New York USA Wrestling

In the wee hours of Monday morning, it was the Wolfpack of North Carolina State University "showing their teeth" on the recruiting trail when they secured the services of none other than NY-USAW #3 2026 Big Boarder, Griffin LaPlante... 

Already a four-year varsity starter between between stops at Starpoint HS and St. Francis, the KD6 (mentored by former NYS 3x DII State Champ/proud NC State grad, Kellen Devlin) trained student-athlete has always been blue chip; but his stock rose to new heights during the 2023-2024 campaign, as he not only was an Eastern States Classic Champion and a NYSPHSAA DI runner-up; but also the 2024 NHSACA National Champion to boot!!!

The owner of a 51-5 resume in his first season as a [St. Francis] Red Raider, LaPlante's only two losses to in-state competition would come at the hands of his training partner, #1 overall 2024 NY prospect, Cameron Catrabone (5x State placer/2x Champion; 3x Super 32 placer/2023 runner-up), who defeated him in early-December (5-0) before then posting a 3-0 decision in in the 152-pound State finale!!

Otherwise, the newest member of Pat Popolizio's "Pack" was outright unbeatable as a sophomore, as he'd surpass the 5th place showing he banked as a 132-pound 8th grader on South Pearl Street in the Winter of 2022 (wins over 2x State Qualifier, Justin Gierum, of Fox Lane; 2x State place/3rd in '24, Taylor Beaury, of Saratoga Springs; & 2022 State 8th, Devin Walker, of Brentwood; by scores of 8-5, 14-0, 6-4 sv; forfeit in the 5th-place bout against Arlington's John Fustace)...

His return to MVP Arena in 2024 a memorable one after a two-year hiatus (Starpoint School District cancelled the remainder of the '23 season just prior to the postseason), LaPlante would commence his trek to the Saturday Night main event (as the #3 seed) by rolling through the likes of 2024 Section 6 silver medalist, Zak Saeed (Amherst), to the tune of a 1:51 stick in R16...He'd later emphatically close out Day #1 by racking up five takedowns, a set of swipes, and a reversal on his way to a commanding 15-5 major decision in the quarterfinals at the expense of eventual State 6th, JD Moore (Levittown Division)...

The signature triumph of his 2024 NYSPHSAA appearance came on Saturday morning when he'd snap + spin for the winning takedown with :25 to go in sudden victory to punch his ticket to the 'ship behind a 3-1 decision over returning State bronze/2023 NHSCA AA, Jesse Vanorden (Wantagh; also finished 3rd in 2024)...

This cited/recognized state runner-up effort an obvious fitting conclusion to a brilliant 10th grade year, it needs to be equally acknowledged that the present-day #27 2026  national gem in the eyes of MatScouts did some of his finest work prior to his trip to the "Capital City"

Hoisting hardware on two separate occasions in December 2023, LaPlante bested top notch foes such as Colton Havens (3x DII State placer for Canisteo-Greenwood) and Tyler Roe (2x DII State placer) by margins of 11-2 and 13-6 en route to gold at the 36th STWOA Annual Kickoff Classic and the Linda C. Knuutila Memorial!!!

Registering one final bullet point before the ball dropped in Times Square, he'd place a respectable 8th at the Powerade (PA), with signature conquests of Gage Wentzel (2x PIAA State placer; 2x NHSCA All-American) & 3x NJSIAA placer/2024 titlist, Zach Ballante!

The ringing in of 2024 continued to be met with immense successes, as LaPlante again displayed the development made from one season to the next when he ascended from 5th in 2023 (two wins over 2x State placer/2023 runner-up, Renso Montalvo, of Amsterdam) to the top step of the podium in 2024 in Loch Sheldrake [ESC)...

Cruising into the semifinals after a 16-1 TF in the quarters versus 2x S5 placer, Sam Renica (Pittsford), LaPlante especially turned heads down the home stretch when he collected back-to-back dub over 3x NYSPHSAA State medalist/2024 Champion, Liam Carlin (Formerly of Burnt Hills; now attending Greens Farms Academy) and 3x State placer/2024 NHSCA Bronze medalist/2023 Fargo 16U 6th, Jason Kwaak (Brentwood), by tallies of 5-0 and 5-1!

His national pedigree most assuredly trending upward; in voyages to Virginia Beach the in 2023 and 2024, the Empire Stater has compiled an 11-2 vitae, highlighted by already referenced NATTY seized this past April (after a freshman 4th the previous season)!!...

In the midst of this two-year span, he'd get his arm raised in key head-to-head clashes with the following: 
-Gavin Regis (2x Utah State medalist/2024 runner-up; 13-8 2023 R64)
-Michael Maxfield (2x Virginia placer; fall in 1:29 2023 R32)
-Ruben Rios (2x Washington placer; 15-1 Major 2023 R16)
-Will Deutschlander (2024 Texas State runner-up; 14-6 major 2023 Quarters)
-Isaak Chavez (2x Colorado State finalist/2024 Champ; 2x NHSCA AA; 7-1 2023 Consol semis)
-Michael Dickinson (2x Alaska State medalist/2023 runner-up; pin in 1:15 2024 R32)
-Cole Aguirre (2024 Missouri State silver; 9-4 2024 Quarters)
-Rex Bryson (2x Missouri placer/2023 rubber-up; 10-8 sv 2024 Semis)
-Gage Wentzel (See above; 3-1 sv 2024 finals)

Falling one victory short of top-8 status at the 2023 Super 32, LaPlante toppled Donovan Edwards (2x North Carolina State medalist), Antoine Glasgow (2x Georgia bridesmaid), and [Liam] Carlin in his run to being a blood rounder last October!!

As an added indicator of his level of readiness/battle-tested experience under his belt; consider that in the summer of 2023, he won eight matches between the two international styles (5-2 in GR) in Fargo!!

His selection of Raleigh as his future home comes on the heels of recently taking visits/having formal contact with programs such as the United States' Military Academy (where his brother, Gage, is committed out of the class of 2024) and West Virginia among others!!

To the credit of the NC State coaching staff, LaPlante's verbal now means that in the past handful of seasons, they have landed NY royalty such as Stevo Poulin (4x State Champion; has since moved on to Northern Colorado), Anthony Noto (4x DII State titlist; now a 2x AA for Lock Haven),  AJ Kovacs ( Iona Prep; 2x NYS DI finalist/2019 Champion), Jake Null (Dolgeville; 2x State finalist/2020 Champ; later transferred to Purdue), Brock Delsignore (2x NY State Champion for Shenendehowa; has since transferred to Little Rock), Jesse Mullis (2x DII State placer for Hudson Falls); and NY-USAW #5 2025 standout, [Jason] Kwaak (see above)!

LaPlante is the second top-60 member of the 2026 cohort within a 24-hour cycle to commit to the six-time defending ACC Conference Tournament champs..

#58 Dom Deputy (2x PIAA State runner-up; 2024 Fargo Junior FS 6th; 2023 Super 32 4th) did the honors on Sunday!