TIGERS TAME DIVISION II

 

It was the final year in which Holy Cross would compete in Division II wrestling in the Louisiana state wrestling championship. Next year, the Tigers move up to Division I status. They left a calling card with their Division II brethren Saturday night.  The Tigers pulled away throughout the day to capture the Division II state championship, defeating defending state champion Teurlings Catholic 288 to 238.5. Live Oak was third with 218 points, St. Louis Catholic finished fourth with 169.5 and Northside was fifth with 147 points.

 

Holy Cross won the title despite winning just one of nine championship matches. Alex Nicosia repeated as state champion, capturing the 120-pound title with a 7-2 decision over Tristan Lee of Teurlings Catholic. Holy Cross overcame the loss of top-seed Dylan Soileau, who did not compete after falling ill and failing to make weight, costing Holy Cross 30 to 40 points. They did not need them.

 

The Rebels had a pair of wrestlers successfully defend state championships in Brock Bonin (106) and Nick Schneider (182).

 

Live Oak captured a pair of titles with Jacob Chenevert (113) and Cody Hill (126). Hill scored an 18-2 technical fall over Collin Guerra of Holy Cross and earned Most Outstanding Wrestler honors in Division II. Live Oak is a growing power, having just completed just its sixth year in the sport.

 

St. Louis Catholic wrestled extremely well in the finals, winning three individual titles, including Lehrue Stevens, IV (152), Louis Stutes (160) and Conway Lebleu (170).

 

Northside had a pair of winners with defending state champion Orlando Calhoun, Jr. (195) and Daniel Kincade (215). Other individual winners included Jorge Sanchez, Jr. of Helen Cox (132), Cody Thomas of Parkway (145) and Cameron Ferguson of Sam Houston (285).

 

Sanchez is the only member of the Helen Cox wrestling team. He has to train with wrestlers from Fisher and Thomas Jefferson to prepare and stay sharp.  "You have to work hard to accomplish this," Sanchez said. "You must remain determined to succeed. This is quite an experience. It makes all of the hard work worth it.

 

The best matches in Division II included Chenevert's 8-7 victory over Andrew Aucoin of Sam Houston at 113 pounds, Sanchez, Jr. edging Nick Bonck of Holy Cross 5-4 at 132 pounds, Bosarge defeating George Benoit of Holy Cross 3-2 at 138 pounds, Stevens, IV edging Austin Doyle of Holy Cross 5-3 in double overtime at 152 pounds, Lebleu getting by Jimmie McBride 10-8 in overtime at 170 pounds and Schneider squeaking by Porter Dazet of Holy Cross 3-2 at 182 pounds.

 

The championship is the 27th in the illustrious history of the Holy Cross program, the most of any school in Louisiana. It was the third championship in five years for the Tigers. Head coach Eric DeSormeaux says his squad and program have come a long way since relocating to their beautiful new campus on Paris Avenue following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina on their old campus in the lower ninth ward.

 

"We won state when we were in a tent in 2009 and the new digs on our fabulous campus are great," DeSormeaux said. "Wrestling at Holy Cross is a religion. I watched a team tonight with nine kids in the finals with only two that were top-seeds. They just did a great job. It was a great experience for our team. We will return six of our finalists and most are sophomores. We cannot wait for the jump to Division I. It is an honor to win another title to add to the great legacy of our program. Our kids deserved it."

 

The Tigers have served notice that they will be a force to be reckoned with among the bevy of five Catholic schools sitting at the top of Division I. With Holy Cross joining the fray, the number of elite Catholic school programs in south Louisiana is sure to grow to six.

 

INDIVIDUAL FINAL RESULTS

 

106--Brock Bonin, Teurlings Catholic maj. dec. Colt Olinde, Live Oak 10-2

113--Jacob Chenevert, Live Oak dec. Andrew Aucoin, Sam Houston 8-7

120--Alex Nicosia, Holy Cross dec. Tristan Lee, Teurlings Catholic 7-2

126--Cody Hill, Live Oak, tech. fall Collin Guerra, Holy Cross, 18-2

132--Jorge Sanchez, Helen Cox dec. Nick Bonck, Holy Cross 5-4

138--Seth Bosarge, Live Oak, dec. George Benoit, Holy Cross 3-2

145--Cody Thomas, Parkway dec. Andre' Dean, Benton 6-4

152--Lehrue Stevens IV, St. Louis Catholic dec. Austin Doyle, Holy Cross (2 OT) 5-3

160--Louis Stutes, St. Louis Catholic dec. Brice Duhe, Holy Cross 8-4

170--Conway Lebleu, St. Louis Catholic, dec. Jimmie McBride, Teurlings Catholic (OT) 10-8

182--Nick Schneider, Teurlings Catholic dec. Porter Dazet, Holy Cross 3-2

195--Orlando Calhoun, Jr., Northside, pinned Logan Thompson, Belle Chasse (3:25)

220--Daniel Kincade, Northside, dec. Michael Yeatman, Holy Cross 4-1

285--Cameron Ferguson, Sam Houston dec. Jordan Showalter, Holy Cross 7-5