Tough tourney to predict
Comeaux’s Cabot Bellard, shown here in control against Lafayette
High’s Colton Sebastian at last Saturday’s Greg Lavergne Dual
Championship at Carencro High, will be one of the Spartans’ top
hopefuls at the Louisiana Classics in Baton Rouge this weekend.
(Photo: Paul
Kieu/The Advertiser )
Pardon local high school wrestling coaches Keith Bergeron of Comeaux
and Kent Masson of Teurlings Catholic if they really don’t know what to
expect from this weekend’s Louisiana Classics wrestling tournament to be
held today and Saturday at the Exterfit Center in Baton Rouge.
Formerly known as the Lee High Invitational, the event considered by
many to be the most prestigious event of the season presents several
challenges that lead to that uncertainty.
For starters, neither coach had received any information on the
tournament’s seeds to even be able to add any analysis on their
wrestlers’ competition by practice time Thursday afternoon.
Then there’s the unique format of this tournament. Unlike the Ken
Cole Invitational hosted by Comeaux High later this month, the Louisiana
Classics isn’t a true double elimination event. If a wrestler loses,
that winning opponent must reach the semifinals in order for that
wrestler to earn a spot in the consolation bracket.
“So many of the kids will only wrestle once this weekend,” Bergeron
said. “That’s makes it very difficult. It sort of depends on who you
draw. If you’re not seeded, you almost want to draw the No. 1 seed,
because then you have an excellent chance of him reaching the
semifinals.”
As a result, teams with depth may not be able to roll up consolation
bracket points that’s possible at the Ken Cole or the State Tournament,
depending on how the draw works out.
“If you can get nine or 10 through to day two, you’ve got a chance,”
Masson said. “There’s just so many unknowns in this tournament. It
really makes it an enigma.”
“It makes it very unpredictable,” Bergeron said. “We’ve had years
when we’ve done pretty well and other years when we haven’t done very
well. Luck of the draw plays into it.”
The ability for many to reach a high level this weekend was increased this
week with the news that top contender Brother Martin won’t be participating due
to an outbreak of a communicable disease and therefore can’t have any activity
for 10 days.
Despite their absence, the Louisiana Classics remains the biggest challenge
in state high school wrestling.
“Our kids always take a lot of pride in trying to place at (La. Classics),”
Bergeron said.
Comeaux’s best chances to place appears to be: Jacque Girouard at 152, Cabot
Bellard at 160 and Aaron Langlinais at 195. Connor Stampley, arguably the area’s
best chance to place, won’t be competing at 126 this weekend due to an injury.
Between the likes of David Bonin, Tyrek Malveaux, Sidney Blecher and Jacob
Dale, the Spartans have won at least one individual state title at Louisiana
Classics.
That may give that distinction to Teurlings Catholic’s Brock Bonin at 120.
Bonin, who won state as a freshman, is off to a 25-1 start this season and
finished second at La. Classics last season after knocking off the No. 1 seed.
“Without a doubt, Brock’s got a chance to place,” Masson said. “He’s very
determined. He has the drive to do it.”
At 145, Dakota Hebert could be a dark horse candidate, as could Brennan
Trosclair at 152 and Tristan Lee at 126.
While all teams want to finish as high as possible, much of this weekend’s
tournament is more about each wrestler establishing him in the best possible
position in the seeding process for the state tournament in February.
For some it’s about getting a win over a top contender in your weight
division and for others it’s a great opportunity to perhaps get revenge against
a key adversary in your weight class that you may have lost to earlier this
season.
“As long as you can defeat the guys in your division, you should be OK (in
state seeding next month),” Masson said.
Tough tourney to predict
|
Pardon local high school wrestling coaches Keith Bergeron of Comeaux and Kent Masson of Teurlings Catholic if they really don’t know what to expect from this weekend’s Louisiana Classics wrestling tournament to be held today and Saturday at the Exterfit Center in Baton Rouge.
Formerly known as the Lee High Invitational, the event considered by many to be the most prestigious event of the season presents several challenges that lead to that uncertainty.
For starters, neither coach had received any information on the tournament’s seeds to even be able to add any analysis on their wrestlers’ competition by practice time Thursday afternoon.
Then there’s the unique format of this tournament. Unlike the Ken Cole Invitational hosted by Comeaux High later this month, the Louisiana Classics isn’t a true double elimination event. If a wrestler loses, that winning opponent must reach the semifinals in order for that wrestler to earn a spot in the consolation bracket.
“So many of the kids will only wrestle once this weekend,” Bergeron said. “That’s makes it very difficult. It sort of depends on who you draw. If you’re not seeded, you almost want to draw the No. 1 seed, because then you have an excellent chance of him reaching the semifinals.”
As a result, teams with depth may not be able to roll up consolation bracket points that’s possible at the Ken Cole or the State Tournament, depending on how the draw works out.
“If you can get nine or 10 through to day two, you’ve got a chance,” Masson said. “There’s just so many unknowns in this tournament. It really makes it an enigma.”
“It makes it very unpredictable,” Bergeron said. “We’ve had years when we’ve done pretty well and other years when we haven’t done very well. Luck of the draw plays into it.” |
The ability for many to reach a high level this weekend was increased this week with the news that top contender Brother Martin won’t be participating due to an outbreak of a communicable disease and therefore can’t have any activity for 10 days.
Despite their absence, the Louisiana Classics remains the biggest challenge in state high school wrestling.
“Our kids always take a lot of pride in trying to place at (La. Classics),” Bergeron said.
Comeaux’s best chances to place appears to be: Jacque Girouard at 152, Cabot Bellard at 160 and Aaron Langlinais at 195. Connor Stampley, arguably the area’s best chance to place, won’t be competing at 126 this weekend due to an injury.
Between the likes of David Bonin, Tyrek Malveaux, Sidney Blecher and Jacob Dale, the Spartans have won at least one individual state title at Louisiana Classics.
That may give that distinction to Teurlings Catholic’s Brock Bonin at 120. Bonin, who won state as a freshman, is off to a 25-1 start this season and finished second at La. Classics last season after knocking off the No. 1 seed.
“Without a doubt, Brock’s got a chance to place,” Masson said. “He’s very determined. He has the drive to do it.”
At 145, Dakota Hebert could be a dark horse candidate, as could Brennan Trosclair at 152 and Tristan Lee at 126.
While all teams want to finish as high as possible, much of this weekend’s tournament is more about each wrestler establishing him in the best possible position in the seeding process for the state tournament in February.
For some it’s about getting a win over a top contender in your weight division and for others it’s a great opportunity to perhaps get revenge against a key adversary in your weight class that you may have lost to earlier this season.
“As long as you can defeat the guys in your division, you should be OK (in state seeding next month),” Masson said.