Four Blue Jays Named to National All-Academic Team
Four Jesuit wrestlers-- seniors Michael Matthews, Michael Weiser, junior Michael Gruezke, and sophomore Jonathan Dupre-- were recently named to the National High School Coaches Association All-Academic team. For more details about the national wrestling all-academic team, please visit the NHSCA Website.
Wrestling USA Recognizes Senior Blue Jay
Congratulations to senior Kevin White for his nomination to the 2007 Wrestling USA Honorable Mention Squad.
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Five Blue Jays Named to All-Metro Wrestling Team Jesuit placed five wrestlers on the All-MetroWrestling Team.
Representing the Blue Jays are sophomore Jonathan Dupre (103), senior Kevin White (112), senior Michael Weiser (119), senior Ben Capella (135), and senior Michael Matthews (171).
Four Jesuit Wrestlers Win Individual State Titles; Jays Finish Season State Runner-Up 
In the state finals this past weekend, senior Kevin White defeated his opponent from Catholic High to win the 112-pound weight class. Also joining Kevin as an individual state champion were sophomore Jonathan Dupre (103), senior Michael Weiser (119) and senior Michael Matthews (171).
Although the Jays are proud of these individual accomplishments, the team fell short
of securing the state title for a fourth consecutive year.
View photos from 2007 State Wrestling Tournament. Final Individual Results: 2007 State Wrestling Tournament State Champions
Jonathan Dupre @ 103
Kevin White @ 112
Michael Weiser @ 119
Michael Matthews @ 171
State Runner-up ( 2nd )
Ben Capella @ 135
Johnny Palmer @ 189
Third Placers
Mike Gruezke @ 125
Joe Cobena @ 160
Robert Speyrer @ 215
Fourth Place
Bryson Blount @ 140
Jesuit Defeats St. Paul's in Dual, 52-21 
Freshman Jeff Vitenas works to pin his opponent.
The Blue Jay wrestlers defeated St. Paul's Wednesday night in the Jesuit Gymnasium by a score of 52-21.
Individual results were as follows:
103 - Jeff Vitenas(Jes) dec Kurt Bradbury ( STP )12-4
112- Kevin White ( Jes ) pin Anthony Lacava (STP) 5:15
119- Micheal Wieser (Jes) pin Micheal Young (STP) 3:52
125- Micheal Gruezke (Jes)pin Drew Lindemann (STP) 2:35
130 - John Bellone ( Jes ) pin Taylor Waguespack (STP):55
135 - Ben capella (Jes ) dec Chase Gourgues (STP) 6-1
140 - Bryson Blount (Jes ) pin Aaron Berna (STP) :46
145- Matt Shubert (STP )dec Chris Vitenas (Jes) 9-8
152-Scott Hebert ( STP) pin Patrick Vocke ( Jes ) 1:10
160 - Chase Legarde (STP) dec Joe Cobena( Jes ) Inj Def
171 - Mike Matthews ( Jes ) win by Forfeit
189 - Johnny Palmer( Jes )dec Spencer Robicheaux(STP) 13-3
215 - Robert Speyrer ( Jes ) pin Alex Grashoff ( STP) 1:41
285 - Micheal Algero ( STP) pin Shane Delery ( Jes ) 3:05
Make sure to come and support the Blue Jays at the State Tournament which will be held at the Ponchartrain Center on Feb 9th and 10th.
Wrestlers Finish Second in District Meet 
Junior Lee Redfearn
(The following article is courtesy of The Times-Picayune and NOLA.com.) Crusaders edge Blue Jays to take 8-5A wrestling titleStall, Aitkin capture final two matches, lift Brother Martin Sunday, January 28, 2007 By Ryan Arena With the District 8-5A championship hanging in the balance, it was fitting that the result of two head-to-head matchups between Brother Martin and Jesuit would decide the tournament winner. The two wrestling powers were favored coming into the meet, and were neck-and-neck in points up to that moment. The championship match of the 189-pound class pitted the Crusaders' Will Stall against the Blue Jays' Johnny Palmer, and Brother Martin's Jimmy Aitkin faced Jesuit's Robert Speyrer in the 215-pound class. As they have in big spots all season long, Stall and Aitken again came through for the Crusaders, and Brother Martin took the district crown. "I felt like we did a great job today," Stall said. "But there's always room for improvement. You always want to strive to be the best, perform up to your capabilities. You want to leave your season with no regrets." Brother Martin won 200-192. Rummel was third with 120, and Holy Cross had 52. "All our guys wrestled well," said Brother Martin Coach Joe Corso. "We lost some close matches, but as a team we stuck together. Our guys that needed to win won, guys that have stepped up all year. Not just the first-place guys, guys that needed to place for us all over the board stepped up. Everyone is starting to wrestle well and meld together going into state." "It came down to the last two matches," said Jesuit Coach Carlos Bertot. "We came up short. We definitely need to refocus now. Our goal is to beat Brother Martin in the state tournament." Aitken defeated Speyrer by decision, 4-0, and Stall beat Palmer by major decision, 10-2. "I knew it would be a dogfight," Stall said. "Any time we face one of these guys in the finals, it is." Jesuit started the finals by winning the championships of the first three classes and four of the first six -- by Jonathan Dupre (103), Kevin White (112), Michael Weiser (119), and Ben Capella (135). Brother Martin turned things around, taking championships in five classes. Nick Shields took the first title for the Crusaders, defeating Rummel's John Calcote at 125 by a 12-2 major decision. "We've wrestled before," Shields said. "Both of us watch video, and corrected our mistakes from before. I just kept on going and got some extra points for our team." The Blue Jays' Michael Matthews won at 171, defeating Brother Martin's Cullen Glennon by major decision, setting Jesuit up for a potential victory. "As a team, we came out and wrestled twice as hard after losing to Brother Martin at our dual meet last time," Matthews said. "I wrestled (Glennon) last Wednesday and trained very hard for this match and took a major decision. We have to take it up a notch going into state." Jesse Casadaban (145) and Ben Dussouy (160) also won for the Crusaders. Ivan Muller was a bright spot for Rummel, defeating Brother Martin's Joey Fontana at 285. "Guys from Brother Martin like Joey Fontana, they keep pushing you," Muller said. "You always have to try to get stronger, faster. There's always room for improvement."
Blue Jays Pin Raiders in Dual, 54 - 16
Senior Ben Capella works to pin his opponent. (Photo by Jonathan Rowan '06)
Individual Results from the Jesuit - Rummel Dual
103 - Johnathan Dupre ( Jes ) pin Kevin Blase ( Rum ) :11
112 - Kevin White ( Jes ) win by forfeit
119 - Tyler Ehret( Jes ) dec Mike Wieser ( Jes ) 11-6
125 - Mike Gruezke ( Jes ) win by forfeit
130 - Lee Redfearn ( Jes ) win by forfeit
135 - Ben Capella ( Jes ) pin Micheal Budde ( Rum )1:30
140 - Tony Suarez ( Rum ) dec Bryson Blount ( Jes ) 14-6
145 - Patrick Keiffer ( Jes ) pin Brett Matherne(Rum) 1:20
152 - Bernie Dupuy( RUM ) dec Patrick Vocke (Jes) 9-6
160 - Joe Cobena ( Jes ) dec Pete Morallie ( Rum ) ( 10-8 )
171 - Mike Matthews ( Jes ) pin Eric Rivera ( Rum ) 1:20
189 - Johnny Palmer ( Jes ) pin Steven Lusser ( Rum ) :55
215 - Robert Speyrer ( Jes) dec Travis Burke ( Rum ) 5-2
285 - Ivan Muller ( Rum ) pinned Bat Brunner ( Jes ) 1:00
In Nail-Biter, Blue Jays Lose a Tough One to BM 
Senior Michael Weiser sizes up his Crusader opponent before
taking him down and winning the match. (Photo by Jonathan Rowan '06)
(The following article is courtesy of The Times-Picayune and NOLA.com.) Brother Martin takes down Jesuit Deleaumont's win sparks Brother Martin Thursday, January 18, 2007 By Pierce W. Huff Brother Martin senior Jayson Deleaumont really didn't know the team score when he wrestled against Jesuit's Patrick Vocke at 152 pounds in the final match of the teams' dual meet on Wednesday. Jesuit was leading 27-26. But all Deleaumont could think about going into his match was coming through against his school's rival and helping the Crusaders to a big victory against the defending state champion. In the end, Deleaumont prevailed, defeating Vocke 3-2 and leading Brother Martin to a 29-27 victory at Jesuit. "We came here to make a statement, and we made it," Deleaumont said.
In turn, Brother Martin erased the disappointment of Saturday, when it finished second to Jesuit by 14 points (221-207) in the Lee High Tournament in Baton Rouge.
"I look at every event differently," Brother Martin Coach Joe Corso said. "We weren't ready to wrestle last week in the consolations, and it hurt us." But Brother Martin was ready Tuesday. The Crusaders won the match at 160 by forfeit because Jesuit's wrestler was hurt. Brother Martin then won three of the next four matches at 189, 215 and heavyweight. Brother Martin took a 22-16 lead in the team standings when Nick Shields defeated Jesuit's Michael Gruezke 10-2 at 125 pounds. Jesuit came back to take a 27-22 lead after victories at 130 (Lee Redfearn, 8-2), 135 (Ben Capella by technical fall, 16-0) and 140 (Bryson Blount, 10-8 in overtime). But Brother Martin cut the score to 27-26 after Jesse Casadaban defeated Chris Vitenas 13-0 at 145 pounds. Then, came Deleaumont's deciding victory. "Some of their guys won close matches and were able to finish their take downs, and we spotted them six points," Jesuit Coach Carlos Bertot said. Bertot said he expected a tight score into the dual regardless of who won, and now it's time for Jesuit to learn from its mistakes and get ready for the rest of the season. "(The match at 152) basically came down to defense, but we'll make the corrections," he said.
And for a change, it's Jesuit having to respond.
"It's sweet, because we hadn't beat them in a couple of years," Deleaumont said.
But Corso said he wants to keep things in perspective, because the Crusaders still have yet to win the state title.
"All this is icing on the cake," he said.
Blue Jays Take First in Competitive Lee High Tournament
(The following article is courtesy of The Times-Picayune and NOLA.com.)
Matthews Helps Lift Jesuit
Blue Jays Topple Crusaders at Lee High Tournament
Sunday, January 14, 2007
By Lori Lyons Jesuit senior wrestler Michael Matthews knew that, if his team was to win the 34th annual Lee High Tournament, he had to defeat Hahnville's Levi Gruwell in the final match featuring a Blue Jay wrestler. Jesuit entered the final day of the tournament with a 14-point lead ahead of Brother Martin, but the Blue Jays had to win two of their four finals matches to take the title. Matthews knew that, and he knew that two of his teammates had lost. "It was a lot of pressure," said Matthews, who came in as the No. 1 seed in his weight class and had pinned his way to the finals with victories against the fourth and eight seeds. But even with the crowd chanting his opponent's name, Matthews never lost focus and took a 7-5 victory. With that, Jesuit captured the team title of the tournament with 221 points. Brother Martin was second with 207 points, and St. Paul's was third with 182.5 points. Defending champion Rummel finished fourth with 161.5 points. Matthews said he wasn't bothered by the crowd favoring Gruwell, a senior from a school still trying to build a wrestling tradition. Gruwell and Matthews had split their two previous meetings this season. "I just stayed focused on my match," Matthews said. Matthews was one of seven local winners at the prestigious tournament, which many consider to be the "real" state championship -- including Matthews. "I consider this state," Matthews said. "But I still want to win a state championship. It's what I've been working for the last five years." Jesuit's Carlos Bertot was pleased to nab his first title as head coach. The Blue Jays were third at last year's tournament but went on to win their 21st state championship. "I'm glad they won, first of all," Bertot said. "It was pretty close. We fell short in a couple of matches, but we did what we needed to do and I'm grateful for that. We lost of couple of battles, but we won the war." Jesuit did not get off to a great start. In the first match of the finals, Airline's Matt Rabinowitcz, the No. 2 seed, upset No. 1 seed Jonathan Dupre of Jesuit with an 8-6 victory in the 103-pound weight class. But in the second finals match, Kevin White scored his second tournament victory with an 8-2 decision against Luis Alexander of Catholic High. White became only the 53rd wrestler to win the tournament twice in its 34-year history. And, like Matthews, White felt the pressure to win -- especially after his teammate lost the prior match. "Yes, it was a momentum-breaker," White said. "The individual title doesn't mean as much as the team title. But we needed two people to win to win the title." Nick Shields won the 125-pound weight class. He is among the 53 wrestlers to win the tournament twice, but now is only the eighth to win his third title. No one has ever won four. "It's definitely a goal now," Shields said. Rummel's Spencer Dussouy won the 130-pound weight class with a 10-3 decision over St. Paul's Jared Stritzinger. But Scott Hebert scored one for the Wolves when he pinned Mandeville's Jimmy Kotter in 59 seconds to take the 152-pound weight class. "He gave me a concussion the last time we wrestled," said Hebert, who also pinned his first two opponents on the way to the finals. "I just went out there and did my best." Jimmy Aitken of Brother Martin won the 215-pound weight class with an 8-3 victory against Rummel's Travis Burke. Ivan Muller of Rummel won the 285-pound weight class with a 3-2 overtime victory over Brusly's Alex Schofield.
Jesuit Wrestlers Win Dual Against Catholic High
Senior Robert Speyrer meets the challenge of his opponent. Speyrer went on to pin his competition in 1:53 in his dual.
The Blue Jay wrestling team took on Catholic High of Baton Rouge Wednesday night
in the Jesuit gym and came away victorious with a score of 39-20.
Individual results were as follows:
103: Jonathan Dupre(Jes) pin Blake Savoie (Cath) 4:12
112: Kevin White(Jes) dec Louis Alexander(Cath) 7-1
119: Beau Town (Cath) dec Michael Weiser ( Jes) 13-8
125: Michael Gruezke (Jes) dec Alex Hurst (Cath) 10-8
130: Jeff Falcon ( Cath ) dec Lee Redfearn ( Jes) 7-2
135: Mitchell Fischer ( Cath ) dec Ben Capella ( Jes) 6-4
140: Trent Fresina ( Cath) dec Bryson Blount ( Jes ) 11-3
145: John Botler ( Cath) dec Chris Vitenas (Jes) 14-6
152: Kenny Whittle (Cath) dec Patrick Vocke (Jes) 7-5
160: Stephen Vocke (Jes) dec Brandon Layman (Cath) 8-5
171: Michael Matthews(Jes)pin Wade Blanchard (Cath) 3:10
189: Johnny Palmer (Jes) pin Chase Myers (Cath) 1:13
215: Robert Speyrer(Jes) pin Jacob Roberts(Cath) 1:53
285: Shane Delery ( Jes ) pin Drew Cavell ( Cath) 5:27 
Sophomore Jonathan Dupre works to pin his opponent.
Jays Win Grapevine Duals in Texas
The Jesuit wrestling team participated in the Grapevine Duals in Texas the weekend of January 5 and 6. The Blue Jays took first place in a very competitive field from schools in Texas and Oklahoma. The Jays went 9-0 in dual meet competition. In the championship competition, Jesuit scored 40 points to Arlington Bowie's 36. Individual results are as follows: 103 – Dupre, Jesuit fall Hill, Bowie, 1:46
112 – White, Jesuit, fall Martinez, Bowie, 0:41
119 – Weiser, Jesuit, fall Demont, Bowie, 1:30
125 – Gruezke, Jesuit, tech. fall Klemm, Bowie
130 – Redfearn, Jesuit, tech. fall Milburn, Bowie
135 – Capella, Jesuit, fall Goolsbay, Bowie, 3:37
140 – Atkinson, Bowie, dec. Blount, Jesuit, 7-3
145 – Roberts, Bowie, dec. Vitenas, Jesuit, 8-3
152 – Okere, Bowie, dec. P. Vocke, 8-4
160 – Rogers, Bowie, won by forfeit
171 – Matthews, Jesuit, fall Galbrath, Bowie, 2:48
180 – Brooks, Bowie, fall Fantazis, Jesuit, 5:46
189 – McGraw, Bowie, fall Palmer, Jesuit, 2:35
215 – Usman, Bowie, dec. Speyrer, Jesuit, 4-2 (OT)
285 – Umeh, Bowie, fall Delery, Jesuit, 1:42
Blue Jays Take Third in North Carolina Tournament The Jesuit Blue Jay Varsity "A" wrestling team travelled to North Carolina to participate in the Tiger Classic on December 22 and 23.
Although a number of starters did not participate due to injuries, the Jays still placed third out of thirty-eight teams.
Individual placers included the following athletes:
Jonathan Dupre - 3rd @ 103
Michael Wieser - 4th @ 119
Johnny Palmer - 4th @ 189
Robert Speyrer - 4th @215
Jesuit Wins Rummel Tournament The Jesuit Wrestling team participated in two tournaments the weekend of December 15 and 16.
At the Sam Sara Invitational held at Rummel, the Varsity A team placed first with ten finalists and seven champions.
Individual champions included the following athletes:
Jonathan Dupre - 1st @ 103 lbs
Kevin White - 1st @ 112 lbs
Michael Weiser - 1st @ 119 lbs
Boe Reboul - 1st @ 135 lbs
Michael Matthews 1st @ 171 lbs
Johnny Palmer 1st @ 189 lbs
Robert Speyrer 1st@ 215 lbs
2nd placers were the following Blue Jays :
Michael Gruezke @ 125 lbs
Patrick Vocke @ 152 lbs
Joe Cobena @ 160 lbs
Lee Redfearn @ 130 lbs finished in third.
At the Mighty Lion Invitational, the Varsity B team placed tenth in a very competitive and packed tournament.
Individual placers included the following athletes:
Jeffrey Vitenas - 2nd @ 103
John Bellone - 3rd @ 125
Steven Toups - 3rd @ 130
Congratulations to all of our Blue Jay wrestlers.
Wrestlers Continue Their Winning Ways The Jesuit wrestling team participated in two tournaments this weekend (December 1-2) sending both its Varsity A and Varsity B teams into competition.
The Varsity A team placed first at the Catholic High Invitational in Baton Rouge.
Individual champions included the following wrestlers :
Jonathan Dupre @ 103
Micheal Gruezke @ 125
Johnny Palmer @ 189
Robert Speyrer @ 215
Third place recipients include the follow athletes:
Lee Redfearn @ 130
Boe Reboul @ 135
Micheal Matthews @ 171
The Varsity B team placed fourth at the George Trygg Invitational at Grace King.
Jesuit had one champion in freshman Jeffrey Vitenas wrestling @ 112.
Senior John Bellone @ 125 finished second in his class, and freshman Patrick Spruell @ 103 and sophomore Stephen Vocke @ 160 finished third.
Blue Jays Win Cashio - Schriever Wrestling Tournament
Junior Michael Gruezke works to pin his competition.
The Jesuit varsity wrestling team won the 35th annual Cashio - Schriever Tournament at Jesuit this past weekend. The team place first with nine indvidual finalists. The individual chapions were as follows: 103 Jonathan Dupre
112 Kevin White Second place finishers were the following athletes: 103 Jeffrey Vitenas
119 Greg Veech
125 Michael Gruezke
160 Joe Cobena
171 Michael Matthews
189 Johnny Palmer
215 Robert Speyrer At 130, Lee Redfearn finished third. View the 2006 Cashio - Schriever Tournament Photo Gallery.
Jesuit Wrestling Enjoys Another Successful Weekend at the Bulldog Open
The Jesuit Varsity Wrestling continued its winning ways Saturday, November19 by dominating the competition at the Fountainbleau Bulldog Open. The Blue Jays placed seven finalists and secured six class championships.
If the team score had been kept, the Jays would have been first.
Individual results :
103 Jonathan Dupre - 1st
103 Jeffrey Vitenas - 3rd
112 Kevin White - 1st
119 Greg Veech - 4th
125 Mike Gruezke - 1st
130 Lee Redfearn - 3rd
135 Boe Reboul - 3rd
140 Bryson Blount - 2nd
152 Patrick Vocke - 4th
160 Joe Cobena - 1st
171 Mike Matthews - 1st
215 Robert Speyrer - 1st
285 Bat Brunner - 3rd
Jays Dominate Tigers at Dual
The Jesuit Wrestling team put on an impressive display Wenesday evening,
November 15 at the Jesuit gym beating the Holy Cross Tigers by a score of 78-6. The results from the Jesuit - Holy Cross dual are as follows:
103 Jonathan Dupre wins by forfeit.
112 Kevin White wins by fall :45 seconds over Mitch Bordelon.
119 Greg Veech wins by forfeit due to a missed weigh in.
Match is wrestled anyway and he beats Danny Ortego 13-6.
125 Michael Gruezke wins by forfeit.
130 Lee Redfearn wins by forfeit.
135 Boe Reboul wins by forfeit.
140 Bryson Blount wins by tech fall ( 16-0 ) over Jordan Garrett.
145 Patrick Keiffer loses by fall to Troy Turner (5:20).
152 Patrick Vocke wins by forfeit.
160 Stephen Vocke wins by foreit.
171 Michael Matthews wins by fall over Austin Winchester ( :59 ).
189 Philip Zanco wins by fall over Don Ralph (2:19).
215 Robert Speyrer wins by forfeit.
285 Bat Brunner wins by forfeit.
The Junior High and Junior Varsity dual score was 64-6.
Jesuit Varsity Takes First Place at Mandeville Open The Blue Jays opened the 2006-2007 wrestling season with a first place finish at the Mandeville Open held on Saturday, November 11th. Jesuit finshed first beating district rivals Brother Martin (second) and Rummel (third). First place champions were the following Blue Jays: Jonathan Dupre (103) Kevin White (112) Mike Matthew (171) Robert Speyrer (215) Patrick Vocke (152) finished in second place for his weight class. Third place finishers included the following athletes: Johnny Bellone (125) Lee Redfearn (130) Philip Zanco (189) The Jays return to action as they take on the Holy Cross Tigers on Wednesday, November 15 starting at 6:30 p.m. in the Jesuit gym. | 2006 State Champs!!! Wrestling in the 189-pound class, psyched-up senior Johnny Palmer showed the grit, spirit, and determination characteristic of Jesuit's 2006 State Championship Team. View photos of the 2006 State Championship Tournament. |
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