Basile High School settles for runner-up trophy
By: DARREL
LEJEUNE
LSN Editor
BOSSIER CITY - For the first time in five years, Basile High School’s varsity wrestling team did not bring home a state wrestling crown. A mere 2 1/2 points separated the Bearcats and Archbishop Shaw High School in the race for the Division III Louisiana wrestling championship at the state meet held Friday and Saturday, February 10 and 11 at Bossier City’s Brookshire Grocery Arena.
Shaw, runner-up last year in Division II, moved down to Basile’s bracket this year, and snatched the state crown from Basile in the Bearcats attempt at a fifth consecutive state championship.
The New Orleans private school, the Division III pre-tournament favorite, was trailing BHS (119 to 107.5) at the close of day one but had a 209.5 to 200 advantage going into the finals.
At the conclusion of the two-day tourney, Shaw had 215.5 points to Basile’s 213.
Jenny Courville, a wrestling mom and teacher at Stewart Elementary, spoke for many Bearcat fans when she said, “Man, oh man, what a weekend. What a season...people…listen when I say this: wrestling is a sport that, in my mind, compares to no other. The blood (and a lot of it), sweat, tears, defeats, victories, exhaustion, ups, downs, highs, lows that these kids go through is not for the faint of heart. Every kid that goes out there to give their all is a champion in my eyes.”
She continued, “Our Bearcat team went to state this weekend to defend their state champ title for the fifth time. Statistically, it didn’t look too good for us going into it, but our Bearcat wrestlers went to wrestle. They fell short of a first place finish by 2.5 points! Each boy gave it their all and left it all on the mat. I couldn’t be any more proud of this team and their coaches. So proud to be a Bearcat!”
Leading BHS in the charge at the state meet were Luc Johnson (138 pounds) and Christian Bergeron (182 pounds), who both claimed state titles in their respective weight classes for the second straight year.
Johnson, the top seed in his weight class, won his first three matches by pin before beating No. 2 Liam O’Connor (DeLaSalle) 12-2 in the finals. In the 182-pound final, two-seed Bergeron edged No. 1 Jason Krail (DeLaSalle) 5-3, scoring all of his points in the second period.
The Bearcats had 11 wrestlers place in the top six, including the two state champions - Johnson and Bergeron.
Other top six finishers for Basile were the following:
Patrick Fontenot, 106-pounds, state runner-up; Kye Smith, 113-pounds, 3rd place; Jay Guillory, 126-pounds, 3rd place; Parker Fontenot, 152 pounds, 3rd place; Luke Fontenot, 160-pounds, 3rd place; Landon Thibodaux, 132-pounds, 5th place; Jackson Courville, 170-pounds, 5th place; Scott Berzas, 285-pounds, 5th place; Tucker LeBlanc, 138-pounds, 6th place.
Bearcat coach Ben Bertrand was very pleased with his team’s showing at state and throughout the season. Following the state tourney, he shared the following:
“I’m very proud of what our team accomplished this year. A lot of what makes this sport so special is the relationships that the kids form with one another, and I got to watch that unfold this weekend. After every match, win or lose, our whole team was there to either congratulate or pick up their teammate. That, to me, shows that we are still champions. Our job as coaches is not only to win, in my opinion, but more importantly to be positive role models for these kids and teach them lessons that they can take with them to be successful husbands, fathers, and workers in our community. Their gracious attitudes shown to their opponents and each other show that they are listening and learning those lessons, and for that I am so grateful. I thoroughly enjoyed coaching them this year. I’d also like to thank our community for the unwavering support. We will be back.”