For the first time in league history, the Monsignor Martin High School Athletic Association (MMHSAA) sent four teams to the Catholic High School Athletic Association (CHSAA) Dual Meet Wrestling Championships.
For many years, only the St. Francis and St. Joe’s teams represented the league at the CHSAA Duals until last season when the Canisius team competed at the event for the first time in program history. This past weekend, St. Mary’s of Lancaster became the latest MMHSAA team to make their first appearance at the Duals. The tournament was held Saturday & Sunday at Monsignor Farrell HS in Staten Island.
“It was our first time down there in program history,” stated St. Mary’s head coach Zach Weiss. “Though we came out 1-8, there were a number of duals within reach, as well as the individual performances left a lot to be gleaned. It was a great weekend for our program to compete and see where the next level truly is.”
The thirteen-team field that included squads from NYC and Long Island meant that the Lancers would face off with some more of the state’s top Catholic school teams beyond Buffalo. A 39-33 victory on Saturday over Holy Trinity was St. Mary’s first ever win at the CHSAA Duals.
St. Francis was the CHSAA Dual Meet champion last season. The Red Raiders went 7-2 at this weekend’s event and scored 50 to 73 points in six of those wins. St. Francis dropped very close duals to other perennially strong teams in #7 state ranked St. Anthony’s, 43-34, and Chaminade, 43-32.
Brothers Dominik and Nolan Thomas and Ben Jacobs went 9-0 on the weekend. Logan Lauck and Eric Schon went 8-1 while Jack Gordon and Slade Merck went 7-2 over the two days.
St. Francis head coach Mike Messore reached a career milestone as he notched his 300thcareer coaching win against the tough host squad, Monsignor Farrell.
“Against Farrell, we battled their studs, then slid our lineup knowing we needed to pin our way through from 152-285, which we did,” said Coach Messore after the 48-39 win.
However, a close loss to Chaminade on Sunday wasn’t what the Raiders had in mind to start day two of the tournament.
“We started flat, then failed to finish guys off when we put them on their backs,” remarked Messore. “In two matches we had guys close to falls, but we gave up pins instead. If we finish one of those, we win the dual.”
With the last week of the regular season coming up before next Sunday’s Msgr. Martin All-Catholic tournament, the Raiders know what needs to happen to have post-season success.
“Our kids now know what they’re up against if they want to reach the top of the podium,” said Coach Messore. “They have a couple of weeks to prepare and make adjustments for the [CHSAA] qualifier.”
St. Joe’s finished 7-2 at the Duals. ‘Joe’s earned a tie breaker win, 40-39, against Chaminade who beat St. Francis, but the Marauders lost a very close dual to Msgr. Farrell who the Red Raiders did beat. St. Anthony’s was the only other team to defeat St. Joe’s at the Duals.
“The team responded well to a tough loss against St. Francis [from Friday 1/18] with their best performance of the season,” said St. Joe’s head coach Pete Kennedy. “We figured out how to win a close match against Chaminade in the final match. We were in the mix to win the tournament, that means we’re gaining on the downstate teams. We have a large percentage of our team that believe they will be wrestling for CHSAA state titles in two weeks.”
Sullivan Walsh went a perfect 9-0 on the weekend. Ronnie Jones, Charles Morrison, and Caleb Lesswing all went 8-1. Garrett Grenauer, Ben Parish, and Matthew Werts went 7-2. Werts earned his 100thcareer win with a pin against Kellenberg, making him the eighth Marauder wrestler in program history to reach the century mark.
Under first year head coach Dave Wilcox, the Canisius Crusaders made a huge improvement on last year’s 1-8 finish at the CHSAA Duals to come out of this weekend’s tournament with a 6-3 record. Canisius lost matches to three of the tournament’s stronger teams and scored over fifty points in four of the team’s six wins.
Senior Thomas Blackwell went 9-0. Matt Baldwin, Josh Kracker, and Luke Brydges all finished 8-1 on the weekend.
“We had a pretty good weekend,” said Coach Wilcox on the Crusader’s performance. “We continue to improve as a program each day. It was great having the other Buffalo schools have the success that they did. The competition was top notch…every point mattered.”
The strong performance by the MMHSAA teams certainly caught the attention of the rest of the Catholic association. The attendance of four of the league’s five squads was a statement in and of itself. MMHSAA wrestling league chairman and St. Joe’s head coach Pete Kennedy stated “I think this weekend really showcased how much our league has improved.”
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