MICHAEL KIRAL / L’Observateur / December 18, 1999

LAPLACE – A year ago, East St. John wrestling coach Dan Erwin said that ifhe could continue to bring in five wrestlers a year to the program, it would be alright.

Erwin has done more than that this year. His 1999-2000 team consists of24 wrestlers, up from the 17 he had last year. And that’s a dramaticincrease from the eight-member team he started off with three years ago.

“Word of mouth,” Erwin said of reasons for the increase. “The kids startedcoming out.”Erwin returns 13 wrestlers from last year with most in there second year of wrestling. Eight of the wrestlers are new to the team. But what theteam lacks in experience, it makes up for in hard work.

“This is the hardest working team I’ve had since I’ve been here,” Erwin said. “They put up with my yelling and screaming all day.”It’s also a close knit team. At the recent Northshore Tournament, thewrestlers got together to make a video of each other and the tournament called “The Northshore project.” What impressed Erwin was that theentire team got involved in it.

“We go as a team and cheer each other on,” Erwin said. “They enjoy eachother’s company. It’s like a little family.”Erwin said the team is looking forward to going together to the state tournament this year at the Pontchartrain Center in Kenner. Erwin has hada wrestler go to state in each of his prior two years as coach – Nick Peppo (who reached the finals), Corey Sewell and Jeremy Berthelot in 1998 and Jason Delatte last year. Erwin’s goal is to continue that trend this yearand have a wrestler place in the top six in state.

One who might challenge for a spot at state is senior Lamar Duhe. In thefirst major tournament of the year, the George Trygg Tournament at Grace King, Duhe placed fourth in the 215-pound class. He followed that up witha second place finish at the Northshore Tournament and enters this week with an 8-3 record. What makes that record even more impressive is thathe is wrestling in the 15-pound class at 181 pounds.

“He is stronger than anybody he wrestles,” Erwin said of Duhe who also plays defensive tackle on the football team. “He is quicker and a betterathlete. He is learning day by day the moves.”Another football player-turned wrestler who is doing quite well is senior Darnell Rixner. Rixner, a third-year wrestler, has come within one matchof placing in each of the two previous tournaments.

Also noteworthy has been the performance of Melanie Maurin, one of three girls on the team. Maurin won her match in the 103-pound class in themeet against John Ehret last week.

Overall, the whole team is doing well. Every member of the varsity squadhas at least two wins this season.

“The skill level is not as high yet but they can go out there every match and get a win,” Erwin said. “The kids are going to be competitive.”One problem that Erwin faced was that with the success of the football team this year, many of the wrestlers did not start practicing until recently. But the hard work of the team is helping to overcome that latestart.

“The kids are in real good condition,” Erwin, whose squad practices at Shannon’s Health and Fitness Center in LaPlace, said. “They are gettingtheir wind back. We can have two-hour practices non-stop and every kidwill make it.

“The good thing about this group of kids is that they want to be here. Theylike it, they even like practice. They like the intensity. They know it willhelp them in life with discipline and staying focused. They like beinghere.”Erwin is also looking forward to the future. Next year, he will have three-year wrestlers in 10 of the 14 weight classes. He is also looking forwardto promoting the sport and bringing more wrestlers into the program.

After the season, he will be going to the junior highs to see if anybody wants to wrestle. He is also continuing the Blue Knights wrestlingprogram on Tuesday nights next spring and summer.

“This is my third year here,” Erwin said. “These are my kids I’m bringingup and I get to teach them. It’s a bit different.”

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