OCS Wrestlers Make Progress
BOBBY ARDOIN
St. Landry Now.com Editor
When Bryant Masson arrived at Opelousas Catholic campus to coach football several years ago, he found that the campus also possessed fertile possibilities for recruiting wrestling team candidates.
There was an immediate problem however.
OCS didn’t have a wrestling program at that time and despite spying the physical potential of several candidates, Masson was admittedly operating in an unfamiliar neighborhood.
“For me it was like starting at ground zero,” said Masson.
Three years later the Vikings ended the 2026 state wrestling meet in the top third of Division III, with four competitors earning places at the event held in Bossier City.
Wrestling has never been unfamiliar territory for Masson.
Masson competed at Teurlings Catholic for his father, Kent Masson, whose teams there have won 12 state wrestling titles over a 24-year span.
Using a 35-year-old wrestling mat provided by his father and a persuasive sales pitch, Masson launched OCS wrestling three years ago.
Masson conceded there is some sentimentality associated with using the current mat, since it is the one he used as a high school wrestler,
Despite the obstacles the sport has continued evolving at OCS.
“We didn’t win a match that year and as a first-year coach, no one really knew me. I was able to get four kids out that first year and we finished with more than that. What I saw is the type of athletes we have (at OCS), said Masson.
“It’s been really great to see what is happening. Each meet we host, the student section is packed. I finished with 11 this year and I hope to get 16 or 17 to come out next season,” Masson said.
First-year wrestler Tristin Fontenot, competing at 126 pounds as a sophomore, reached the state meet podium after finishing in third place.
Seniors Braydon Fontenot (190 pounds) and Sammy Griffin (285) captured fourth and fifth places, while junior Ethan Belleau finished sixth at 175.
Watching Tristin Fontenot develop has been rewarding, Masson said.
“I asked him to come out and try (wrestling). After he joined the team, he really began to step up and kept getting better. His improvement wasn’t just on the mat. (Fontenot) got better all-around in everything he did, including the classroom,” Masson said.
Fontenot is a third-year wrestler who, like Tristin Fontenot, kept improving within a weight class that contains a number of proficient athletes, said Masson.
Griffin, a football offensive and defensive lineman, drew particular attention from the state meet crowd, Masson noted, when Griffin pinned a heavyweight competitor on his back early in the match.
The 175-pound weight class that includes Belleau is one of the most difficult in the state, said Masson.
However Belleau has placed in the state meet the last two years.
At this point St. Edmund in Eunice has the other St. Landry Parish wrestling program, while about 30 miles west of the OCS campus, Basile in Evangeline Parish has the 2026 champion.
