Brother Martin takes big lead in Division I state wrestling tournament

Pat Mashburn, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune, February 15, 2013 10:55 p.m.

It might be too early to proclaim a team champion in Division I, but Brother Martin turned it up a notch in the afternoon session of the Louisiana State Wrestling Championships by placing a fair amount of distance from itself and the rest of the field.

Brother Martin's Daniel Albrecht takes out Matthew Moreau of Catholic High in the 170-pound class. - (Pat Mashburn, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)

The Crusaders are in front with a commanding lead of 178 points, followed by Jesuit (154), Catholic-B.R. (149.5), Rummel (141) and St. Paul’s (128.5).

After the first round, what appeared to be a three-horse race with the Crusaders, Catholic-B. R., Jesuit and Rummel turned into race for the finish with one day left. At one point, Brother Martin and Catholic were tied at 75 and the Blue Jays within striking distance with 70.

“This was the round where I felt like we could break away,” Brother Martin Coach Robbie Dauterive said. “Our guys are a very confident group who feels they are going to wrestle their best.”

In the quarterfinals, the Crusaders won all five head-to-head matches with Catholic-B.R. and Rummel and, in the process, placed 12 wrestlers in the semifinals of 14 weight classes.

Those moving on were Mason Mauro (106), Taylor Gambill (113), Paul Klein (120), Austn Meyn (126), Dominic Casadaban (138), Devin LeBlanc (152), Patrick Hoppe (160), Daniel Albrecht (170), Kyle Delaune (182), Yehia Riles (195), Josh Tapia (220), and Ross Brister (285).

Jesuit Coach Spencer Harris concurred with Dauterive prior to the start of the later session of competition as they were right in the hunt. “It was very tight and there were some head-to-head matches which would provide the opportunity to gain some separation,” Harris said. “There was no margin for error to be able to make a move.”

Connor Campo kept his pursuit of a second straight undefeated season against in-state competition alive by reaching the semifinals of the 132-pound class with wins over Jackson Lam of Airline and Cameron Cambre of Hahnville.

In the 145-pound class, Dominic Iovenitti of St. Paul’s upset second seed Tyler Robertson of Brother Martin, setting up a semifinal showdown with third seed Efosa Eboigbe of Jesuit, who defeated John Ehret’s Jack Fontenot.

“Going in, I knew I was the underdog and had to go out there and wrestle my best,” Iovenitti said. “We had never faced each other before. It was a very big win, but I have to put that behind me now and get ready for the next one.”