Figuring out who the favorites are going into the Allstate Sugar Bowl/LHSAA Wrestling tournament typically isn’t that difficult.
Sometimes, the story of the underdog is just as compelling. Which is exactly what local coaches are hoping for as the two-day meet begins Friday at Bossier City’s CenturyLink Center.
“This year we’re the wild card,” Brusly coach Jimmy Bible said. “It has been a while since we’ve been in this position. This group is young, and I like where we are on the brackets. This whole year has been a learning experience. I hope we can make the best of the chances we have.”
Action begins at 9 a.m. Friday and resumes at 10 a.m. Saturday with finals scheduled to begin at 5 p.m.
Brusly is a traditional power with Division III titles aplenty. The Panthers were the runner-up to De La Salle last season. Like other local leaders, including Division I Catholic, East Ascension and St. Amant, along with Division II Live Oak, the devil will be in the details as teams fight to score points in consolation wrestlebacks Saturday and to place ahead of their seeded positions whenever possible to break into the top five. An exceptional weekend could end with a spot on the podium.
Holy Cross (Division I), Teurlings Catholic (Division II) and De La Salle were the champions a year ago. Brother Martin has returned to form and is the Division I favorite. Teurlings and Parkway are the leaders in Division II, while St. Louis Catholic is set to lead the group of challengers in Division III for De La Salle.
The story for most local teams/competitors is this — they enter the tournament with nothing to lose and everything to gain.
“It is Brother Martin’s to lose,” Catholic coach Tommy Prochaska said of Division I. “They’ve been the best team all year, and they got better during the year. Last month they dominated the Division I duals tournament. I like where we are seeded, and at this point it’s all about going at it as hard as you can six minutes at a time for two days.”
Catholic's Luke Romano at 113 pounds, East Ascension’s Trent Mahoney at 132 and Catholic’s Jacob Fereday at 170 are the area’s No. 1 seeds in Division I. Live Oak’s Camdyn Ingram at 152 and St, Michael's Dane Harter at 182 are the top seeds in Division II. Dunham’s Robert Rabel at 195 is the No. 1 seed in Division III.
“We only have one senior, so this is a young group,” LOHS coach Chris Collier said. “If we stay together and keep working, I believe good things can happen.”
Top LHSAA wrestling seeds
Division I
106 pounds: 1, Connor Hoffman, Brother Martin, So.; 2, Jacob Frost, Holy Cross, 8th grade; 3, Carter Duet, St. Paul’s, Fr.
113: 1, Luke Romano, Catholic, Jr.; 2, Connor Oviedo, St. Paul’s, Jr.; 3, Caruso Signorelli, Holy Cross, So.
120: 1, Michael Lundin, Holy Cross, Jr.; 2, Peyton Ward, St. Paul’s, Fr.; 3, Justin Leal, Brother Martin, Sr.
126: 1, Daniel Croy, Brother Martin, Jr.; 2, Brandon Stein, St. Paul’s, Jr.; 3, Peyton Bass, Airline, Jr.
132: 1, Trent Mahoney, East Ascension, So.; 2, Luke Cotton, Brother Martin, Sr.; 3, Luke Eccles, Jesuit, Jr.
138: 1, Cole Houser, St. Paul’s, Sr.; 2, Dyllon Bernard, Comeaux, Jr.; 3, Alex Duncan, Brother Martin, So.
145: 1, Patrick Evans, Brother Martin, Jr.; 2, Dylan Ames, Comeaux, Jr.; 3, Nakie Brown, St. Amant, Sr.
152: 1, Grant Hughes, St. Paul’s, Sr.; 2, Charles Hudson, Comeaux, Sr.; 3, Nathan Koenig, Jesuit, Sr.
160: 1, Jared Thieler, St. Paul’s, Sr.; 2, Paul Treuting, Jesuit, Sr.; 3, Caden Mumme, Holy Cross, Jr.
170: 1, Jacob Fereday, Catholic, Sr.; 2, Shelby Savoie, Comeaux, Sr.; 3, Mason Massicot, Brother Martin, So.
182: 1, D.J. Evans, Airline, Sr.; 2, Spencer Rayes, Holy Cross, Sr.; 3, Michael Clapp, Brother Martin, Jr.
195: 1, Matt Salinas, Airline, Sr.; 2, Gavin Bonilla, McKinley, Jr.; 3, Jake Arena, St. Paul’s, Sr.
220: 1, Perry Ganci, Jesuit, Jr.; 2, Wes Brady, Zachary, Jr.; 3, Devon Clark, East Ascension, Jr.
285: 1, Mack Brown, Brother Martin, Jr.; 2, Jordan Campbell, East Ascension, Sr.; 3, Roberto Rivero, Grace King, Jr.
Division II
106: 1, Joshua Sarpy, North DeSoto, So.; 2, Matthew Carrier, Teurlings Catholic, So.; 2, Clayton Hill, Live Oak, So.; 3, Ashton Surrency, Shaw, Fr.
113: 1, Colten Sonnier, Teurlings Catholic, Jr.; 2, Cody McCollister, Shaw, Sr.; 3, Francisco Castro, Belle Chasse) So.
120: 1, Blake Mateu, Archbishop Rummel, Sr.; 2, Zachary Harper, Parkway, Sr.; 3, Anthony Ribando, Shaw, Jr.
126: 1, Chris Montalbano, Rummel, Jr.; 2, Cooper Simon, Rayne, Sr.
132: 1, Brett Schneider, Teurlings Catholic, Sr.; 2, Morgan Manuel, Rayne, Jr.; 3, Trey Fontenot, Parkway, Jr.
138: 1, Trevor Tamburo, Parkway, Sr.; 2, Anthony Dodson, Live Oak, Fr; 3, Richard Mack III, North DeSoto, So.; 3, Dylan LeBlanc, Teurlings Catholic, Sr.
145: 1, Taylor Clay, Carencro, Jr.; 2, Lance Robinson, St. Michael the Archangel, Jr.; 3, Charles Travasos, Teurlings Catholic, So.
152: 1, Camdyn Ingram, Live Oak, So.; 2, Carlos Femmer, Teurlings Catholic, Jr.; 3, John Michael Cristler, North DeSoto, Sr.
160: 1, Martin Garrett, Shaw, Sr.; 2, Dalton Driggers, Parkway, Sr.; 3, Mataius Lavine, Sam Houston, Jr.
170: 1, Eduardo Garcia, Shaw, Sr.; 2, Billy Clay, Carencro, Sr.; 2, James Hood, Lakeshore, Sr.; 3, Carson Sanders, Parkway, Jr.
182: 1, Dane Harter, St. Michael the Archangel, Sr.; 2, Kaleb Garcia, Parkway, So.; 3, Christopher Washington, Huntington, Sr.
195: 1, Tyler Carriere, Rayne, Sr.; 2, Trey Winkler, Benton, So.; 3, Peyton Miller, Parkway, So.
220: 1, Daniel (D.J.) Monroe, Haughton, Sr.; 2, Kanyn Barton, Sam Houston, Jr.; 3, Braydon Domingue, Teurlings Catholic, Sr.
285: 1, Miles Santiago, Teurlings Catholic, Jr.; 2, Anthony Ingram, Live Oak, Sr.; 3, Braden Parker, St. Thomas More, Sr.
Division III
106: 1, Cameron Witherwax, St. Louis Catholic, Sr.; 2, Alex Menier, Basile, Fr.; 3, Zachary Lauland, De La Salle, Fr.
113: 1, Alexander Yokubaitis, St. Louis Catholic, So.; 2, Ethan Langley, Basile, 8th-grade; 3, Colton Kendrick, John Curtis, So.
120: 1, Jourdan Theall, North Vermillion, Sr.; 2, Blake Menier, Basile, So.; 3, Jamar Brown, De La Salle, Jr.
126: 1, Sam Pitts, Ouachita Christian, Sr.; 2, Jeffrey Hefner, De La Salle, Sr.; 3, James Geiger, Hannan, Jr.
132: 1, Jacob Routon, Church Point, Sr.; 2, Calep Balcuns, Brusly, So.; 3, Mikey Gordy, Ouachita Christian, Jr.
138: 1, Gavin Christ, Basile, Jr.; 2, Matthew Anderson, Brusly, So.; 3, John-Patrick Broussard, St. Louis Catholic, So.
145: Matthew Matherne, Ouachita Christian, Sr.; 2, Adam Verrett, St. Louis Catholic, Sr.; 3, Hunter Richey, Brusly, Sr.
152: 1, Robert Christman, St. Louis Catholic, Sr.; 2, Cole Ringle, Ouachita Christian, Sr.; 3, Bruce Arceneaux, Church Point, Jr.
160: 1, Matthew Webre, Ouachita Christian, Sr.; 2, Joseph Vincent, St. Louis Catholic, Sr.; 3, Logan David, Basile, So.
170: 1, Ryan Hamrick, De La Salle, Sr.; 2, Brandon Turner, South Plaquemines, Sr.; 3, William Gage, St. Louis Catholic, Jr.
182: 1, Haven Dominguez, Church Point, Jr.; 2, Issac Cortez, Basile, So.; 3, Connor Costello, Ouachita Christian, Sr.
195: 1, Robert Rabel, Dunham, Jr.; 2, William Jicks, St. Louis Catholic, Jr.; 3, Gabe Duplechin, Basile, So. 3, Alex Ormond, De La Salle, Sr.
220: 1, Eric Hamrick, De La Salle, Sr.; 2, Mason Sparks, Lakeside, Sr.; 3, John Drake, John Curtis, Fr.
285: 1, Datremecious “Trey” White, Evangel Christian, So.; 2, D.J. Harvey, Lakeside, Jr.; 3, Jeremiah James, De La Salle, Sr.