Girls Wrestling Takes Center Stage at LHSAA State Tournament

by Robin Fambrough // GeauxPreps.com Contributor

Live Oak’s Laken Griffin was devoted to competitive cheerleading for 10 years.

That changed when Griffin reached middle school. When another parent asked why, Griffin’s mother replied, “Because she likes it.”

Now Griffin excels at it. The LOHS junior is one of three Baton Rouge area girls who enter the LHSAA State Wrestling Tournament with undefeated records. The second-year LHSAA girls’ sport is one that the Baton Rouge area and competitors like Griffin have embraced enthusiastically. 

And like Dutchtown’s Lilly Johnson and Albany’s Savannah Carmarata, Griffin says she can’t wait to see what happens next. 

The two-day event is on Friday and Saturday at Bossier City’s Brookshire Grocery Arena. Action starts at 9 a.m. Friday with finals set for 5 p.m. Saturday.

“I was super, super nervous about it last year,” Griffin said. “Even though I didn’t win it (title), I learned from it. 

“I just need to go out there like I have a 0-0 record and wrestle my hardest in every round. This is where all the work pays off.”

Griffin (37-0) followed her older brother into wrestling. She was an LHSAA runner-up finisher last year. 

Dutchtown’s Johnson (38-0) is a freshman who has dominated at 114 pounds. She has a connection to Carmarata (28-0), a junior who won the 138-pound title a year ago and helps lead the 145-pound weight class.

“I know Lilly really well,” Carmarata said. “We did jiu-jitsu together. When I got to high school, I was looking for a sport to compete in.

“They added wrestling my freshman year. It’s the perfect fit for me. My background (in jiu jitsu) really helps.”

Girls’ wrestling is the right fit for Baton Rouge, too.  Local coaches started lobbying the LHSAA to add girls wrestling as a sport more than five years ago. For two years, coaches collaborated/hosted their own state meet as a pilot program at Baton Rouge High. 

BRHS won the first sanctioned LHSAA title a year ago in Bossier and is among the contenders again, along with 2025 runner-up Lafayette High and Benton. The evolving team competition is a small part of this rapid evolution, according to BRHS coach Bill Bofinger.

“When you go to meets this year and look around, you see the level of wrestling has picked up for everybody,” Bofinger said. “You don’t find any weak kids now. These girls are so athletic and tough. Some of them do things out there we didn’t see before this year. 

“And a lot of them are young … freshmen and sophomores. The higher seeds are getting challenged, and they don’t always win. They may go ahead by seven, eight, or even 10 points, and then they’ll get pinned. It’s so competitive.”

Dutchtown’s Johnson is one of those rising stars. Her mother, Christina, is an assistant coach for the Griffins and also runs a jiu-jitsu studio. Making the jump to club wrestling and high school wrestling was smooth for her.

“I really did not have to make many adjustments this year,” Johnson said. “I’ve focused more on what I eat. And on getting stronger and faster.

“I really love it (high school wrestling). Everyone expects me to win now, and that is a lot of pressure. My main goal this year was to go undefeated, and I have that chance. I’m also excited to see how my teammates and my friends do.”

There are other notable competitors from the Baton Rouge area besides the unbeaten trio.

St. Amant senior Mikayla Byington was an unbeaten champion a year ago in the 100-pound weight class. Byington is 34-1 at 107 pounds. Brusly’s Iranie Harrison (29-2) is another senior to watch. She is the defending champion at 185 pounds.

Baton Rouge High’s Olivia Maxie (25-4) was the 152-pound champion a year ago and now competes at 138 pounds. The Bulldogs’ Allison Flores Hernandez (25-1) is back to defend her title at 235 pounds.

Not sold on girls’ wrestling even though it is one of the nation’s fastest-growing high school sports?  Consider these points.  

The first Louisiana high school boys tourney was held in 1945. Over the years, the boys’ tourney expanded to three divisions that consist of just under 100 schools.  A total of 50 schools competed in one division at the first girls’ tourney last year.

One big challenge for fledgling girls’ teams is building a roster that can fill out 12 weight classes. Depth/numbers were a key to advantage for Baton Rouge High a year ago. The LHSAA tourney marks the first time this season that BRHS has competitors in 11 of the 12 weight classes. 

“We’ll need to pick up points wherever we can,” Bofinger said.