Warrior Wrestling

Warriors continue to build towards state tournament.
 The JV tournament went well for the Warriors. We placed in 5 of the 10 weight classes we entered. We had 4 voids at 103, 125, 171, and 285. Even with that many voids we finished 4th just 7 points behind Zachary. Ben Willeford(103), Marshall Leavoy (171), Jordan Staples(285)and Zach Braud(135) were eligible to wrestle, but chose to take advantage of their seeds in the Varsity tournament. If we had those wrestlers in the JV tournament we would have done no worse than 2nd and would certainly have pushed Catholic for the title.
  Landon Carr wrestled well and came away with a second place finish in 112. He wrestled 3 opponents from Catholic High beating Michael Harrison 6-4 in his first match and then pinning Justin Kennedy in 3:26 to advance to the finals. The finals did not start until 10:30. This certainly looked like a factor for Landon as he was pinned by Catholic's Steven Segura in 2:53.
 Tony Deselle had a good showing at 119 and went 2-2. He was one win away from placing. He won a close decision against Catholic's Ethan Daigle 6-5 and then dropped an 11-6 decision to Catholic's Jacob Monistere. Once in the consolation bracket he pinned Brusly's Tommy Gomez in 1:16 befor coming up short against Catholic's Henry Laville 9-0.
 Will Bellefonatine has come on strong after joining the team late. He went 3-1 in the JV tournament finishing 2nd. He pinned Tyler Fullmer(Redemptorist) in just 0:15 and followed that up with a 1:20 pin over Zachary's Ashton Pennington. Andrew O'Brien of Brusly suffered a 17-6 major decision loss to Will in the semis. In the finals Will met Catholic's 130 starter for next year Drew Boatner and dropped a 6-1 decision.
 Seth Fontenot went 3-2 and finished 4th. He had a tough draw, but wrestled well. 4 of the 5 wrestlers he faced are on varsity rosters. Corey Levey of Zachary pinned Seth. Seth then rattled off 3 wins over St. Amant's Aaron Lebeau, Plaquemine's Gavin Landry, and Redemptorist's Josh Ramirez. In the third place match he dropped a 8-3 decision to Catholic's Stephen Bourgeois. 
 Jared Dietrich went 1-2 and T.C. Matherne went 2-2. Both competed hard and should be commended. Matherne lost two close matches a 9-7 decision to Devan Harifrod of Brusly and a 4-0 decision to Catholic's John Beieler.
 Seth LeBlanc took a chance and gave up his seeding in the Varsity Tournament to wrestle the JV tournament. He thought that this might be a good warm-up for the upcoming State tournament as he will have to wrestle both Friday and Saturday. His decision paid off in the JV tournament as he pinned 4 straight opponents in a total combined time of less that 7 minutes. They were in order Dylan Goza(Zachary), Trey Laurent(Dutchtown), Jacob Rabalias(Catholic), and in the finals Dylan Wicker(Zachary) in just 1:26. Seth didn't leave the gym until after 11:15 and had to be back for weigh-in for the varsity tournament at 7:30 where he would be unseeded. He showed tremendous heart.
 Corey Creed has all of the sudden turned it on. He went 3-0 to win the JV tournament. He pinned all 3 of his opponents. Adam Alfred(East Ascension) 1:41, Trevor Beach(Baton Rouge High) 0:23, and Chris Godso(Redemptorist) 1:32 all fell victim to the might Gene Mills half. The 26 points Corey scored for the team were critical and that total was just 2 points behind the 28 Seth LeBlanc scored for the team. 
 Good job guys. I am proud of the way you represented our team and our school. 
Varsity Results
 As a team we finished where I thought we would. I had aspirations of finishing 3rd behind Catholic and Brusly, but Redemptorist had strong showings in the consolation brackets and moved ahead of us to push us back to 4th. I wasn't disappointed with the effort our wrestlers gave. This tournament is tough and many good wrestlers are overwhelmed by the emphasis placed on this tournament. The draws we faced placed us in a tough position to start the tournament. In the first matches we faced 2-#1 seeds, 2-#2 seeds, and 1-#3 seed. We won 2 of those 5 matches. That is no small accomplishment. I thought that the guys that participated in the JV tournament were a step slow and that the amount of rest they had was a factor in how they wrestled Saturday. This is something they will have to overcome for State. 
 Ben Willeford(9) continues to surprise the area wrestling coaches with his consistent performances. He wrestled well scoring a tech fall over Austen Waguespack(East Ascension) 24-6 and then pinning Kyle Chaston(Redemptorist) in 1:40. He met rival Blake Savoie(Catholic) in the finals and wrestled well. He was down 4-3 with 15 seconds left in the match when the referee restarted the wrestlers in the middle of the mat. Off the whistle Savoie immediately shot and held on for 15 seconds to win the City title. Ben was disappointed, but I am sure he learned from this experience and this will help him at the State tournament. 
  Landon Carr(9) and Tony Deselle(11) had tough draws. Landon had to wrestle the #1 seed Luis Alexander(Catholic) in the first round. He was pinned before coming back in his second match against James Rawls(East Ascension) to score a pin in 2:31. His fatigue showed in his last match against Cameon Heil(Tara) where he fell in 2:31. Tony had to face #2 Tommy Ventress(Redemptorist) in his first match. Tommy pinned him in 1:45 Tony then lost to a speedy David Williams(Istrouma) 24-9.
  Will Bellefontaine(9) continued where he left off in the JV tournament taking 3rd place in the Varsity tournament. Will first dispatched the #3 seeded Tre' Vaughn(St. Amant) with an impressive 13-9 decision. He then faced the #2 seeded Michael Oakley(Broadmoor) and dropped a 15-5 decision. Will came back strong and posted a pin in 3:45 over Kevin Olano(Parkview) before accepting a forfeit from Tre' Vaughn due to the 5 match rule to garner a third place finish as a freshman.
 Zach Braud(10) had a tough day and dropped to matches to the #4 and #3 seeds Jay Veasman(Dutchtown) and Blake Forroux(Redemptorist). He also had a pin over Quniton Moore(Tara). Zach is looking to rebound and have a successful state tournament.
 Seth Fontenot(11) and Jared Dietrich(10) went 0-2, but had flashes of briliance. They will work hard over the next 2 weeks and have a better showing at state. The determination these two guys have demonstrated this year is amazing. I am greatful that these guys are a part of this team.
 Seth Leblanc(12) had some fatigue going for him after the four matches he wrestled on Saturday night. All he did was pin the #2 seeded A.J. McIlwain(Dutchtown) before falling to the #3 seed Beau Haydel(Brusly) in the semis. He followed this up with a pin over Michael Roberts of Redemptorist in just 0:45. Seth wrestled a great match for 3rd and had a chance to win, but was outlasted by Kenny Whittle(Catholic) 17-14.
 Derek Lemoine(9) and Clay Tucker(9) posted 0-2 records in the varsity brackets. Derrick lost to a junior and a senior. Clay lost to #3 seed Tim Becnel(Parkview) and then lost a nail biter to Christian Colston(Zachary) 9-7. Two more guys that have made huge strides. I look forward to big things from these guys in the future.
 Marshall Leavoy(10) had a scare in his first match against unseeded Willie Young. He survived with a 4-3 victory to advance to the semis where he met #4 seeded Arthur Hoover(Lee). Marshall got back on track with a quick 1:00 pin to make the finals. He left nothing to doubt in the finals pinning J.P Luckett(Catholic) in 5:01 after dominating the match. This made Marshall the first St. Michael City Champ. There had been City champs from Sullivan, but Marshall is the first from St. Michael. He wants to make it a double and be the first St. Michael state champion but may be second or third in line for that honor.
 Corey Creed(12) had a good showing going 2-2 and could concievable made the finals with a better draw. By falling in the top half of the bracket he had to face the #1 seed Michael Johnson(Zachary) in the semis after pinning his first opponent Jugit Sandhu(St. Amant) in 1:56. Johnson pinned Corey in 3:45. Corey then faced Tyler Hebert(East Ascension) by pin in 1:40. Redemptorist's Ryan Hale took advantage of a Creed mistake to pin him in 0:30. If not for two mistakes I believe Corey could have won this tournament.
 Jordan Staples(12) had a tough draw as well. He pinned his first opponent Michael Caine(Redemptorist) in a scant 0:39. He then had to face returning city Champ Alex Schofield(Brusly). Alex dispatched Jordan quickly. He has done this to all but one other opponent this year. A tough #2 seed Stephen Dodson(Zachary) also pinned Jordan leaving him with a 1-2 record for the weekend.
 This weekend was a good tune up for state. I hope that these guys take the lessons learned this weekend and correct our shortcomings before the state tournament. If we do so and get some breaks who knows what could happen. Hold your heads high you represented your parents , your school and your teammates well this weekend. Geaux Warriors!!!!!!!!!!