cooper Reagan for Benton at 175 lbs. and Airline’s Danon Walker at 215 lbs.

St. Tammany Parish Championships

St. Paul was the only team to enter a full team but that is not why they won their umpiest (they past umpteenth years ago) St. Tammany Parish Championship.  Six champions, four runners-up, three third-place finishes and one fourth-place finish did that.  All 14 Wolves wrestlers placed in the top-four.  Fontainebleau placed second with 176 points but that was 74 point behind the 250 scored by St. Paul.  Hannan placed third, scoring 2.5 more points than fourth-place Lakeshore. Champions for St. Paul were Rhett Nastasi, Landen Noblet, Conlan Enk, Caleb Shartle, Jackson Peak and Matthew Burmaster. Fontainebleau won four consecutive titles from 120 lbs. to 138 lbs.  The Bulldog champions were Braden Sellers, Samuel Favaza, Seth Grady and Asher Wilson.  Lakeshore had champions in Bryce Latino, Dominic Joppa and Kaleb Sanders.   Northshore’s Samuel Torres won at 215 lbs.

Fontainebleau champions Brayden Sellers (120 lbs.), Samuel Favaza (126 lbs.) , Seth Grady (132 lbs.), Asher Wilson (138 lbs.) and some other placers I know not enough to name.  They are, I am told, Cole Poore (2nd at 106), Dustin Smith (2nd at 113 lbs.), Carter Cabiro (2nd @ 165 lbs. and Landen Redman (2nd at 285 lbs.).

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