Crescent City Sports: Brother Martin Overcomes Slow Start to Defeat Holy Cross

All information derived from Crescent City Sports article. 

January 6, 2021
By Ken Trahan
Category: Preps

NEW ORLEANS – The two programs which have combined to win the last nine Division I state wrestling championships collided in their annual dual meet Wednesday evening at Holy Cross.

Brother Martin, which has won eight of the last nine Division I state titles, had their current run interrupted in 2017 when Holy Cross won the championship.

The Crusaders have won 20 state titles overall while the Tigers have won 28.

While Holy Cross figures to challenge at the state tournament next month in Baton Rouge, Brother Martin remains the favorite and the Crusaders maintained their edge over the Tigers with a solid 51-24 victory Wednesday night.

Brother Martin overcame a slow start as Holy Cross won four straight matches to take a 21-11 lead but the Crusaders dominated the rest of the way, winning seven of the final eight matches to pull away for the win.

Brother Martin got off well as a pair of top-ranked, unbeaten wrestlers in the state in their weight classes scored falls in Dylan Moser (106) and Mason Elsensohn (113) to grab a 12-0 lead. Moser is 18-0 on the year while Elsensohn is now 22-0.

The Tigers then went on a run, winning four straight matches.

The highlight was a matchup of the two top-ranked competitors in the state at 126 pounds and this round went to Holy Cross’ Charles Sauerwin, who caught previously unbeaten and No. 1 ranked Ethan Castex of Brother Martin, pinning him in the second period in a bit of a surprise development.

Sauerwin improved to 14-1 while Castex dropped to 22-1 and garnered an unsportsmanlike conduct infraction, subtracting a point from the Brother Martin team total.

Both defending state champions for Holy Cross scored pins in brothers Evan (132) and Jacob Frost (138) as both remained unbeaten. Evan is 15-0 while Jacob is 9-0 on the season.

The dual meet changed beginning at 145 pounds, with Brother Martin’s Quinn Williams, top-ranked in his class, scored an 11-0 major decision victory over Nick Digerolamo as Williams improved to 24-1.

Also winning by fall for Brother Martin were Eli Hope (152), Rocco Horvath (160), Luke Ohler (170), Anton Brown (182), Aidan Moulliet (195) and Adam Bourgeois (285). Horvath improved to 20-1 on the year.

Crusaders coach Andrew Nicola was pleased with the way things went.

“We obviously had a couple of unexpected things happen here,” Nicola said. “The good news is, sitting on the bench talking to some of the guys that won and lost, there are already things we’ve got to work on. We have a laundry list and I’m excited to get back to work.”

Nicola was not surprised, overall, about the result.

“Truth be told, we kind of expected the dual to go the way it went except for 126,” Nicola said. “I’m ready to get that match back right now, as does Ethan. We truly are getting better every single day. We are very excited to defend our state championship.”

The other winners for Holy Cross were Dylan Lauriano (126) and Cole Baiamonte (220).

Both teams head to the Louisiana Classic this weekend.

Brother Martin 51, Holy Cross 24
106—Dylan Moser (BM) pins vs. Matthew Krail (HC) in 1:37 (6-0 BM)
113—Mason Elsenshon (BM) pins Nick Sauerwin (HC) in 2:37 (12-0 BM)
120—Dylan Lauriano (HC) dec. Nicholas Cusimano (BM) 7-1 (12-3 BM)
126—Charles Sauerwin III (HC) pins Ethan Castex (22-1) in 2:37 (11-9 BM, point lost for unsportsmanlike conduct)
132—Evan Frost (HC) pins Chase Scott (BM) in 2:52 (15-11 HC)
138—Jacob Frost (HC) pins Ty Duncan (BM) in 2:53 (21-11 HC)
145—Quinn Williams (BM) MD over Nick Digerolamo (HC) 11-0 (21-15 HC)
152—Eli Hope (BM) pins Jake Romig (HC) in 3:47 (21-21)
160—Rocco Horvath (BM) pins Amore Clark (HC) at 1:54 (27-21 BM)
170—Luke Ohler (BM) vs. Vincent Bourgeois (HC) 1:24 (33-21 BM)
182—Anton Brown (BM) pins Kade Morgan (HC) at 1:45 (39-21 BM)
195—Aidan Moulliet (BM) pins Gavyn O’Connor (HC) in 5:26 (45-21 BM)
220—Cole Baiamonte (HC) dec. Gabe Brewer (BM) 9-3 (45-24 BM)
285—Adam Bourgeois (BM) pins John Sheridan (HC) at 3:52 (51-24 BM)

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