By: Ken Trahan--Executive Producer
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Thursday, 12 February
2009 By: Ken Trahan--Executive Producer |
Dating back to 1945, Holy Cross was the dominant program. The
legendary Brother Melchior Polowy assembled a band of young men that brought a
brand of physical wrestling to the mat which was hard to match.
While
the number of teams competing on a statewide basis was small, Holy Cross loomed
large. The Tigers amassed 22 state titles under Brother Melchior, including 20
in a row that they competed in from 1945-1965.
The early Tigers were led
by Jack Hecker, who won an unprecedented four straight individual state
championships from 1945-1948 and by Warren Dugas, who won three-in-a-row from
1945-1947. In 1951, Holy Cross did not compete due to Melchior being ill and
Jesuit claimed the title.
In 1966, East Jefferson beat Holy Cross by two
points to shock the Louisiana wrestling world. Of course, the Tigers would
return to the top in 1967 and 1968.
After a lone hiatus, Holy Cross
would make a comeback in the 1980's, winning state titles 1983 and 1988 under Ed
Kavanaugh, a former state champion in the heavyweight division in 1967 under
Melchior. As a result, Holy Cross has 24 state titles overall, tops in
Louisiana. Holy Cross is in position to compete for the Division Two title this
weekend under Eric Desormeaux.
Jesuit captured its first state championship in 1951 under Edwin Stacy as
seven Jesuit wrestlers captured individual titles. The Blue Jays did not have to
deal with Holy Cross, which did not participate due to Brother Melchior's
illness. Jesuit remained very competitive but could not break through against
Holy Cross or De La Salle until 1972. That's when a wrestling "guru" brought
technical wrestling to a new level in the state.
Coach Surachi "Sam"
Harnsongkram took over the Blue Jays and they would soar, capturing a state
title in 1972, led by the likes of two-time state champs Mike Gaffney and John
Schutte, beginning a string of three straight team titles for Jesuit. They would
win again in 1976 and 1977. In the 1980,'s Jesuit would win four times ('80,
'81, '88, '89) with Spencer Harris, III leading the way. He won three individual
state titles from 1987-1989. The glory decade for Harsongkram and the Blue Jays
was the 90's.
Jesuit won nine state titles in a row from 1990-1998, led
by Michael Hanemann, who won three straight individual crowns from 1991-1993.
Before departing Jesuit, Harsongkram captured 18 team championships. Jesuit
would return to the championship stand under Mark Strickland in 2004 and 2005
and under current coach Carlos Bertot in 2006. The Blue Jays are a co-favorite
to win again this weekend in Division One, trying to add to their 22 state
titles.
Brother Martin came to life out of a merger of St. Aloysius and Cor Jesu in
1970. The Crusaders became very competitive quickly and would break through to
win their first state title in 1979 under Ray Charboneau, featuring Mitch
Michelli and Tommy Messonnier, each of whom won two individual titles, along
with Troy Cross. The Crusaders would become the dominant team of the decade,
winning again in 1982 and then ripping off four straight state championships
from 1984-1987. Those teams were led by Kenny Spellman, who won three-in-a-row,
along with Mark Davenport, who beat now Jesuit coach Carlos Bertot twice for
state titles.
After a dry period of 12 years, the Crusaders would win
another state title in 1999 under Robert Dautrive and would win five more times
under Dautrive, Kenny Spellman and Joe Corso in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2007.
Richie Dixon won three state titles from 1999-2001. Adam Manguno was a two-time
state champion. Joe Gulotta won twice in 2001 and 2002. Nick Shields was a
tree-time state champion, culminating with the team title in 2007.
Lambert, a 1998 Brother Martin graduate, leads the Crusaders into this weekend's
competition as a dark-horse candidate in Division One, just behind the big four
of Catholic, Jesuit, Rummel and St. Paul's. Reed Hart is a top-seed for the
'Saders at 135 pounds. Brother Martin will be trying to add to their 12 state
titles.
De La Salle emerged as a real power at the end of the 1960's. After finishing
second and third in the state, respectively in 1967 and 1968, Coach Pat McArdle
and the Cavaliers ascended to the top of the Louisiana wrestling world in 1969,
beating out East Jefferson and Holy Cross. This would begin a three-year reign
at the top for De La Salle as the Cavaliers would repeat as state champions in
1969, 1970 and 1971.
The Cavaliers were led by Tim Scanlan and Scott
Chappuis, each of whom won back-to-back individual titles in 1969 and 1970. Over
the years, De La Salle has had 34 individual state champions. The Cavaliers of
2009 are led by coach Martin Muller, a former two-time Division Two individual
state champion at St. Martin's back in 1980 and 1981. Though the Cavaliers are
not a threat to powerhouse Brusly in Division Three this year, Muller and Cavs
will field a competitive team in Kenner.
East Jefferson has won a pair of state titles. In 1966, the Warriors of Ray
Gremillion shocked everyone, stopping the Holy Cross dynasty, ending their
consecutive title run at 20 in-a-row, beating the Tigers by two points to win
the state championship. The Warriors were led by George Trygg, who was a
two-time individual state champion.
In 1978, the Warriors won it all
again, led by Craig Seals, Tommy Majors and current Louisiana State Wrestling
Tournament co-chairman Jim Ravannack, all of whom won individual titles under
Trygg, who had become the head coach of the program. Chris Prieur heads the
current Warrior team which competes in Division Two.
Bonnabel finished in a three-way tie for the state championship in 1988 with Holy Cross and Jesuit as all three teams compiled 140.5 points. The Bruins were led by coach Ray Gremillion, who had earlier coached East Jefferson to a state championship in 1966.
St. Paul's, under Craig Ketelsen, won back-to-back Division Two state championshps in 2000 and 2001 before moving up to Division One, where they have been very competitive. Archbishop Rummel has been a consistent top five finisher in Division One over the last decade. Sam Sara became a legendary figure in the Louisiana wrestling community during a quarter century of outstanding coaching at Grace King High School.
The legacies continue Friday and Saturday at the Pontchartrain Center in Kenner with the competition starting at 9 a.m. each day.