WE ARE ADAPTIVE WRESTLING-SPECIFIC MEDIA

The Lady Lions of Lafayette High School dominated the competition at the LHSAA State Wrestling Championships on February 6th and 7th at the Brookshire Grocery Arena in Bossier City, Louisiana.  They dominated every tournament they entered, save one.  A very good squad from Del City, Oklahoma was the only team to beat them, and they had two more wrestlers than Lafayette.  (One could note that Lafayette wrestlers had a higher points-per-wrestler than Del City, 17.06 to 16.8.) 

Lafayette girls earning state championships were Ryleigh Blanchard (120 lbs.) and Quetzicalli Guevera-Tapia (126 lbs.)  More importantly, of the seven wrestlers who did not win their weight classes, six of them placed in the top-six, giving them a total of 174.5 points.

Baton Rouge Magnate, the 2025 champions, finished second with 139 points.  Olivia Maxie won her second championship, breaking a seasonal 1-1 tie with East Ascension's Isabella Guidry.  Jonnika Pitts also won a title for the Lady Bulldogs.  Carmen Mueller placed second, as did Allison Flores Hernandez.  Only one other Baton Rouge wrestler, though, Taylor Weber at 145 lbs., placed in the top-six. 

Lafayette only entered nine wrestlers to Baton Rouge's 10.  Eight Lion wrestlers placed in the top-six while only five of the Baton Rouge ladies did the same.  Lafayette also recorded 23 falls, while Baton Rouge only had 18.  That meant an extra 10 points for the Lions.

Mandeville finished third with 129.5 points, followed by Zachary with 116 points and East Ascension with 93 points.

Champions: Lafayette Lady Lions	Girls Outstanding Wrestler Lilly Johnson of Dutchtown	Runners-up: Baton Rouge Bulldogs

Dutchtown freshman Lilly Johnson was voted the Girls' Outstanding Wrestler.  Johnson recorded five falls and one technical fall while winning the 114 lbs. state championship.  She scored falls of 1:26, 0:49 and 3:19 in her first three matches.  In the semifinals she only scored a technical fall but got back on track with a 3:02 fall in the finals.  Johnson finished the season with a 41-0 record, which included wins over 19 State placers.  Twenty-eight of her wins were via falls, nine by technical falls and four by major decisions.  No "regular decisions," i.e., wins by seven or fewer points, were tolerated. 

Girls Division Team Scores

100 Pounds (2) Anjelah Jackson of East Ascension defeated (1) Willow Dixon of Walker 31-14 TF Dixon was seeded first due to two previous wins over East Ascension's senior Anjelah Jackson.  And those were dominating wins - one via a 21-6 technical fall at the 5A District Championships and another in 2:32 in the finals of the Louisiana Public Schools Wrestling Championships.  That last one, on December 30th was her last match until the state championships due to an injury.  She was out for five weeks, but it was five weeks including all of January, which makes it hard to get ready for the State Tournament.  In Dixon's absence, Jackson pinned all four of her opponents to win the Louisiana Classic.

3rd 4th 5th 6th (Sophie Gagliano Lakeshore (3) Haylee Johnson Lafayette (5) Charleigh Hollier Rayne (4) Ashlyn Coffey Parkway

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107 Pounds (3) Layla Higgins of Riverdale pinned (1) Carsyn "Gabby Booty of Central in 2:34   Last season St. Amant's Mikayla Byington was 27-0.  She had 23 falls and four technical falls.  None of her matches went the full six minutes.  This season it appeared that Byington was headed for a similar season.  She had 28 falls and one technical fall as of the semifinals of the 2026 Louisiana Classic.  Her streak ended there after an 18-7 MD loss to Central's Carsyn "Gabby" Booty.  Such a loss is often a good thing.  A loss in January is better than one in February, the wrestling adage goes.  That match, however, rather than reinvigorate Byington, might have given hope for those who had only seen her lose to Sam Houston's Chevy Coleman in the 2023-24 season.

In the 2025-26 season Higgins had lost to Byington twice via falls in 1:12 and 0:47.  Yet for Higgins the third time, in the State Championships no less, was a charm.  It was a "fall in 13 seconds" charm.  Now Higgins had to face another opponent who had previously defeated her.  Booty won their first match via a 14-3 major decision in the finals of the Battle of New Orleans.  Just one week later Higgins avenged that match with an 18-3 technical fall in the finals of the Louisiana Classic.  Having dispatched the 2025 state champion Byington, she took care of business in the finals with a fall in 2:44.  Miss Byington did what a leader needs to do after a loss.  She took third place after two matches in just over two minutes combined.

3rd 4th 5th 6th (2) Mikayla Byington St. Amant (4) Makayla White Pearl River (5) Jaiden Dyer Zachary (7) Charley Courville Plaquemine

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114 Pounds (We went over this above.)

(1) Lilly Johnson of Dutchtown pinned (3) Carmen Mueller of Baton Rouge in 3:52

3rd 4th 5th 6th (4) Giada Ruffino Mandeville (5) Darbi Karnowski Haughton (6) Talia Jackson Prairieville (2) Elliana Schreiber Lafayette Lilly Johnson with bracket Johnson with her mother Johnson with her mother II Runner-up Carsyn "Gabby" Booty

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120 Pounds

(1) Ryleigh Blanchard of Lafayette pinned (3) Lynette Elizondo of South Beauregard in 2:39

Lafayette's Ryleigh Blanchard capped off a 37-0 season with a win in the state finals.  Thirty-three of those wins were by falls.  Two were by technical falls.  The last two were decisions of 11-4 and 7-3 - both to out-of-state wrestlers. She won the Brusly 8ish, the Griffin Open, the Pink Panther Invitational, the Jacob McMillan, the Ronnie Suarez District Tournament, the Public Schools Championships, the Ken Cole and the Louisiana Classic. In 2025 she was a runner-up to Haughton's Natalie Davis.  Unlike Davis in that match, Blanchard has another year to go.

3rd 4th 5th 6th (3) Mackenzie Thomas Walker (5) Maria Pascua Mendoza Mandeville (7) Aleyna Dominguez North Vermillion (2) Caylee Brammar Benton

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126 Pounds

(1) Quetzicalli Guevera-Tapia of Lafayette defeated (2) Audrina Wade of Benton 11-9

Miss Guevera-Tapia capped off a perfect 37-0 season, albeit the final two minutes of her high school career were not what she expected.  Her finals opponent, Audrina Wade of Benton, had one loss to a Louisiana wrestler, and that was courtesy of an 8-3 decision by Guevera-Tapia in the Louisiana Classic finals.  In the state finals Guevera-Tapia led 10-2 going into the third period.  And the Lady Lion tacked on an escape point a mere seven seconds after the third period began.  After 36 seconds Wade was given a stalling point and then ran off six more points via a takedown and three nearfall points.  Time ran out for the Benton Tiger and Guevera-Tapia won 11-9.

3rd 4th 5th 6th (5) Nachell Weaver Zachary (3) Naomi Cosgrove Sulphur (6) Chloe Leblanc Riverdale (8) Kaylise Nathan Prairieville

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132 Pounds

(1) Laken Griffin of Live Oak pinned Alyssa Hyde of Riverdale in 0:52

Live Oak's Laken Griffin became the third girl to go undefeated on the season.  She capped off a 36-0 season with a state championship in a match that lasted 0:52.  Twenty-four of her victories came via falls and 20 were the result of technical falls.  Like Miss Johnson at 114 lbs., nobody lasted the full six minutes with Miss Griffin.  she was the fourth girls state champion to register an undefeated season.

3rd 4th 5th 6th (4) Christina Johnson Sulphur (3) Sincere Lewis Chalmette (6) Chloe Green Broadmoor (6) Gabriella Parra Lafayette

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138 Pounds

(2) Olivia Maxie of Baton Rouge defeated (1) Isabella Guillory of East Ascension 5-3

Aside from a three unfortunate meetings with out-of-state wrestlers, East Ascension's Isabella Guillory was 26-0 upon entering the semifinals of the Greater Baton Rouge Championships.  And her opponent was one she had previously pinned in the Louisiana Classic finals.  That was Baton Rouge's Olivia Maxie.  The Bulldog senior was possibly not on Guillory's RADAR.  Yes, Maxie was a defending 2025 state champion, but that was at 152 lbs.  Guillory was a defending runner-up, but at the 2025 state championships she was at 126 lbs.  Miss Guillory planted her flag at 138 lbs. from start to finish.  Maxie started the season at 165 lbs. yet quickly dropped to 152 pounds and then to 145 lbs.  But 145 at the time was ruled by 2025 state champion Sarah Cervenka, and, even worse, defending 138 lbs. state champion Savannah Camarata of Albany, who had defeated Cervenka four times this season.  Maxie gave Camarata one of only two wins with only three-point margins.  But another option was available, as Maxie could make 138 lbs. When she did she won every match she entered, save in the above-mentioned Louisiana Classic finals.  The loss, no doubt, was an eye-opener for Maxie.  In the Greater Baton Rouge Championships, Maxie turned the tables on Guillory, who opened-up with a 10-point lead before recording a fall in 4:25.  I am not going to determine why Miss Guillory was seeded first, although it might have something to do with being at 138 lbs. all season.  Defending state champions do what it takes to defend their titles, and the one loss to Guillory may have inspired Maxie to prove that.  After a scoreless first period, Maxie was awarded a penalty point, a reversal and a two-point nearfall in the second period.  Miss Maxie elected to start the third period standing.  It was only with 12 seconds remaining that Guillory scored her only points with a takedown. Later in the season Maxie was awarded the Louisiana Tricia Sanders High School Excellence Award.

3rd 4th 5th 6th (5) Eden Turner Comeaux (4) Shyla LeBrun Lafayette (3) Aurora Avery Mandeville (6) Keira Liesch Benton

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145 Pounds

(1) Savannah Camarata of Albany defeated (2) Sarah Cervenka of South Beauregard 15-2 MD

Albany's top-seeded Savannah Camarata planted her flag at 145 lbs. and only ventured away from that weight class once when she wrestled at 152 lbs. for the Rumble on the River.  She had no reason to compete at another weight.  Camarata was a defending state champion, as was South Beauregard's Sarah Cervenka.  The two met in the finals of the Lady Spartan Invitational, the Big Horse Girls, the Louisiana Public Schools Wrestling Championships, the Louisiana Classic and the State Championship finals.  The trouble for Cervenka, though, was that those five matches were the only matches Cervenka would lose in the 2025-26 season.  Some match results were blowouts: 18-7 MD and 15-2 MD and 16-5 MD.  The other two were close 8-5 and 10-5 decisions.  But all went in favor of Camarata, who finished the season with a record undefeated at 35-0.  Both young ladies are juniors, so we might see some more matches between the two next season.

3rd 4th 5th 6th (4) Jhoana Torres-Sanchez Lafayette (4) Reina Garay Cruz Chalmette Lacey Lennox NOMMA Taylor Weber Baton Rouge

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152 Pounds

(4) Jonnika Pitts of Baton Rouge pinned (2) Gabriella Maldonado of Mandeville in 3:21

Baton Rouge senior Jonnika Pitts was the lowest-seeded state champion of the Girls Division.  She was seeded fourth behind #1 Matty Stutes of Acadiana, who defeated Pitts via a fall in 3:34 in the quarterfinals of the Louisiana Classic.  Later in that event she was pinned in 1:35 by Mandeville's Gabriela Maldonado.  She had a win over Maldonado in the finals of the Big Horse via a fall in 1:02.  As for Maldonado, she was the second seed because she won their last match and it was in a much harder event.  Abigail Risinger had a successful season, albeit mostly against out-of-state competition, and was seeded third.  In the 152 lbs. bracket at State, Pitts was ahead 9-3 over Stutes in their semifinals match prior to recording a fall in 5:37.  In the finals, Pitts had a 6-1 lead over Maldonado before scoring a fall in 3:21.

3rd 4th 5th 6th (1) Matty Stutes Acadiana Karmindi Grosch Chalmette (3) Abigail Risinger North Desoto (6) Kaitlym Walker Brusly

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165 Pounds

(1) Lillian Hutto of Acadiana pinned Breann Cullen of East Ascension in 1:52

Acadiana junior Lillian Hutto suffered one loss during the 2025-26 season.  That was to East Ascension's Breann Cullen in finals of the Louisiana Public Schools Wrestling Championships.  Hutto had defeated Cullen a month earlier in the finals of the Girls Spartan Classic.  Having won their last match, Cullen might have been seeded first, but they both had a common opponent in Lafayette's Dae ‘Jorie Williams.  Williams and Cullen split matches over the season, but Hutto defeated Williams handily three times: a fall in 0:51, a 22-4 TF and another fall in 1:43.  Miss Hutto took no chances in the State Championships.  Between two Hutto takedowns Cullen managed only an escape, but she could not get away from Hutto after the second one, and fell to a fall in 1:52.

3rd 4th 5th 6th (4) Olivia Patton South Beauregard (3) Dae'Jorie Williams Lafayette Angelisse Griffin Caddo Magnate (5) Allison Andrade John Ehret

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185 Pounds

(1) Iranie Harrison of Brusly defeated (2) Jenelle Rotunda of Chalmette 11-4

Brusly senior Iranie Harrison was 31-0 if one does not count (as I do not) losses to out-of-state competition.  Her steadfast finals opponent was Chalmette senior and defending state champion Jenelle Rotunda.  Harrison was hemlock as far as Rotunda was concerned.  Rotunda fell to Harrison in the Lady Swamp Owl 8ish via a fall in 5:10, the Lady Spartan Invitational finals via a pin in 5:04, the Pink Panther Invitational finals via a 12-0 MD and the LHSAA State Wrestling Championship finals 11-4.  Another finals match was thwarted by an out-o-state opponent who was seeded first at the Louisiana Classic.  Harrison and Rotunda met in the semifinals, with Harrison prevailing 4-0, and then falling to the top-seed from Oklahoma 7-6.  Aside from the five losses to Harrison, Miss Rotunda had a great season.  She won the Kickoff at the Corral, the Big Horse Open, the Battle on the Lakefront, the Louisiana Public Schools Wrestling Championships and the Battle of New Orleans.

3rd 4th 5th 6th (3) Adia Wells Zachary (4) Kaci Pellegrin H.L. Bourgeois (7) Alexi Kotter Mandeville (8) Alaina Matherne Central Lafourche

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235 Pounds

(3) Gabrielle Anthony of Zachary pinned (1) Allison Flores-Hernandez of Baton Rouge in 3:15

Allison Flores-Hernandez of Baton Rouge only had only one loss upon entering the state tournament.  That loss came from Zy'Maria Williams of Dutchtown in the Louisiana Classic finals.  The Baton Rouge junior avenged that loss with a win over Williams at the Greater Baton Rouge Championships.  But she did not see Williams as she stepped onto the finals mat.  Instead, she found the third-seeded Gabriel Anthony of Zachary.   These two had met twice before and not in a way Miss Anthony would care to remember.   Miss Hernandez won those matches by a 10-2 MD and a fall in 3:09.  In this match, though, Miss Anthony was having none of that.  She scored a takedown with only 25 seconds remaining in the first period.  Miss Hernandez managed an escape with three seconds remaining in the first period.   After winning the coin toss and deferring, Miss Anthony chose to start standing up.  With about a minute remaining in the second period Miss Anthony bear-hugged a throw attempt by Miss Hernandez and pulled her down on her back, recording a fall in 3:15.

3rd 4th 5th 6th (3) Zy'myaria Williams Dutchtown (4) Valentina Lopo Mandeville (6) Mattea Delaney Glen Oaks (5) Karissa Lopez East Ascension

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Questions?

Just ask Bastet!