St. Anthony's boys lacrosse's wild ride had familiar final stop: state title

For a program steeped in stability and dominance, St. Anthony’s boys lacrosse went through a roller coaster of a season in 2025.

As the metaphorical ride began with five consecutive wins to open the season, St. Anthony’s found itself suddenly plummeting down from the top of the coaster as it suffered four losses in its next six games — over a span of 16 days in April — finishing with the team’s first loss to Chaminade since 2021.

But it speaks to the character and strength of this team and its staff that when the ride finished, St. Anthony’s finished where it always does as the Friars claimed a sixth consecutive state title by defeating Chaminade, 16-12, in the CHSAA Class AAA final to cap off a six-game win streak.

“It was a rough start to the year,” Dylan Harrigan said following the state championship. “But it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.”

Facing some of the best teams in the country week-in and week-out means never a dull moment for coach Keith Wieczorek and the Friars. The team played six games in 14 days to kick off April.

“I think everybody was questioning [us], whether it’s a down year, that kind of rhetoric,” Wieczorek said. “I kept telling the kids that nothing’s wrong — we beat some real good teams — it’s just the standard we’ve been fortunate to have over the years.”

Wieczorek pointed to the myriad of producers who stepped up, from a reliable scorer in Jacob Johnston to late-season surges from Harrigan and Dan Rooney. Brody Richert provided invaluable minutes as a defensive midfielder, with Parker McDonald and Ethan Bramoff being as effective as ever when healthy. Goalie Dylan Rappoport was tasked with playing the second half against Chaminade in the championship and stepped up, saving six shots.

But you can’t talk about St. Anthony’s boys lacrosse without mentioning senior Gary Merrill, the football-lacrosse commit to UNC and Inside Lacrosse’s top midfielder recruit in the country. Wieczorek described him as a “foxhole” type.

“I think all the great ones we’ve had, the common denominator is the compete level and basically the refusal to lose,” Wieczorek said. “He had the skill and athleticism to compete at a high level, but he and the great ones just have that extra [ability] to will this thing and carry guys around him.”

Merrill finished his senior season with 40 goals and 16 assists despite being the focal point of every opponent’s defensive plan.

“People were talking on social media, like ‘Where is St. Anthony’s? Where are the Friars at?’ ” Merrill said, following the state championship. “I always knew we were here the whole time. We were never out of it.”