Huge week in All-New Orleans Area wrestling

Pat Mashburn, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune, December 10, 2012 2:03 p.m

The action in wrestling continues to intensify this week as St. Paul’s travels on Wednesday to face Brother Martin, the top-ranked team in the latest All-New Orleans area team rankings, while second-ranked Holy Cross is at No. 3 Jesuit, both on Wednesday.

Wrestlers ranked in the top of their weight class from St. Paul’s who will be in action are Connor Campo (132-pound) and David Engelhard (145-pound). The Crusaders boast the number one wrestlers Paul Klein (120-pound), Dominic Casadaban (138-pound), Devin LeBlanc (160-pound), Daniel Albrecht (170-pound), Kyle Delaune (182-pound) and Ross Brister (285-pound).

Jesuit has Nicky Charles (106-pound), Mitch Capella (113-pound), Gaston Eymard (152-pound) and Manny Armour (195-pound). Top-rated for Holy Cross is Michael Yeatman (220-pound) while second-ranked are Alex Nicosia (120-pound), Brice Duhe (160-pound) and Daniel Relayson (195-pound).

HOLY CROSS CAPTURES SAM SERRA-RUMMEL INVITATIONAL: Six Tigers claimed individual titles on the way to the team championship with 184 points, outdistancing Rummel (170) and Fontainebleau (123).

Dylan Soileau (113-pound), Alex Nicosia (120-pound), Brice Duhe (160-pound), Porter Dazet (182-pound), Daniel Relayson (195-pound) and Michael Yeatman (220-pound) were Holy Cross winners. The second-placed Raiders credited their high finish to weight class winners Matt Calcote (126-pound), Rick Lavaca (132-pound), and Michael Darwin (170-pound).

Fontainebleau’s Christian Ponson won the 285-pound title by pinning Maycol Rizo of Grace King in two minutes. Ponson is third in the All-New Orleans area rankings in the weight class, one spot ahead of Rizo.

WOLVES TAKE SECOND PLACE IN FLORIDA TOURNAMENT: St. Paul’s got a boost this past weekend when they placed second out of 27 teams in the Capital City Classic Wrestling Tournament at Lawton Chiles High School in Tallahassee.

David Englehardt returned to action after having missed the early part of the season due to a concussion to capture first place in the 145-pound class. No stranger to battling injuries and turning the experience into championships, Englehardt had come back from a broken hand two months earlier to prevail as the 138-pound Division I champion.

Connor Campo remained perfect on the season, winning the 132-pound class title over Scotty Bucsok of Suwannee. Jordan Peterson was runner-up in the 160-pound class to Taylor Bartleson of Niceville, Fla. Other members of the Wolves competing were Trey LeBlanc (160-pound) and Zach Mangrum (285-pound) who both placed fourth in their respective classes while Quinn Perret (126-pound) and Dominic Adventitia (152-pound) were sixth.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE: Dec. 11, St. Paul’s at Brother Martin, Chalmette at Rummel, Dual Meet; Dec. 13, Grace King Tri-Meet with Destrehan, John Curtis; Dec. 21-22, Brother Martin-Trey Culotta Invitational; Dec. 28-29, Deep South Bayou Duals at Baton Rouge Centroplex

REFEREES NEEDED: The Greater New Orleans Wrestling Officials Association (GNOWOA) is looking for new members. Candidates should have some wrestling background or experience as well as a strong desire to uphold and maintain the strong traditions of the wrestling community while earning money. Interested individuals should contact President Jerry Schmidt at (504) 813-9372 or email Gerald.Schmidt@spr.doe.gov.