Cover photo courtesy of Jeff Pataky
Photos contained within this article may not be used for republication unless authorized by WNY Athletics with prior written consent.
St. Francis crowned six champions at Saturday’s NYS Catholic High School Athletic Association (CHSAA) Wrestling Championships at Msgr. Farrell HS in Staten Island to set a new program milestone. Overall, eleven Raiders wrestled to top-6 place finishes in their respective brackets to help the team to a 3rd place finish in the final team standings with 250-points, only a half point behind runner-up Iona Prep. The host Lions claimed the team title with 268.5-points.
“The work that we are doing, the schedules that we built, to make sure the kids are battle tested for the most important part of the year, is obviously working, and the results speak for themselves,” said St. Francis assistant coach Steve Hart.
Five of St. Francis’s champions will return to Albany for the state federation championships on Feb. 28 and March 1, however junior Rory White will compete at ‘states’ for the first time in his career.
“Rory has jumped to a new level that he has not been on yet,” said Hart. “The body of work he has put together all season is very impressive. That kid has really bought in and put the work in to where it has allowed him to climb not only to the level of a state rep, but one that is going to compete for a state finals appearance.”
In order to reach the federation tournament, CHSAA wrestlers must win their respective weight class at ‘Catholic states.’ The new auto-qualifier system for filling the state tournament brackets limits CHSAA, PSAL, and AIS schools to only one representative per association.
Photo courtesy of Brian LaPlante
Rory dominated the 160-pound bracket on Saturday as the top seed in the weight class. He earned pins over the 16 and 8-seeds in the first two rounds before an impressive 20-4 technical fall over Chaminade’s Chris Ferranti in the semifinal. In the title match, White met Iona’s Ralph Rodriguez and only needed four minutes and nine seconds of the six minute match to earn the 16-1 technical fall to win his first CHSAA title and automatic qualification to the state championships.
White // Pataky
According to Hart, White’s commitment to training outside of practice and in the offseason have been key to his success over the last two seasons especially. Last spring, a phone call between Hart and White on what his goals were for the upcoming season resulted in an even more aggressive commitment to offseason training. Hart said, “Ever since that conversation, he hasn’t missed one offseason practice.”
White also captured his 150th career win on Saturday.
The Raiders’ Cullen Edwards (116), Griffin LaPlante (152), and Zach Caldwell (215) all repeated as CHSAA champions on Saturday while Tanner Catrabone (101) and Willy Wortkoetter (285) claimed their first CHSAA titles but will make return trips to Albany after both won Section VI titles at Williamsville North and Wilson, respectively, last season.
Edwards // Pataky
LaPlante, Caldwell, and Wortkoetter are all 2024 NYS finalists while Edwards returns with a 6th place finish at the federation. Catrabone just missed placing in 2024 with a loss in the blood round, however, he is back at weight and should be in consideration not just for a place finish but in the title conversation as well.
Catrabone // Pataky
All six St. Francis champions cruised through their brackets with impressive tournament performances. Between them, they accumulated sixteen pins, four technical falls, and one major decision. Edwards was the only champion to wrestle a six minute match all day when he earned a 9-1 major in the final over St. Anthony’s Brett Crawford.
Also on Saturday, LaPlante became the 49th wrestler in WNY high school history to join the 200 career wins club while Caldwell inched closer to the bicentennial milestone with his 175th career victory on Saturday.
LaPlante // Pataky
Caldwell // Pataky
Also placing for St. Francis at CHSAA’s were Tavio Hoose (2nd, 190), Max McCarthy (3rd, 138), Kole Haseley (4th, 131), Zak Massaro (6th, 124), and Joe Colantino (6th, 138).
As the 13-seed at 138, Colantino was the lowest seeded wrestler of the sixteen Msgr. Martin place winners to reach the podium.
After falling in the first round, Colantino won two consolation matches to reach the blood round. A pin mid-way through the 3rd period over Fordham Prep’s 7-seed Xavier Chen ensured a crucial podium finish for the freshman.
As the 2-seed at 138, McCarthy reached the semifinals which guaranteed a top-6 finish. A narrow 2-point loss sent him to the wrestlebacks, but a major decision in the consolation semifinal and a 3rd period takedown and a 5-4 decision in the bronze match landed Max a 3rd place finish in his second trip to CHSAA’s. Last season, McCarthy competed in the tournament at 170-pounds.
McCarthy // Pataky
Five place winners helped St. Joe’s to a 7th place finish in the final team standings led by 152-pound finalist Dylan Forant.
Forant (top) // Pataky
3-seeded Forant reached the semifinals with two pins and a major decision to set up a meeting with 2-seeded Justin Stassi from St. Joseph by the Sea. After falling behind 4-0, Forant hit six takedowns in the last three and a half minutes of the match to jump out to an 18-8 lead ultimately advancing to the final with that same score, good for a major decision.
Jacob Moser (190), Dylan Capone (215), and Wyatt Giarla (285) all placed 5th in their weights with each winning their final match consecutively. Both Moser and Giarla secured pins to claim 5th place while Capone was awarded a medical forfeit. Also placing for St. Joe’s was Aidan Schenk who finished 6th at 170-pounds.
Moser // Pataky
Comments