Junior Perry Ganci, the 220-lb. defending state champion, has accomplished two great victories over the past two and a half weeks. Ganci won one of the nation’s most competitive high school tournaments, the Prep Slam in Atlanta, Ga., on Dec. 30, 2017 (see details below). He followed that victory with a 1st-place finish at the LA Classic on January 13, 2018, being named the Most Outstanding Wrestler of the meet.

This past weekend, Jesuit wrestlers took on the new year with full force at Louisiana’s largest all-class high school tournament, the 45th Louisiana (LA) Classic, where 1st-place Blue Jays Perry Ganci and Paul Treuting led the team to a runner-up finish. The tournament showcased the state’s top wrestlers at Lamar-Dixon Expo Center in Gonzales, La., and Jesuit grapplers face familiar competition in their upcoming district duals against LA Classic champion Brother Martin and 3rd-place team Holy Cross.

Top 3 team scores: 1) Brother Martin – 278 | 2) Jesuit – 186 | 3) Holy Cross – 158

The individual champions for Jesuit took away more than just gold medals. Ganci (a 220 lb. junior) was awarded the Most Outstanding Wrestler title, and senior Paul Treuting gained confidence moving forward after upsetting the No. 1 seed in the semifinals of the 160-pound weight class.

Read More on the LA Classic…

TheAdvocate.com | Jesuit’s Perry Ganci earns Outstanding Wrestler at Louisiana Classic, Brother Martin cruises to team title

TheAdvocate.com | Check out the Louisiana Classic wrestling results (Full Team Results)

TheAdvertiser.com | Louisiana Classic Wrestling Tournament Results (Full Individual Results)

Despite it being a new year, traveling for tournaments and competing against the area’s best wrestlers is nothing new for Jesuit. Throughout the month of December, the devoted team of grapplers migrated every other weekend to nationally-recognized tournaments throughout the southeast region. A summary of each tournament is below.

Senior Thomas Arseneaux, junior Luke Eccles, and junior Perry Ganci

Prep Slam Tournament in Atlanta, Ga. | December 29-30, 2017

The four top Division I teams in Louisiana headed to Atlanta in the last weekend of 2017 for the Holy Innocents Prep Slam X tournament. The tournament featured 45 teams from 13 states and is considered by many to be the largest, most competitive prep tournament in the nation. Brother Martin placed second with 210 points, St. Paul’s finished 6th, Holy Cross 8th, and Jesuit 12th.

Jesuit was the only New Orleans school to earn a championship, won by junior Perry Ganci at 220 pounds. After a bye, Ganci pinned his R16 opponent in 0:25 and his quarterfinals opponent in 5:06. In the semifinals Ganci scored another fall, this time in 4:10. In the finals against a wrestler from championship team St. Christopher, Ganci won his title with a 7-4 score.

Jesuit’s Thomas Arseneaux (182) placed 4th and Luke Eccles (126) placed 6th.

Kansas City Stampede in Kansas City, Mo. | Dec 14-15, 2017

This national caliber wrestling tournament held at Hale Arena consistently ranks as one of the top 10 high school tournaments by various wrestling media. In 2017, the 41-team event included 11 states from Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, Alabama, Georgia, Iowa, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and Louisiana. Jesuit was the only Louisiana team to compete. Individual and team results are as follows:

Junior Perry Ganci (220) reached the finals and placed second. Senior Paul Treuting (170) reached the quarterfinals and placed sixth. Senior Nathan Koenig (160) also reached the quarters and placed sixth.

Team Results — Jesuit (20th out of 41) scored 198 points and edged out Arkansas City (KS) and Christian Brothers (TN) to make the Top 20.

South Walton Border Wars in S. Walton, Fla. | December 1-2, 2017

The Fifth Annual South Walton Border Wars was held on December 1-2, 2017, at South Walton High School in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida.  The twenty-three teams included 15 from Florida, three from Louisiana, three from Georgia, one from Alabama and one from Tennessee.

Jesuit scored 431.5 points to place fifth and fielded a champion in senior Paul Treuting. Treuting (170) won by tech fall, 16-0, in 3:22. The top 10 of the 23 teams are as follows:

Looking Ahead with Coach Sheridan Moran

The Blue Jays duel the Crusaders at Brother Martin on Wednesday, Jan. 17. They return to Carrollton and Banks on the following Wednesday to host Holy Cross, and head wrestling coach Sheridan Moran wants everyone to know there will be a tailgate prior to the dual. “Our home dual against Holy Cross is going to be a big one,” Moran said. “We are getting the word out to all the alumni we can. We’ll have a tailgate prior to that event, and we expect a bigger crowd than the one against Rummel.”

The Shaw home dual on Tuesday, Jan. 30, will be Senior Night in the Birdcage, where the team will honor both the seniors and their parents.