WrestlingChris Lynne normally doesn’t get too excited when describing his Lawrence High School wrestling squad, so when the veteran head coach truly believes that the Cardinals can go to the mat with any team in Mercer County, it’s probably best to pay close attention.
By: Mike Molaro
The Cardinals – 9-6 last year – are looking to overcome the losses to graduation of 135-pounder Alan Wilson and heavyweight Brian Williams.
Leading a talented roster are the 31 victories of senior 152-pounder Mike Savino, one of two defending county champs on the team, a District 17 champion, a regional runner up, and a seventh-place finisher in the state last year.
Senior 171-pounder Dale Emde (20-4 last year), the other county champ and District 17 runner-up, is also back. Senior 189-pounder Matt Lino (20-8) placed third in District 17 last year and junior 119-pounder Evan Kontos produced 19 wins last season, placed in District 17 competition, and advanced to the Regionals.
Rounding out the what should be the Cardinal lineup when they open the season on Dec. 16 against Westfield, Roselle Park, and Woodbridge in a quad meet at Roselle Park are freshman Ryan McNamara at 103 and junior Jason Sauro at 112.
Freshman Mark Savino, who is Mike’s brother and went undefeated last year at Lawrence Middle School, is expected to step in at 125.
Senior Justin Kaplan had a 10-5 record last year and will be back at 130. Seniors Lawrence Wong and Rachel Williams will compete at 135.
Junior Kyle Rendall, who had 15 wins last year for the Cardinal junior varsity, will fight with freshman Jeff Emde, Dale’s brother, at 140. Senior Bryan Ovalle (12 wins) or senior Ryan Reali (12 wins for the JV) will fill in at 145.
Senior Ian Dember went 12-4 at JV last year and now will step up to varsity at 160. Senior Matt DeCristofano, who posted 16 wins last year, is pegged at 215, while a freshman, Josh Suen, is expected to fill the heavyweight slot.
"We have a couple of holes, but top-to-bottom we’re pretty solid," said Lynne, in his 15th season with the Cardinals. "We’ll crush a lot of people in the middle weights. We have a lot of experience with two county champs and four district medalists.
"We have 20 dual meets this season and our goal is a minimum of 15 wins with a realistic shot at 17. We have a lot of firepower, but not a lot of depth. If we stay healthy, we can beat anyone in the county."
Lawrence dropped some opponents to open spots for perennial powers like Bishop Ahr, Metuchen, Somerville, and Roselle Park. Even District 17, already one of the state’s most competitive grouping, was revamped into an even more difficult bracket.
"We put together the tough schedule to get the guys ready for District 17 action," Lynne added. "Nottingham should be our toughest Colonial Valley Conference foe. If both teams are healthy when we meet, it should be an outstanding match.
"We have a lot of tough teams early in the schedule before our Christmas Tournament, so we’ll find out early where we are."