2012-13 Results and Media Coverage
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| Auburn (Ala.) wrestler Aaron Harris, top right, attempts to pin Alex Lovett, bottom right, of Fort Walton Beach (Fla.), while Rummel's Tyler Troncoso, top left, attempts to do the same to Lafayette's Gabriel Savoy, bottom left, on the next mat.* | MacArthur (Okla.) wrestler Briar Adams, top near, attempts to pin David Kreiser, bottom near, of Arlington (Tenn.) while Jonah Hooton, top far, of Choctawhatchee (Fla.) attempts to do the same to Joshua Houston, bottom far, of Germantown (Tenn.) on the next mat.* | The Deep South Bayou Duals drew large crowds of wrestling fans to the Baton Rouge River Center on Friday.* |
* Photos by Jerit Roser, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
Baton Rouge — Fans filled the stands at both ends of the Baton Rouge River Center and surrounded the 16 mats spread across its floor.
Forty-four wrestling teams, including several of the state's and country's top programs, opened the two-day 2012 Deep South Bayou Duals tournament Friday with pool play. All will return to action Saturday, but only eight with hopes still alive for the event's crown.
"I think it's awesome," said Phoenix (N.Y.) Coach Gene Mills, a legendary Olympic and Hall of Fame wrestler. "I love the way they have it out — 16 mats, moving right along. I'm glad we came." Mills' Firebirds were among 23 schools from eight other states to make the trip to face one another and 21 of Louisiana's best.
Live Oak veteran Cody Hill compared the atmosphere to Louisiana's state tournament, where he won Division II's 120-pound class title last season. "I think it's actually probably a little bigger than state because of the different divisions," Hill said. "It's pretty big … It's good because all the younger guys get the big experience of the big tournament and the big feeling, all the mats and competition from other states."
Teammate Brody Bonura remembered being somewhat overwhelmed as a freshman this time last year. The sophomore felt more focused and determined this time around. "It's a pretty big deal — it's a pretty big meet for us," he said. "Last year, I was nervous. This year, I've gotta wrestle hard and do what I can do to help my team."
Six of the eight schools to win Louisiana state championships in the past four years participated, including host Brusly, winner of eight of the past nine Division-III titles, and nearby Catholic-Baton Rouge, the 2010 Division-I winner. Brother Martin, Jesuit and Rummel represented New Orleans and three of the past four Division-I winners, while 2011 and 2012 Division-II winner Teurlings made the trip from Lafayette.
"Since I've been coaching, this has probably been one of the only tournaments that we've had the top six or seven Division-I schools here and pretty much all the state champions from our state here," Brusly Coach Jimmy Bible said. "Also, I mean, we've got a pretty tough crowd that comes in from out of state, and that's what draws the better in-state schools in is because of the better competition that we have, they don't have to go out and take a road trip to go find it. It's right here in their back yard."
Jefferson City's John Carter, Missouri's No. 1 wrestler in the 285-pound weight class, was impressed with the tournament's magnitude and quality. "I'm pretty sure this is the biggest event that we go to all year," he said. "I don't think we're ever in a tournament other than our state tournament that's the size of this."
Phoenix's Nick "Tiggy Monster" Tighe also credited the Capital City venue among the benefits. "The atmosphere is definitely pretty cool," Tighe said. "They have a bunch of mats here, a bunch of people and places to sit. It's in a big area in Baton Rouge, so the location's definitely nice. As far as wrestling, it's been a lot of good wrestling, a lot of good competition. I'd love to come back to one of these tournaments. Of course, I'm a senior, so I can't, but yeah, it's pretty sweet."
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Jerit Roser can be reached at jroser@nola.com or 504.826.3405. Follow him at twitter.com/JeritRoser.