The Red Raiders dominated the field at the 2024 NYS Catholic High School Athletic Association (CHSAA) duals on Saturday and Sunday. St. Francis scored at least forty two points on all eight of their opponents to capture the program’s second CHSAA Dual Meet title since 2018 and its third since the 2015.
In the title match, St. Francis took down perennial powerhouse Iona Prep, 42-27, securing the win in the second to last bout of the match. Six Raiders posted 8-0 records in the tournament to lead the team to the Duals title.
“The team was absolutely lights out this weekend…every match they got better and better until they wrestled their absolute best match in the final,” said St. Francis head coach Mike Messore on the team’s performance. “Today, the kids were just dominant. We had the lineups planned and strategized, and even though we lost the toss [against Iona Prep], we pulled out some wins we weren’t expecting, but everyone wrestled amazing.”
St. Francis coaches Mike Messore (l) and Ron Lorenz (r) // photo courtesy of Jeff Pataky
St. Francis posted a 5-0 record on day one of the tournament on Saturday to earn the 2-seed for the bracketed portion of the tournament on day two. The Raiders defeated St. Joe’s, 52-20, in the opening round on Sunday. In the semifinal, the Raiders cruised to a 44-27 victory over defending CHSAA Dual champion Chaminade to reach the title match. Meanwhile, 4-seeded Iona Prep defeated top seeded Kellenberg to reach the championship match against St. Francis.
The St. Francis/Iona Prep final started at 285-pounds where Connor Miller got the Raiders started off with a pin. Back in the lower weights, Iona elected to forfeit to Cullen Edwards at 108 however Owen Braunscheidel earned a crucial pin over the wrestler that the Gaels moved away from Edwards at 116-pounds.
St. Francis's Miller // Pataky
St. Francis's Edwards // Pataky
Kole Haseley earned back to back pins with a fall at 124 to give the Raiders a 24-6 leader after five weights. The Raiders conceded two forfeits, a pin, and a decision loss in the next four weights to fall behind 27-24 in the team score.
Griffin LaPlante earned a crucial decision victory at 160-pounds over returning CHSAA finalist Kosta Koufalis to set up Brandon Drummond to go out at the next weight.
St. Francis's Griffin LaPlante // Pataky
Drummond, a returning CHSAA 4th place winner met Iona’s Paolo Ciato in the critical 170-pound match, taking the returning ‘Catholic schools’ champion to overtime. In the first overtime ‘sudden victory’ one minute period, Drummond earned a takedown for a 2-0 decision victory to take the lead back for the Red Raiders, 30-27.
St. Francis's Drummond // Pataky
In the second to last bout of the match, St. Francis's West Point bound senior Gage LaPlante earned a pin at 190-pounds to secure the victory. Zach Caldwell put the finishing touches on the championship with a pin at 215 for a 42-27 final score.
St. Francis's Gage LaPlante // Pataky
“It was, probably, the best match of Brandon’s life,” said Coach Messore on Drummond's clutch victory. “Everybody stepped up, we beat kids we weren’t supposed to. All day long, we were just dialed in, unlike what I’ve seen with any team. They were awesome.”
According to Messore, the depth of teams in this year’s Duals compared to their 2015 and 2018 runs to CHSAA titles was stronger and deeper overall than those of the past.
Coach Messore stated “this tournament, I think the level of competition was really high, Iona Prep is outstanding, and to go in with two state ranked teams for the final, that was a great set up for everything. Between the challenge, and how the guys rose to the challenge, this year was really special.”
Messore continued “Steve [Hart] and Ron [Lorenz] (assistant coaches) put a lot of work in this year so it means a lot to them too. For the three of us coaches, I don’t think we could’ve been happier or prouder of the effort they put in. Everything that we have been preaching and trying to work toward, the kids pulled that off as a team today.”
St. Francis coaches Messore (back), Steve Hart (c), and Lorenz (r) // Pataky
Miller, Edwards, Drummond, Caldwell, Griffin LaPlante, and Gage LaPlante all posted 8-0 records at the Duals for St. Francis while Haseley went 7-1 falling only to a returning CHSAA champion and state federation place winner.
Braunscheidel and Rory White, who achieved his 100th career win on Sunday, each went 6-2 for the Raiders. Owen Miller, Tucker Jobe, and Tim McCann also won matches for St. Francis who completes the 2023-2024 season with the best record amongst WNY high school wrestling teams at 25-3 overall.
St. Francis's White // Pataky
St. Francis 2024 CHSAA Dual Meet Wrestling Championships scores:
Saturday 1/27
St. Francis 59 – St. Anthony’s 18
St. Francis 56 – St. John the Baptist 16
St. Francis 42 – Chaminade 29
St. Francis 63 – Fordham Prep 6
St. Francis 59 – St. Joseph’s by the Sea 18
Sunday 1/28
Quarterfinal: St. Francis 52 – St. Joe’s 20
Semifinal: St. Francis 44 – Chaminade 27
Championship: St. Francis 42 – Iona Prep 27