Louisiana Wrestling

USA Wrestling has an upcoming national folkstyle tournament in Florida. 

USA Wrestling’s Middle & Elementary School Folkstyle National Championships are from February 26-27, 2010 near Lake Buena Vista, Florida at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. 

For more information click here.  

January 18, 2009 - Of the 17 Team Louisiana National Team members that competed in the Louisiana Classic this past weekend, 13 placed in the Top 3 of their weight class.  9 National Team Members made it to the finals and 6 of those went on to finish as Louisiana Classic Champions. 

Following the finals, each of the Team LA finalists were interviewed about their Team Louisiana experience and its part in their success.

ClLICK HERE to view their interviews. 

January 10, 2010 - Results from the District 9-5A Championship that took place on Jan. 9 have been posted. To see them click here.

December 30, 2009 - Results from the Deep South Bayou Duals that took place on Dec. 28 & 29 have been posted. To see them click here. 

December 24, 2009 - Results from the Trey Culotta Invitational that took place on Dec. 21 & 22 have been posted. To see them click here.

December 24, 2009 - Results from the Patriot Open that took place on Dec. 19 have been posted. To see them click here.

December 14, 2009 - Results from the Sam Sara Invitational that took place on Dec. 11 & 12 have been posted. To see them click here. 

December 14, 2009 - Results from the Evangel Eagle Open that took place on Dec. 12 have been posted. To see them click here. 

December 9, 2009 - Results from the Airline Dual Meet Tournament that took place on Dec. 5 have been posted. To see them click here. 

December 7, 2009 - Results from the George Trygg Memorial that took place on Dec. 5 have been posted. To see them click here.  

December 6, 2009 - Results from the Catholic Invitational that took place on Dec. 5 have been posted. To see them click here.

December 1, 2009 - Athletic Training Innovations is the newest sponsor to LouisianaWrestling.net. ATI designs, manufactures and distributes specialized plyometric and resistance training products and currently sponsors Daniel Cormier in the MMA. Please take the opportunity to visit their website and learn more about them. Click here for ATI's website. 

November 29, 2009 -  Results from the East Ascension Spartan Invitational that took place on Nov. 24 - 25 have been posted. To see them click here.

November 22, 2009 - Results from the Dutchtown Griffin Open that took place on Nov. 21 have been posted. To see them click here.

November 22, 2009 - Results from the Bulldog Duals that took place on Nov. 21 have been posted. To see them click here.

November 17, 2009 - Results from the St. Michael Warrior Open that took place on Nov. 14 have been posted. To see them click here. 

November 16, 2009 -  Results from the Mandeville Open that took place on Nov. 14 have been posted. To see them click here.

Go to the Dual Meet Results Page which can be found on the High School Page or by clicking here. 

November 8, 2009 - Results from the Rummel Takedown Tournament that took place on Nov. 7 have been posted. To see them click here.

September 26, 2009 -  (Excerpt from mmajunkie.com)

"Former Olympic wrestler Daniel Cormier (1-0) entered his professional debut with a seemingly predictable gameplan. But while Cormier's ground game was undoubtedly effective, the 30-year-old was also unafraid to stand and trade hands with opponent Gary Frazier (0-1). 

The strategy appeared a bit dangerous in the early going, and Frazier was able to sneak in a few stiff shots on the feet while literally running away from Cormier's shots. But the American Kickboxing Academy-trained fighter stood firm in the pocket and measured his opponent well. 

After wearing his opponent down in spots on the ground, Cormier looked to end the bout in the second. A missed Frazier knee left him vulnerable as he slipped to the floor, and Cormier pounced. A barrage of shots followed on the ground, and while the damage wasn't overly effective, the non-stop nature of the blows forced the stoppage at the 3:39 mark of the second frame. 

The former Oklahoma State Cowboy wrestler earned the victory in his professional debut, much to the delight of the pro-Cormier crowd."

September 22, 2009 - Five Louisiana wrestlers have been included in the 2009 - 2010 FloNationals Pre-Season Senior Rankings and nine Louisiana wrestlers have been included in the 2009 - 2010 FloNationals Pre-Season Junior Rankings.

 Seniors

Matt Rabinowitz of Airline High School is ranked 12th in the 112 pound weight class; Ben Willeford of St. Michael's High School is ranked 27th in the 112 pound weight class; Teurlings Catholic's Andre Viator is a Special Mention selection in the 125 pound weight class; Parkway High School's Matt Vetkoetter is also an Special Mention selection at the 152 pound weight class; and Catholic High's John Paul Luckett and Michael Love were both selected Special Mentions in the 171 pound and 189 pound weight classes respectively.

 Juniors

Ryan Seals of St. Paul's High School is a Special Mention selection in the 103 pound weight class; Matt Kimmel of Evangel Christian Academy is a Special Mention selection in the 119 pound weight class; Belle Chasse's Dustin Appelt is a Special Mention in the 130 pound weight class; Archbishop Rummel's Mark Pinero is ranked 30th in the 135 pound weight class; Rhett Ernst, also of Rummel High School is a Special Mention selection in the 140 pound weight class; Korey Miller of St. Paul's High is a Special Mention selection at the 145 pound weight class; Comeaux's Zach Saucier is ranked 25th in the 152 pound weight class; Justin Arnett of Redemptorist is a Special Mention selection in the 215 pound weight class; and Airline's DeAngelo Brooks is a Special Mention selection at 285 pounds.

 Congratulations to these Wrestlers. To view the full list click here.

September 9, 2009 - (Article from themat.com)

Willie Madison of Metairie, La. has been named the assistant coach for USA Wrestling’s Greco-Roman program at the U.S. Olympic Education Center at Northern Michigan University.

Madison will work with newly hired head coach Dennis Hall to coach the student-athletes in the USOEC program.

“We are very excited that Willie Madison will be taking the role of assistant coach at the USOEC,” said National Greco-Roman Coach Steve Fraser. “Willie is a great leader and always set a wonderful example of hard work and determination while he was an athlete. He is a product of the USOEC – NMU program himself so he knows how the program works. I think he will make a good member of the coaching team with Head Coach Dennis Hall.”

Madison was a nationally ranked Greco-Roman wrestler for many years, training with the USOEC program at Northern Michigan University, then moving to the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. 

He qualified for Greco-Roman Team USA during two seasons, placing third in the 2005 and 2007 U.S. World Team Trials. He placed four times at the U.S. Nationals, with his top finish being fifth at the 2005 U.S. Nationals. Madison placed in the top six at the 2004 and 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials.

Madison was also very successful on the age-group level. He was a 2003 University Nationals champion and placed seventh in the 2004 University World Championships. He also won a silver and a bronze medal at the University National Championships.

Madison most recently served as an assistant wrestling coach at Archishop Rummel High School in Metairie, La., where he helped train athletes on both the varsity and JV teams. He is also the head clinician for Madison Camps, where he taught Greco-Roman technique and life skills to young people in clinics in Louisiana, Ohio and Hawaii.

He served as a club coach for the Scorpion WC in Metairie, La. from 1995-99. He was a counselor for the Louisiana National Team camp from 2000-2006 and coached the Junior and Cadet National teams in Fargo, N.D. Madison is a bronze-level certified coach in USA Wrestling’s National Coaches Education Program.

Madison received a bachelor’s degree in Social Science/Political Science from Northern Michigan University in 2004. He previously attended Colby CC in Kansas, where he was a member of the wrestling team and received an associates degree in business management.

“I really appreciate the opportunity to go back there,” said Madison. “I was a student-athlete there, and I saw the progress I made and what the program means to U.S. Greco-Roman wrestling. This is a great opportunity for me to give back to the sport. Dennis Hall is a great wrestler and coach, and I look forward to working with him to build our Greco-Roman program.” 

August 1, 2009 - Every year Fargo, North Dakota is home to the largest wrestling tournament in the world the USA Wrestling Cadet and Junior Freestyle and Greco-Roman Nationals. And each year, thousands of wrestlers travel to the tournament with the dreams of finishing in the Top 8 in their weight class and earning the status of All American. This year the Team Louisiana Wrestling Team entered the tournament with high hopes of All Americans and Senior Ben Willeford of St. Michael's High School fulfilled that goal. Willeford, who looks to earn his Third State Title this season, finished 5th in the Junior 112 pound Greco-Roman division to be named an All-American. Ben finished the tournament with an overall record of 6 - 4.

[Picture: Ben Willeford (Blue Singlet) during his 5th Place match]

In addition to Willeford, Team Louisiana had three other wrestlers who nearly achieved All-American status. Junior Mark Pinero of Archbishop Rummel High School finished with a 7- 4 overall record and was two matches away from the All American round in Greco and one match away in Freestyle in the Cadet 130 pound weight class.

[Picture: Mark Pinero (Blue Singlet) throws his opponent]

Another strong performer for Team Louisiana was Sam Jones. Sam competed in the Cadet 112 pound weight class and compiled a 5 - 4 record overall. Sam finished one match away from the All American rounds in Greco Roman.

[Picture: Sam Jones (Red Singlet)]

Archbishop Rummel sophomore Scott Gibbons was also one match away in the Cadet Greco 140 pound division. Scott completed the tournament with a 5 - 4 overall record.

 [Picture: Scott Gibbons (Red Singlet) picks up a win]

With a 3 - 4 overall record Phillip Miller was one of the top performers for Team Louisiana in Fargo. Miller, who will be a sophomore at Teurlings Catholic High School this season competed in the Cadet 130 pound division.

[Picture: Phillip Miller (Red Singlet)]

 At the completion of the tournament, the Cadet Team combined for 22 total wins and the Junior Team combined for 15 wins.