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WRESTLING-SPECIFIC MEDIA

Denova gives Panthers first Division II title since 1999

LHSAA State Wrestling Tournament

Division II - 182 Pounds

August 20th, 2023| Written by: Staff Writer

Place	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th
Podium
Name	Anthony Denova	Caden Robison	Luke Brunson	Dylan Mesloh	Kyle Stephens	Jaden Harmon
School	Brusly	North Desoto	Caddo Magnate	Parkway	Teurlings	Rayne
Seed	2	1	3	5	4	6
Record	40-6	41-5	23-4	34-19	28-7	31-13
Class	12	11	12	9	4	6

Remember J.C. Stafford? I do not, but I was seven years from finishing my 20-year sabbatical from the sport. Be confident that a lot of other people do remember him. Safford won Brusly's last Division II state championship at 125 lbs. in 1999. The following year Brusly competed in and started to dominate the new Division III championships.

Senior Anthony Denova gave the Panthers their first Division II state championship since 1999 with a 5-3 win over top-seeded Caden Robison of North Desoto. Denova was seeded second due to a Louisiana Classic loss to Robison in the fifth consolation round. Denova's season was very respectable, but in tournaments he fell short in all but the Brusly Division II. He placed third at the Warrior Open (TW match record show he placed fifth, but the Warrior Open brackets say different, and we all know brackets don't lie). He placed second at the Griffin Open. After his Brusly win he did not place at the LACL (thanks to Mr. Robison) and then he placed second at the Ken Cole (everyone seemed to forget that Graham Montet was a defending Division III state champion) and at the Greater Baton Rouge Championships.

Robison's season was also very respectable, but not spectacular. He won the North Louisiana Regionals, placed second at the Blanchard, OK tournament, third at the Ken Cole, fourth at the Cinco Ranch Big 12 and fifth at the LACL.

At the Louisiana Classic Denova opened up with a 5-0 first period. He chose the bottom to start the second period and Robison turned him over and pinned him. Thus, in the state finals, when Robison answered a first-period Denova takedown with five unanswered points, odds-makers felt comfortable with their seeding. Robison chose the bottom in the second period and neither wrestler scored. With Denova on bottom to start the final period down 5-2, he was awarded a penalty point in the first five seconds. He scored a reversal with 1:23 remaining to tie the match 5-5, and then he scored two nearfall points for the win.

Early Championship Rounds