Despite a field of 54 wrestling teams, including two from out of state, it came down to a pair of New Orleans-area schools competing for the team title in the 38th annual Louisiana Classic in Baton Rouge.
In the end,
Jesuit (New Orleans) edged
Archbishop Rummel (Metairie), 235-223.
Hoover (Ala.) placed third with 189½ points followed by
St. Paul (Covington) with 157½ and defending champion and host
Catholic (Baton Rouge) with 144½.
"Our guys wrestled really tough," Jesuit coach Carlos Bertot said. "Rummel was right there with us all the way, so we had to push through. That's not easy, especially in a single-elimination tournament like this."
Three Jesuit individual wrestlers posted championships with Jay Ferro winning at 112 pounds, David Maloney at 130 and Chris Johnson at 135.
Jesuit's depth allowed it to weather Rummel's meet-high four individual titles. Matt Calcote won the only final pitting Rummel against Jesuit, as he pinned Robbie Muller at 103 pounds. Also winning for Rummel were Mark Pinero at 140 pounds, Rhett Ernst at 145 and Scott Gibbons at 171.
St. Paul's Korey Miller took the 152-pound division to become the second wrestler ever to win four consecutive individual championships. Miller overcame a bloody nose that delayed action several times to beat Nick Michael of Holy Cross (New Orleans) in two added 30-second periods, 4-3.
Catholic's Blake Ashford earned Outstanding Wrestler recognition with his 2-1 victory over Brusly's Austin Schermer at 119 pounds. Because of a back injury, Ashford was competing in just his third tournament of the season. More than 450 wrestlers participated in the meet.
Comeaux (Lafayette) won the Dale Ketelson Sportsman Award. Ketelson, a former LSU and Belaire (Baton Rouge) coach, made the presentation.
GIRLS BASKETBALL: WILLIAMS POWERS XAVIER PREPJunior center
Kailyn Williams produced a triple-double in leading Xavier Prep (New Orleans) to a 56-43 girls basketball victory over St. Mary's (New Orleans).
The 6-foot-3 Williams finished with 22 points, 24 rebounds and 10 blocked shots. All this, too, after Williams made just one first-quarter basket.
"She's our prime-time player," Xavier Prep coach Curtis Lawrence said. "Kailyn has been playing hard for us all year, and now she's coming into her own and doing some great things for us."
"She was too big for us on the inside," St. Mary's coach Keith Haywood said. "We've also had some injuries that hurt us, but Kailyn is a great player and hard to stop."
Williams scored 10 unanswered points in the last four minutes of the first half when Xavier Prep took a 34-19 lead. She grabbed 10 third-quarter rebounds and blocked three shots in the period.
CROSS COUNTRY: FLATTMAN WINS AWARDBenton senior Kaitlin Flattmann was named the 2010-11 Gatorade Louisiana Cross Country Runner of the Year to become a finalist for the national honor, which recognizes outstanding athletic excellence, academic achievement and outstanding character.
Flattmann won her fourth consecutive Class 4A state race last November and took the overall title in helping Benton win its first state championship.
Flattmann maintains a 4.0 grade point average and donates her time as a youth athletic instructor and as a supporter for a fundraising run to benefit pregnant teenagers. In volunteer service for her church, Flattmann has participated in events for Students against Destructive Decisions, Drug Abuse Resistance Education, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Salvation Army.
FOOTBALL: JENA LETS COACH GO
Former Jena football coach Bernie Cooley has left the school after having been relieved of his duties. The 19-year coaching veteran, who spent the last four at Jena, has accepted a position with Justiss Oil Co. in Jena.
"I am getting out of the coaching and educational field for the near future," said Cooley, who taught physical education and pre-GED at Jena. "I really had no intention of resigning until the (LaSalle Parish) school board and I had some differences of opinion."
Cooley had taken over a program at a school that gained unwarranted national attention for an assault on the campus grounds that become known as the "Jena Six" case. In four years, Cooley fashioned an 11-28 record, including 3-7 this past season.
PINEVILLE MAKES COACHING CHANGESPineville has promoted two longtime assistants to head coaches, with David Moreau taking over the softball program and Keith Hood assuming control in baseball.
Moreau replaces Tim Smith, who was fired over the summer after posting a nine-year record of 218-74-3 and winning eight district championships. Hood succeeds Darrel Wiley, who was elected to the Avoyelles Parish School Board in November.
Moreau played baseball at Pineville and Louisiana College and competed as a junior on Pineville's 1984 state championship team. He played for Louisiana College when it won its first conference title in 1987.
"There is not another place I would rather be than at Pineville," Moreau said.
Moreau has spent the last 16 years as Pineville's assistant coach, with the Lady Rebels winning the state championship in 1998 and appearing in two other state finals.
Moreau and Hood were teammates at Pineville and Louisiana College. Hood was a freshman on Pineville's 1984 state title team and competed at Louisiana College from 1988-92. He became an assistant coach at Pineville in 2006 after stops at Northwood (Shreveport), Peabody (Alexandria) and Bolton (Alexandria).
Both the softball and baseball seasons begin in late February.
