Eric Keppeler '85
Sports Writer
If the St. Joe’s wrestling team was in any other division, they’d easily be counted among the favorites to land the title in that group.
But being in the Monsignor Martin Athletic Association – it’s not impossible, but there’s an enormous hurdle standing in the Marauders’ way. That would be the longtime nemesis St. Francis Red Raiders, who this year are ranked No. 1 in New York State and 47th in the nation.
“They have some really good kids right now,” St. Joe’s coach Pete Kennedy said. “But the way I look at it, if you want to be the best in the state – it doesn’t matter if that team is in your league or somewhere else. You’ve still got to go out and beat them.”
The Marauders finished second in the league to St. Francis last year during the regular season but won the All-Catholic Tournament because of superior depth.
Kennedy has 38 athletes on his squad and welcomes back four place winners from the Catholic High School Athletic Association state championship in seniors Dylan Forant and Sean Gordon and juniors Wyatt Giarla and Jacob Moser.
Forant was second at 152 pounds, while Giarla and Moser were both fifth, in heavyweight and 190 pounds, respectively. Gordon missed last year’s CHSAA tournament but finished fifth as a sophomore and second as a freshman.
Kennedy is looking to these four to provide an example to the others about what’s needed to compete at a high level.
“You want to show them how to learn consistency,” said Forant, who will wrestle this year at 165 pounds. “You have to show up at practice to improve, but also do the stuff outside of practice like stay hydrated and eat right, get enough sleep. If you’re not doing those things, you’re not going to be able to function properly.”
The Marauders preach the importance of the mental aspect of the sport, which makes sure they’re not intimidated when they go up against someone potentially stronger.
“A huge part of wrestling is mental,” said Gordon, who will battle at 150 pounds this year. “You have to think about what you need to do. I don’t look at the names of the guys I’m wrestling because – who cares, right? Whoever it is, I want to go out there and beat them. And it’s not so much losing, it’s finding out what you have to do better in order to win. If I lose, Coach Kennedy tells me exactly why I lost and what I can do to fix it.”
Last season was the first since 2019 where the Marauders didn’t have anyone get past the CHSAA meet and qualify for the state Federation championship – and again, Kennedy says that speaks to the strength of the Catholic school programs, which currently have three of the top 10 teams in the state (St. Francis, Monsignor Farrell and Iona).
More locally, the Marauders have opened their season with three lopsided wins, against Amherst, Gow and St. Mary’s; then on weekends, they compete in the toughest tournaments Kennedy can find.
“My goal is, get as many kids out as possible and get better every single day and then let’s see how good we are at the end of the year,” Kennedy said. “These guys have worked really hard for the last three years and we’re starting to enjoy some of the fruits of that. I don’t really have any expectations other than that these guys should be pretty darn tough.”
