Video: Brother Martin tunes up for state championship defense with defense of district wrestling title

NEW ORLEANS – Call it business as usual.

Though Brother Martin changed coaches this past offseason, the juggernaut that is Crusader wrestling continues.

Brother Martin successfully defending its Catholic League wrestling title Saturday at Gayle and Tom Benson Arena at Jesuit High School in a meet seen live at CrescentCitySports.com.

The Crusaders won eight of the 14 weight classes, compiling 250.5 points with Holy Cross second at 191 points. Host Jesuit was third with 172 points.

“I was real proud of the effort that the guys,” first year Brother Martin head coach Andrew Nicola said. “We had the best week of practice since I’ve been the head coach at Brother Martin. I’m really excited for this next two weeks.

Winners for Brother Martin included Mason Elsensohn (106), Connor Hoffman (132), defending state champion Alex Duncan (145), Riley Horvath (152), defending state champion Mason Massicot (160), Eli Hope (170), Cameron Frederick (195) and Kyle West (220).

Massicot fended off the upset bid of Charlie Cyrus of Jesuit 4-3 in an excellent match while Hope outlasted Mason Murret of Jesuit 8-7 in a thriller.

Scoring falls for the Crusaders were Hoffman, Duncan, Horvath, Frederick and West, who pinned Timothy Burnside Jr. of John Curtis Christian in just 48 seconds. Duncan is 37-4, though he remained unbeaten in Louisiana this season while Horvath improved to 35-9.

“I’ve been struggling this year at the beginning but I think this time it’s really coming together with what I can do,” West said. “I’m looking forward to getting to the state tournament,” West said. “I’ve been working hard every day.

Holy Cross won three individual titles, including brothers Evan and Jacob Frost. Evan (113) handled Glenn Price 12-0 in a battle of wrestlers who were 42-1 overall while Jacob (120) scored a technical fall 16-0 over Chris Charles of Jesuit. It was the second win for Frost over Price this season while Jacob Frost improved to 43-2 with his victory.

Heavyweight Cole Baiamonte (285) overcame John Drake of John Curtis Christian 2-1 in the championship match.

Archbishop Shaw had a pair of champions, including Raheem Bonnet (126) and Jude Monaco (182). Monaco improved to 38-11.

“We’ve really been grinding it all season, working hard in the room,” Bonnet said. “Coach Brandon Surrency has been doing a wonderful job. I’m hoping to get first at state.”

It was the 40th win of the season for Bonnet, who finished second in state a year ago.

Archbishop Rummel had one winner in Jacob Ramirez (138), who defeated Caruso Signorelli of Holy Cross 9-4. It was the 48th win of the season for Ramirez, who was second in the state a year ago.

The event was a tune-up for the state championships in Bossier City Feb. 14-15, where Brother Martin will defend its Division I state title in search of a 19th state championship overall, seeking its third straight and eighth in the last nine years.

“Our lungs are there, our minds are there, we’ve just got to show up in Bossier City,” Nicola said.

District 9-5A Wrestling Meet Results

Team Scores:
1. Brother Martin 250.5
2. Holy Cross 191
3. Jesuit 172
4. Archbishop Shaw 132
5. John Curtis Christian 94
6. Archbishop Rummel 91

Individual Final Results
106—Mason Elsensohn (BM) 4-0 over Hayden Tassin (Shaw)
113—Evan Frost (HC) 12-0 over Glenn Price (Shaw)
120—Jacob Frost (HC) 16-0 over Chris Charles (Jes)
126—Raheem Bonnet (Shaw) pins Ethan Castex (BM) 3:22
132—Connor Hoffman (BM) pins Ashton Surrency (Shaw) 3:57
138—Jacob Ramirez (Rum) 9-4 over Caruso Signorelli (HC)
145—Alex Duncan (BM) pins Luke Battaglia (Jes) 3:13
152—Riley Horvath (BM) pins Jake Romig (HC) 1:12
160—Mason Massicot (BM) 4-3 over Charlie Cyrus (Jes)
170—Eli Hope (BM) 8-7 over Mason Murret (Jes)
182—Jude Monaco (Shaw) 11-4 over Anton Brown (BM)
195—Cameron Frederick (BM) pins Kade Morgan (HC) 1:01
220—Kyle West (BM) pins Timothy Burnside Jr. (JC) :48
285—Cole Baiamonte (HC) 2-1 over John Drake (JC)