2012-13 Results and Media Coverage
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The Baton Rouge City Meet served as a microcosm of the area's wrestling season as a whole.
The first annual Times-Picayune | NOLA.com All-Baton Rouge Area Wrestling Team reflects that dynamic from Catholic's and Live Oak junior Cody Hill's dominance to Brusly's success despite its relative inexperience.
Catholic claimed the majority of the weight classes in the meet — again — en route to eight individual victories and an 11th straight city championship as a whole. The Bears top even that number of individual accolades in the all-area team with nine representatives in all.
"I thought it was a successful year," Catholic Coach Tommy Prochaska said. "We went through some growing pains, but I thought the guys did a tremendous job of bonding together and accomplishing one of our goals, which was to win the city championship. Unfortunately we couldn't keep that ball rolling and win state, but I thought we made a statement in the state meet by going 4-1 in the finals."
Brennan Taylor, James Claitor, Sidney Rodriguez and Brandon Luckett each won state titles for Catholic with Taylor, Claitor and Luckett continuing outstanding seasons and Rodriguez peaking down the stretch after his return from a knee injury. |
But even Taylor couldn't stop Hill in the 128-pound finals at the city meet, their last of eight matchups. Few wrestlers throughout the season could.
Hill garnered the Baton Rouge City Meet's Outstanding Wrestler honors for the lower weight classes and also adds 2013 The Times-Picayune | NOLA.com Outstanding Wrestler to his already long and still growing resume after successfully claiming his second consecutive city and state titles.
"Just the fact that I was able to prove it all again (stands out)," he said. "It wasn't like I just did it one time or it was a fluke or anything. I showed that I was good enough to go back and do it all again."
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Brusly Coach Jimmy Bible left the city meet impressed by his young Panthers' second-place performance.
His wrestlers continued their progress during the next few weeks and eventually claimed their ninth state title in 10 years.
"If you had asked me before the season if we would finish in the top two in the city and win the state championship, with the crew we had as young as we were, I would've said, 'There ain't no way,'" Bible said. "But Coach Rodney (Sutherland) and Coach Baret (Wilson) got in there with 'em, and by January, you could see 'em coming around and getting better and better … I couldn't be prouder of them."
The year wasn't without its trials and tribulations even for Baton Rouge's best individuals and teams. Like Prochaska said of his Bears, Bible said Brusly "took its lumps" against a tough season-long slate of Division I competition and at times during the city meet. |
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Hill wasn't necessarily thrilled with his overall record, which featured five losses — albeit in arguably the state's most difficult weight class.
Three of those losses came against Taylor, including a memorable Louisiana Classic matchup in which Live Oak coaches had to tape and re-tape Hill's head three times after a first-round collision left blood running down his face and neck.
"Just tape my head," Hill said upon initial inspection before battling Taylor until the final seconds and then immediately being rushed to medical attention.
"For him, I think the Louisiana Classic really said it all," Live Oak Coach Chris Collier said. "He's just the type of kid that wants to go out there and work hard and constantly get better … He loves wrestling. He bleeds wrestling. He sleeps wrestling. He's one of those guys that makes everyone around him better just by him working hard and working his tail off, and all the other kids kind of pick up on that vibe."
The opportunity to return two weeks later from the staples in his head and take another shot at Taylor at the city meet was important, Hill said.
Live Oak's standout won that rematch 11-4, and rolled through the state meet with three pins and an 18-2 victory by technical fall.
Hill's passion and work ethic have made him a clear leader for the Eagles, Collier said.
And the junior hopes to only further display those attributes in 2013-14 and perhaps even build upon his already impressive high school career.
"It's just a whole new year," Hill said. "I just want to do it all over again and do it all better … My main goals are to go undefeated — my sophomore year I had two losses and this year I had five, so I want to go undefeated — and to win by a bigger margin."
