Louisiana's Wrestling State Tournament taking place this weekend in Bossier City

By Cody Thorn

Photo of Airline's Ernie Perry III

The Louisiana High School Athletic Association’s Wrestling State Tournament will be happening Friday and Saturday in Bossier City.

This tournament, taking place at Brookshire Grocery Arena, shifts location after being in Baton Rouge the past two years. In 2020, Shreveport hosted the event.

“The LHSAA is thrilled to be back in Bossier City for another LHSAA Wrestling State Tournament,” LHSAA Executive Director Eddie Bonine said in a press release. “We have an exceptional line-up of student-athletes ready to take the mat and win a state championship.

"We encourage everyone to come out and support these student-athletes and experience the excitement of wrestling at its peak.”

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The competition will start at 9:30 a.m. with Division I, II and III wrestlers taking part in four different rounds. The first and second round of the championship bracket, and the first and second round of the consolation bracket will be done by the end of day one.

Day two starts with semifinal matches from 10 a.m. to noon and will run through consolation matches; then third- and fifth-place matches will run from 2 to 4 p.m. The championship matches will start at 5 p.m.

There are a few storylines to follow, perhaps the biggest being Airline wrestler Ernie Perry III vying for a fourth straight title in Division I. Last year, Division II Shaw’s Glenn Price won his fourth straight - the 19th wrestler in history to accomplish such a feat.

Perry, 25-4, is the No. 1 seed at 126 pounds and would make it wrestler No. 20 if he can make the run through the bracket this weekend. Only two other Division I wrestlers have won four titles: Paul Klein and Steven Shields from Brother Martin.

SBLive Sports National High School Wrestling Rankings (2/2/2023)

Perry is undefeated against in-state foes, with losses coming to Texas wrestlers Caio Aron of Conroe College Park and Arlington Martin’s Shawn Ryncarz and Oklahoma’s Eli Kirk from Guthrie.

Brother Martin won the Division I title last year and will look to repeat as champions. Teurlings Catholic won a third straight title last year in Division II, while Basile won a fourth straight title.

There are five undefeated, top-seeds in this field between the three divisions.

Top-seeded wrestlers

Division I

106: Anthony Oubre, Brother Martin (41-9)

113: Bodi Harris, Jesuit (35-3)

120: Landon Reaux, Southside (44-5)

126: Ernie Perry, Airline (25-4)

132: Richie Clementi, Brother Martin (55-2)

138: Wiley Boudreaux, Southside (45-4)

145: Kent Burandt, Brother Martin (46-4)

152: Jensen Bergeron, Lafayette High (30-3)

160: Nick DiGeralamo Holy Cross (24-2)

170: Landry Barker, St. Paul’s (36-0)

182: Jackson Calderaro, Jesuit (35-3)

195: Danon Walker, Airline (24-9)

220: Eli Latiolais, Baton Rouge, (30-1)

285: Spencer Lanosga, Jesuit (6-0)

Division II

106: Alex Rozas, Teurlings (50-0)

113: Kaiden Triche, Rummel (44-7)

120: Pollex Coleman, Sam Houston (40-13)

126: Tyson Roach, Sam Houston (54-5)

132: Layne Rivette, Teurlings (22-5)

138: Ethan Boudreaux, Teurlings (42-0)

145: Brandt Babineaux, Teurlings (27-2)

152: Hudson Sharon, Teurlings (33-6)

160: Isaac Dees, Caddo Magnet (19-3)

170: Braeden Simoneaux, Teurlings (51-7)

182: Caden Robison, North DeSoto (39-19)

195: John Wayne Prejean, Teurlings (17-7)

220: Kristofer Mesloh, Parkway (38-6)

285: Kole Hayes, Teurlings (16-4)

Division III

106: Caden Judice, Shaw (44-7)

113: Dylan Duvernay, De La Salle (42-6)

120: Shane Barbarin, De La Salle (27-9)

126: Hayden Tassin, Shaw (36-9)

132: Joseph Gilreath, Evangel (40-13)

138: Camden Geautreaux, DeQuincy (16-6)

145: Luc Johnson, Basile (34-1)

152: Preston Gautier, Hannan (33-7)

160: Jason Brown, Shaw (24-11)

170: Luke Robertson, De La Salle (19-0)

182: Jason Krail, De La Salle (45-5)

195: AJ Smith, John Curtis (36-1)

220: James Baldwin, Dunham (16-1)

285: Raymond Howard, Shaw (19-1)