Of all the accolades West Genesee boys lacrosse head coach Mike Messere has earned, this one might be the most prestigious of all.
Messere is part of the 13-member 2013 class of the National High School Hall of Fame, put together by the National Federation of State High School Associations.
He is one of five coaches in this year’s class, joining Ed Aston (swimming, Connecticut), Chuck Koeppen (cross country, Indiana), Chuck Lenahan (football, New Hampshire) and James Tate (track and field, Alabama), a group that combined for more than 170 state championships.
Since starting as varsity head coach at West Genesee in 1976, Messere has attained 15 state Class A titles for the Wildcats and won a national-record 757 games, against just 55 losses, for a .930 win percentage. That includes a 91-game win streak in the early 1980s and 20 undefeated seasons.
No coach, high school or college, has more victories, and among Messere’s many tributes is the fact that dozens of his former players, including Syracuse head coach John Desko, went on to coach in the game’s highest levels.
Already, Messere is a member of the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame, an honor he gained in 1994. This national honor will be bestowed on Messere in a ceremony June 27 at the Hyatt Regency in Denver where the inductees include former NFL star Joe Theismann, Olympic gold medalist Harrison Dillard and NBA great Chauncey Billups.
