(Covington, La.) The SPS Wrestling team is looking strong after a strong performance in the LA Classic, held in Baton Rouge on Jan. 12-13, 2018. The Wrestling Wolves placed fourth in the tournament with two of their biggest point scorers missing: Jared Theiler(145) and Brandon Stein(126). Considering the Wolves were only four points behind the third placed Holy Cross, the future is bright for the team.

“I’m satisfied with the way we wrestled, especially considering we were down two wrestlers. However, I think we could have wrestled better as a team overall and taken third place,” said freshman Carter Duet, who placed second in the tournament.

SPS put three wrestlers in the finals, Carter Duet(106), Cole Houser(138) and Grant Hughes(152), with Cole Houser taking first. Furthermore, the team had many wrestlers place in the top six, giving the team coveted team points.

The LA Classic is considered one of the hardest tournaments in the state of Louisiana, with every team in the state receiving an invitation. The large amount of teams challenges wrestlers with a daunting 32-man bracket, with five wins needed in order to place first. Also, there are no divisions in the LA Classic. Division one, two, and three wrestlers are mixed together, creating a true champion of the state, not like state sport competitions where these three divisions are separated. The format of this tournament allows for talented D3 wrestlers to take shots at the D1 wrestlers.

“The LA Classic is much tougher than the state tournament in every way. Bigger brackets, tougher competition from solid D2 And D3 tree wrestlers — it’s a tough battle for all the wrestlers,” wrestling coach Matt Pinero said.

All of this builds up to the state tournament to be held on Feb. 16, where the Wrestling Wolves plan to wrestle hard and take the gold. The team encourages the St. Paul’s community to come out and support the Wolves at their home meet on Wednesday, Jan. 31, when they take on district rival Covington High and also celebrate senior night.