Fini

Four tournaments are scheduled in Louisiana this Saturday.  One is for temporary bragging rights in northwest Louisiana.  One primarily consists of New Orleans area teams, but not Jesuit, Holy Cross or Brother Martin, so St. Paul will be a heavy favorite.  The other two are in the Baton Rouge area.  Temporary Baton Rouge bragging rights will depend on whichever event has the most first-string teams .

Many of the names listed below are just those whom the editor remembers from last year or from the WarriorOpen, the Mandeville Open and the Raider 8.  The editor is confident he will forget some people.

Riot on the Red

The Parkway Riot on the Red should be the most interesting event this weekend.  Division I Airline is generally the strongest northwest Louisiana team, but of late Division II Parkway has been dominant.  That the Panthers will compete in Division I this season does not apply in this event.  Byrd may challenge both Airline and Parkway at the state championships, and the Panthers should be the strongest team in this event and other northwest Louisiana tournaments (Lone Survivor and Northwest Louisiana Regionals).   North Desoto, however, may push the Panthers more than any other teams. For the purposes of this preview, while some individuals may be noted from other teams, Airline, Byrd, North Desoto and Parkway will be previewed as potential championship teams.

Airline:  The Vikings had three placers at the Warrior Open.  Ernie Perry, III won it, Michael Salinas placed second and Tanner Almond placed third.  Other experienced Vikings are Mason Lambright and Michael Wright.  Of the 18 on their TrackWrestling roster only three are seniors, so they may need another year to challenge for northwest Louisiana bragging rights.

C. E. Byrd:  The Yellowjackets are led by some very good seniors in Demetri Teddie, Jacob Yawn, Cameron Vaughns, Logan Lewis and Bailee Creasey.  Juniors J.W. Fuller and Matthew Born should do well also.

North Desoto:  The Griffins will be led by seniors Joshua Sarpy, a 2019 Division II state champion, and Richard Mack, III, who won a Division II state championship in 2018.  Those two will be joined by senior David Norris, juniors Andrew Gonzales and Dylan Olivier as well as sophomore twins Lance and Logan Ferguson.

Parkway:  After two consecutive Division II championships, Parkway looks to be the strongest Division I team in the region.  Trey Fontenot and Daryl Nicholas, who graduated in 2019, will be tough to replace, but senior maturity among other Panthers may make up for their loss.  Peyton Miller, Kaleb Garcia and Dezrel Eloph were runners-up at last year's state championships, and they will be helped by fellow seniors Andrew Tamburo, Jacob Chittom and Terrence Murray.  Juniors Steven Driggers and Garrette Larsen should fare well this season.  And the Panthers will only get stronger when 2019 runner-up senior Joshua Keeler joins the team after the cross-country season is over.   

Evangel has defending 2019 Division III state champion Datremecious White, third-place finisher Kaden Dean and fourth-place finisher Chris Reed, all seniors.  And Summerfield's Trace Morrow should not be overlooked.

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Lakeshore Open

St. Paul should run away with the team title, but there are several other contenders that should challenge the Wolves in several weight classes.  For the purposes of saving time and publishing this before midnight, I will mention some of the ones who will challenge for individual championships. The Wolves are loaded and, if they put out their first-string team, they should expect the following ones to place very high: Jacob Houser, Trey Faherty, Carter Duet, Michael Rader, Sean Cripple, Grant Nastasi, Peyton Ward, Ben Davidson, Evan Ulfers, Cole Ulfers and Sam Avenel.

Hannan: Cole Bartlett, Cade Hontiveros, Mark Penniston, David Diecidue and Wyatt Coffey; Rummel: Jacob Ramirez; Shaw: Glenn Price and Raheem Bonnet; Belle Chasse: Nicholas McClendon and Francisco Castro; Chalmette: Christian Moore and DaiJon Bibbs; Covington: Christopher Allen; De la Salle: Bryce Oufnac, Jason Schexnaidre and Zach Lauland; Fontainebleau: Tanner Melendrez, Jacob Stelly, Logan Ahlborn and David Cuccia; John Curtis: Colton Kendrick; Lakeshore: Jason Brouillette and Kade Miller; Mandeville: Vincent Bruno; NOMMA: Zachary Hrarbar and Christian Quinonez.  Pearl River and Destrehan may not make a big impact this year, but both teams are freshmen and sophomore "heavy" and will make an impact next season and a bigger one in the 2021-22 season.  With apologies, the editor knows nothing about the Terrebonne team, aside that another school page will need to be created in the LHSWA website.

Zachary Kickoff at the Corral and the Brusly 8

Catholic is sending a strong team to Brusly, and Holy Cross may have their starters there as well.  But first-string teams from the Baton Rouge area may be split between these two events. 

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