The St. Mary’s Tigers saw that they needed to add some “grit” to their athletic programs so they added a wrestling squad to the list of sports. Principal Jason Lachia, who was a former assistant at Catholic League powerhouse wrestling school Holy Cross, assumed the duties of head coach. Lachia needed some help and looked no further than Northwestern State. Lachia found former Airline High School
state wrestling champ, Matt Salinas, to help with his program. Salinas was a former Demon football player and is currently a junior at NSU.
The first year program according to Lachia was not about wins and losses. “There’s never been any expectation on wins and losses,” Lachia said. “It’s about grit, determination, growing the love of the sport, and getting kids to stay. That’s the foundation. Fortunately we’ve had a couple of kids who have found success.” In the squad of a team that NO ONE has had any type of wrestling experience, the St. Mary’s Tiger placed two wrestlers in the top six and a place on the podium: Logan Watson and Mason Britain.
Watson had always wanted to do wrestling but didn’t have the opportunity. “I’ve been watching wrestling for about three years and I always wanted to do it but didn’t know where to go,” Watson said. “When I heard that we were going to have a wrestling program I said let’s try it out.”. Watson plays football both ways for the Tigers.
Wrestling was a whole different type of conditioning. “I thought I was in the greatest shape in football because I never came off the field for four quarters,” Watson said. “I thought this was going to be good for conditioning purposes. The first two days I was saying this was a whole lot more. One match is like playing a whole football game.”. “It was so hard. I was so out of breath, “ Britain said.. “Wrestling and football are too different things.”.
The new squad didn’t shy away from the competition as they traveled across the state and faced some stiff competition over the season. “It’s been rough,” Lachia said. “We’ve got some seventh, eighth, ninth, one tenth, no juniors, and three seniors. We’ve taken our lumps. There’s not a whole lot of wrestling in North Louisiana so we’ve done our fair share of traveling. We’ve been down to New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Zachary. We’ve participated in two in Bossier with the Riot on the Red and Lone Survivor….The reception has been great. We think this can help us with enrollment and get kids involved and give them another avenue as well.”
Logan Watson’s first season saw a third place finish at Lone Survivor and a second place finish in the North Louisiana Regionals. Fresham Mason Britain won the first gold for At. Mary’s with a win in the 2022 Bulldog Freshman Tournament.
Fast forward to the culmination of the wrestling season, the LHSAA Wrestling State Championships that were held at Brookshire’s Grocery Arena in Bossier City. St. Mary’s took 12 wrestlers to the state tournament. St. Mary’s would seed five in the top eight : Merritt Stevenson (6th, 106), Jace Carpenter (6th, 138), Mason Britain (5th, 160), Logan Watson (3rd, 170), Chanler Hale (7th, 182) The Tigers advance two to second day: Logan Watson and Mason Britain.
Watson would come into the tournament as the highest seeded Tiger with a 15-7 record in the Division III 170 weight class. Watson took the first round win with a pin over Dunham’s Eliot Trahan. Watson fell in a 19-9 decision to Archbishop Shaw’s Mason Wilson. Watson had to battle through the consolation bracket to reach the podium. Watson won by pins over Ashtyn Melerine from Archbishop Hannan and Blake Butler of South Beauregard. Watson had qualified for the second day. Watson won the consolation semifinal with a win over Vinton’s Jordan Rogers. Watson would compete for third place. He would have to face the wrestler who sent him through the consolation bracket, Archbishop Shaw’s Mason Wilson. The hard fought match ended not like the previous meeting as Wilson got the better with only a 5-0 decision. Watson would finish in fourth overall at the state tournament.
Mason Britain received a first round bye. His quarterfinal opponent was eventual state champion Michael Gilreath from Evangel. Britain was pinned in the second period. Britain would also have to trek through the consolation bracket to reach the podium. A bye in the second round of the consolation bracket set up a third round matchup with Nylon Alexander from Thomas Jefferson. Britain would get the pin early in the match sending him to the second day of the state tournament. The consolation semifinal was once again an Archbishop Shaw opponent in top-seeded Jason Brown. Brown would get a first period pin over Britain sending him to the fifth place match. Britain finished the tournament in sixth place by a pin from Aidan Mulholland. Still a place on the podium for the St. Mary first year wrestler.
Starting a new program and giving ample opportunities to students allows them to get new experiences. Two of these wrestlers reached a place a lot of wrestlers would love to be with no experience except with what they learned over the current season. Reach high because you never know when you will find that hidden talent.
Other St. Mary’s Top 3 Finishes Over The Season:
- Kolton Norsworthy – 285 – 3rd – Riot On The Red
- James Sheffield – 145- 2nd – 2022 Kickoff at the Corral
- James Sheffield – 145 – 2nd – 2022 Bulldog Freshman Tournament
- Merritt Vandersteen – 106 – 2nd – 2022 Bulldog Freshman Tournament
- John Paul Thibodeaux – 152- 2nd – 2022 Bulldog Fresham Tournament
- Winston Cedars – 120 – 3rd – North Louisiana Regionals
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