BOSSIER CITY – North DeSoto wrestling held a more than 30-point lead going into the finals of the LHSAA Division II championships on Saturday.
The Griffins hadn’t completely clinched their first team state title, but when Dalton Compton salted away the 144-pound individual title with his 12-3 win against his St. Thomas More opponent, everyone knew.
North DeSoto unseated Teurlings Catholic, who had won four straight team state championships, as the reigning Division II champions. The Griffins scored 326 points (most by any team in any division) this weekend and bested second-place Teurlings by 29 points.
“My assistant (Jacob Bohlken) looked at me and just kind of smiled,” said North DeSoto head coach Dustin Burton. “I knew what he was smiling about, and I just broke down in tears.
“I picked him up – he’s a big guy at 6-foot-4 and wrestled as a heavyweight at the (University of Missouri). But that’s what it felt like. It was a great showing from everyone, and it’s a point of pride that we peak when it matters.”
North DeSoto has always had a knack of “wrestling over their heads” when it comes to the state championships, but a program that developed a deep roster didn’t necessarily need heroics this past weekend at Brookshire Grocery Arena.
Everybody just needed to do their job.
The Griffins put all 14 wrestlers into the quarterfinals of their respective weight classes, 11 reached the semifinals and 13 finished in the top five.
Compton’s win secured the team title and unleashed a string of individual champions as Hayden Bell (150) and Chase Smart (157) won their weight classes with Caiden Burns capping off the night with a heavyweight title.
“We met as a team before the quarterfinals and talked about how important that round was, and how important that all 14 of our guys made it there,” Burton said. “We just focused on one round, one match at a time, and our kids understood that and took care of business one match at a time.”
North DeSoto racked up points across the board, starting with the lighter classes.
Lathan Tabor (third, 106 pounds), Jacob Kershaw (second,113), Michael Washington (third, 120), Nathan Adams (second, 126), Collin Bell (fifth, 132) and Dylan Compton (third, 138) all finished in the top five.
After individual titles by Dalton Compton, Hayden bell and Chase Smart, the point parade continued with Andrew Arinder (fourth, 165), Lake Bates (second, 175) Caden Robison (second, 190) and Kyan Jackson (quarters, 215).
But what made the difference for the Griffins, who had finished second at the championships in three different seasons since 2019?
“Our maturity and our Christian views honestly made the difference this year,” Burton said. “We had some things happen over the summer, and the kids didn’t know how to handle it, and to be honest, I didn’t know how to handle it.
“We turned toward things that are bigger than us, than wrestling, than our problems. We took a direction in our faith and our program, and we led kids to being more Christ-like. I’m just as proud as a head coach of who the kids are than what they accomplished. We give all the glory to God.”