2012-13 Results and Media Coverage
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Airline's Ja'Quvis Hart won two matches on Friday during day one of
the wrestling state championships. - (Pat Mashburn, NOLA.com | The
Times-Picayune)
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Doyline's Brittany Bates was one of two girl wrestlers competing at
the wrestling state championships. - (Pat Mashburn, NOLA.com | The
Times-Picayune)
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When Airline’s Ja’Quvis Hart gets on the mat, he already faces an uphill battle. But he didn’t let that stop him during the season and he certainly didn’t let that stop him once he got to the state championships Friday.
Hart was born without the lower half of his left arm and at the end of his first match of the day against Joshua Averett of St. Michael’s he injured that arm. During the match, Hart was slammed down and went to brace himself on his left arm but injured it instead. He was in obvious pain and clutched at his arm continuously throughout the final minute of the match.
He trailed Averett 7-5 with under a minute to go but rallied and was about to get a reversal with less than 10 seconds to go to get an 8-7 decision and advance.
“This is my last year and I just won’t let anything hold me back,” Hart said. “Wrestling with one arm is tough enough. I thought during that last minute that if I give up now, I’ll always give up. I wanted to go out with no regrets.”
Hart also starts for Airline’s football team as a cornerback and has understandably been a source of inspiration for his team this season.
“I want people to feel like that if they can see me do this, then they can do anything,” Hart said. “I just want to set a good example for them by wrestling hard. This is an individual sport. In football, you can blame someone for a missed assignment. This is you against another person and the best man wins.”
In his quarterfinal match against Brother Martin’s Austin Meyn, Hart was pinned in 3:37. He's still alive in the consolation bracket after earning a 3-2 decision win over Gabriel Greer of Fontainebleau.
One of Hart’s coaches, Joey Burton, said that Hart found a way to push through the match against Averett, just as he’s done for his entire life.
“With what he’s given, he’s been told he can’t do things and he wanted to just fit in with everyone,” Burton said. “He’s a great athlete. He feels that whoever he goes against is in trouble because they’re wrestling him.”
GIRL AMONGST BOYS: Doyline freshman Brittany Bates is one of two girls competing at the LHSAA wrestling state championships this weekend. The other is Nicole Robichaux of Destrehan. Bates, seeded fifth in the Division III 113-pound weight class, won her first match by pinning 12 seed Brian Barber of Calvary Baptist in 1:27.
In her second bout, Bates battled before falling by an 11-6 decision to 4th seed Spencer Savoie of Thomas Jefferson. Robichaux, a junior, was pinned in her first match by Geoffery Como of Sulphur.
“Instead of telling me that I do pretty good for a girl, my coaches tell me I’m doing great for a wrestler,” Bates said. “They’ve been pushing me beyond my limit the entire season, but reminding me how important it is to maintain control. I’ve been told I’m capable of anything.”
As further proof of that assessment, Bates is tied for third place in Class C with most wins during the regular season with 46. She will now wrestle on the consolation bracket.
LATE DRAMA: Covington's Payton Holmes brought the crowd to its feet in one of the final matches of the night in the Division I tournament when he defeated Everett Knox of Catholic-Baton Rouge. It was the quarterfinals of the consolation bracket and every Covington fan could be heard.
"I just listen to what my coaches tell me to do," Holmes said. "It took a lot of concentration, but I stayed focused so that I wouldn't make any costly mistakes. It was a big win for me, and I hope to keep going."
DIVISION I TEAM STANDINGS: 1. Brother Martin, 178. 2. Jesuit, 154. 3. Catholic, 149.5. 4. Rummel 141. 5. St. Paul’s 128.5. 6. Comeaux 107.5. 7. East Ascension, 96. 8. Zachary, 90. 9. Sulphur, 87. 10. Mandeville, 71.5. 11. Lafayette, 70.5. 12. Dutchtown, 62. 13. Fontainebleau, 57. 14. Ehret, 53.5. 15. St. Amant, 52.5. 16. Airline, 51. 17. Hahnville, 47. 18. Acadiana, 41. 19. Chalmette, 39. 20. Covington, 38. 21. Carencro, 36. 22. Byrd, 35.5. 23. Desrehan, 34. 24. Barbe, 21. 25. Northshore, 13.5. 26. Walker, 5. 27. Denham Springs, 4.
DIVISION II TEAM STANDINGS: 1. Holy Cross 150. 2. Teurlings Catholic, 147.5. 3. Live Oak, 124.5. 4. St. Michael, 94.5. 5. Northside, 93. 6. St. Louis, 90. 7. Parkway, 66.5. 8. Benton, 64. 9. Grace King, 62. 10. Belle Chasse, 60. 11. Huntington, 59. 12. Sam Houston, 55. 13. Pearl River, 54. 14. Shaw, 51. 15. McKinley, 42. 16. Baton Rouge, 41. 17. Central, 40. 18. St. Thomas More, 34. 19. East Jefferson, 26. 20. Northwood, 23. 20. Tara, 23. 22. Haughton, 16. 23. Helen Cox, 14. 23. Riverdale, 14. 25. Woodlawn, 11. 26. Plaquemine, 6. 27. Istrouma, 3. 28. Broadmoor 0. 28. Lakeshore, 0.
DIVISION III TEAM STANDINGS: 1. Brusly, 117.5. 2. North Vermilion, 93. 3. Evangel, 85.5. 3. Curtis, 85.5. 5. Bossier, 80. 6. Basile, 78. 7. Rayne, 73. 8. Episcopal, 44.5. 9. Doyline, 42. 10. Calvary, 41. 10. North Desoto, 41. 12. Grand Lake, 39. 13. Holy Rosary, 37. 14. Thomas Jefferson, 36.5. 15. Lakeside, 33. 16. De La Salle, 28. 17. Fisher, 25. 17. South Plaquemines, 25. 19. Kaplan, 20. Church Point, 20. 20. Dunham, 20. 22. Redemptorist, 18. 23. Loyola, 17. 23. Parkview Bapstist, 17. 25. South Cameron, 11. 25. University Lab, 11. 27. French Settlement, 3.