The 2025 LHSAA Wrestling State Tournament gets underway Friday morning at Brookshire Grocery Arena and it will be an historic one.
For the first time, female student-athletes will compete in their own division.
“The introduction of a Girls’ Division is a momentous step for wrestling in Louisiana,” LHSAA Assistant Executive Director Adam MacDowell said in a press release. “This is a testament to the growth of girls’ wrestling at the high school level and the commitment of our schools and coaches to providing equal opportunities for all athletes.”
Bossier Parish athletes will be part of that history.
Girls will compete in 12 weight classes in one division.
Haughton senior Natalie Davis is the No. 2 seed in the 120-pound class. According to TrackWrestling.com, Davis’ record is 28-1.
Before girls wrestling became an LHSAA-sanctioned sport, Davis wrestled on the boys team. In the last few years, there have been some unofficial girls tournaments.
Benton sophomore Keira Liesch is the No. 2 seed in the 138-pound class. Her record is 22-5.
Other wrestlers from parish schools among the top six seeds in the girls division are Benton freshman Audrina Wade (4th, 132), Haughton freshman Destiny Lollar (5th, 145), Bossier junior A’Zerriana Jones (5th, 107) and Benton senior Julia Raymond (6th, 107).
Session I starts at 9:30 a.m. Friday. It lasts all day and includes early-round matches in the girls division and three boys divisions.
Session II starts at 10 a.m. Saturday with boys semifinal matches and girls third- and fourt-round matches if they aren’t completed Friday.
The sixth round of boys consolation will be from noon until 2 p.m. Consolation place winners matches will be held from 2-4 p.m.
Session III which features the finals matches will start at 5.
Airline senior Michael Finders is seeded No. 1 in the Division I boys 120-pound class. According to TrackWrestling.com, he is 32-8.
Finders is the lone parish athlete seeded No. 1. Airline, Benton, Parkway and Haughton are all competing in Division I.
Parkway has moved back up to Division I after finishing seventh in Division II last year. Benton was 10th and Airline 11th in Division I last year.
While Finders is the only No. 1 seed, he isn’t the only parish athlete with a chance to win a state championship.
Airline senior Danon Walker (29-1) is the No. 2 seed in the 215-pound class. He finished third in the division last year.
Benton senior Cooper Reagan (44-4) is the No. 3 seed in the 175-pound class. He was the runner-up at 165 pounds last year.
Parkway senior Larry Davis (38-3) is seeded fourth in the 165-pound class. He was fourth in the Division II 157-pound class last year.
Other parish wrestlers among the top six seeds are Parkway senior Dylan Mesloh (5th, 215), Benton senior Lucas Campbell (5th, 165), Airline sophomore Jackson Larkins (6th, 106) and Benton junior Brennan Jackson (6th, 150).
Mesloh finished fifth in the Division II 190-pound class last year.
The top six finishers in each weight class make the awards stand.
The defending champions are Jesuit of New Orleans (Division I), North DeSoto (Division II) and Archbishop Shaw (Division III).