Lawrence defeats Princeton, Ewing

Wrestling

By: Mike Molaro
   What a difference a couple of days made for coach Chris Lynne and his Lawrence High School wrestling squad.
   After losing to West Windsor-Plainsboro South 35-27 Jan. 4 – a match Lynne felt the Cardinals should have won – the veteran coach told his wrestlers it was time for them to step up and wrestle to their capabilities.
   What Lynne said worked as Lawrence (2-3) had an outstanding week of wrestling. The Cardinals first dominated Princeton 50-15 at home on Jan. 8. Then, in a quad meet with Somerville and Voorhees on Saturday, they knocked off Ewing 42-30 in one of the most exciting matches of the season.
   Lawrence fell to Voorhees 56-10 and Somerville 51-27. But even in defeat, the Cardinals impressed their coach.
   "The guys worked really hard this week," Lynne said. "I have to give the guys credit. After the (West Windsor-Plainsboro) South match they could’ve stuck their heads in the sand and said, ‘We aren’t that good.’
   "Instead, they proved to me that they have a lot of character and refused to quit."
   Against the Little Tigers, Lawrence ripped off six pins and one technical fall en route to the easy triumph. Recording pins were sophomore Alex Parson at 160 pounds (3:10), senior Dan Lookner at 189 (35 seconds), sophomore Adam Oliszewski at 275 (4:32), freshman Matt Friedeborn at 103 (1:14), sophomore Simon Zeschky at 125 (3:57) and sophomore Dan Williams at 140 (1:15).
   Sophomore Matt Friedman picked up a 17-2 technical fall victory at 112, and junior Brian Friedeborn earned a 6-4 decision at 171. Junior Mark Savino won via forfeit at 130.
   "Everything went our way," Lynne said. "I had it as a 7-to-10-point win going into the match. Everything snowballed. We did everything right in this match. We didn’t give up big points, and when we scored, we scored big. Against (West Windsor-Plainsboro) South, we scored big, but we gave up too many big points."
   After the big win over Princeton, the Cardinals worked hard Thursday and Friday to get ready for the quad meet. That focus and determination paid off big time as Lawrence had some outstanding individual performances last Saturday at Voorhees.
   The Cardinals ironically earned the victory over the Blue Devils when Matt Friedeborn dropped a 4-3 decision at 103.
   "Matt won the match for us by not getting pinned," Lynne said.
   The highlight of the match was Friedman’s 7-3 decision at 112 over Mostafa Omara, handing the Ewing junior his first dual-meet loss.
   Also victorious were Zeschky at 130 (pin, 1:02), Savino at 135 (pin, 1:41), sophomore Chris Floyd at 140 (forfeit), sophomore Andy Chalofsky at 145 (3-2 decision), Brian Friedeborn at 171 (pin, 4:28), Lookner at 189 (pin, 1:50) and Oliszewski at 215 (pin, 1:38).
   "Matt (Friedman’s) win was huge even though it was the final bout and the match was already clinched," Lynne said. "A lot of people are calling this an upset, but not Matt. He felt he could beat him (Omara)."
   In addition to Friedman’s victory, the Cardinals had other key wins.
   "Simon (Zeschky) moved up to 130 and came through with a big pin," Lynne said. "Andy (Chalofsky’s) win at 145 was a big win for us. That was his first varsity match this year, and he really stepped up.
   "Dan (Lookner) came through with a huge pin at 189. That was the swing match for us. I told Dan before his match that we needed him to come through for us. He provided us with solid senior leadership in his bout.
   "We moved Adam (Oliszewski) up to heavyweight. He was giving up 50 pounds and pinned his opponent. We could feel the momentum building throughout the match."
   Against Voorhees, Savino recorded a 12-4 major decision at 135, Friedman had an 11-7 decision at 103 and Friedeborn was victorious 6-4 at 171.
   "We didn’t wrestle that badly," Lynne said. "The guys didn’t quit against Voorhees. We wrestled very well. Matt (Friedman) and Brian (Friedeborn) picked up big wins that should help them a great deal for the district seedings."
   Against Somerville, Floyd pinned at 145 (4:24), Oliszewski pinned at 215 (2:21) and Savino had a 16-10 decision. The Cardinals also picked up forfeits at 189 and 275.
   "Somerville was tougher than I thought," Lynne said.
   The Cardinals host state power Hillsborough on Saturday.
   "We were hoping these tough matches pay off down the road and get us ready for the districts and regionals," Lynne said. "It doesn’t get any easier the rest of the way."
   These matches started to pay off against Ewing.
   Notes: Freshman Dan Williams at 140 and junior Andrew Ilijic at 189 captured individual championships for the Cardinal junior varsity team at last Saturday’s Delaware Valley Tournament.
   "The JV team is tremendous this year," Lynne said. "They are undefeated in dual meets. Plus we have a nice group of guys coming up from the Middle School."