The Airline Vikings finished fourth in the Louisiana Classic wrestling tournament in Baton Rouge on Saturday.
The tournament brings together many of the state’s top wrestlers in all divisions.
Airline scored 149 points. New Orleans schools finished first, second and third. Brother Martin won with 269, Jesuit was second with 237 and Holy Cross third with 211.
Brother Martin, Jesuit and Holy Cross finished 1-2-3 in the Division I state tournament last year at the CenturyLink Center.
Airline’s Christian Walden continued his undefeated season, winning the 162-pound division. Walden, a two-time state champ, pinned Raekwon Thomas of DeLaSalle in 5 minutes, 40 seconds in the championship match.
He won his first two matches by fall and then defeated Jeffrey Argrave of Holy Cross 15-7 in the semifinals.
Salinas lost in the quarterfinals to eventual runner-up Mason Rabel of Dunham 8-2 in the 197-pound class. He then pinned three straight opponents in the consolation to reach the third-place match where he defeated Tyler Carriere of Rayne 6-2.
Tucker Almond (134) and Josh Partin (140) posted third-place finishes in their respective weight classes.
Peyton Bass finished sixth in the 115-pound class. Dakota Brace (106), Thomas Barringer (128) and Darrell Evans (184) finished eighth in their respective classes.
NOTE: The feature photo is of Christian Walden at an earlier event this season.
— Russell Hedges, rhedges@bossierpress.com
