Falcons’ junior helps to aid surging MHS
By: Ken Weingartner
The way Matt Horsch sees it, no sport is as rewarding as wrestling.
"It’s definitely my favorite sport," said Horsch, a junior at Monroe High School. "No sport is like wrestling. You have to work so hard, and it definitely pays off when you win."
Hard work has been paying dividends for Horsch and the Falcons. Monroe improved to 3-5 with a 47-25 victory Wednesday over North Brunswick. MHS also posted recent convincing wins over John F. Kennedy and South River, a team that beat the Falcons a year ago, after starting the campaign 0-4.
"We got off to a rocky start and lost some close matches, like to Sayreville," Horsch said. "I think if we wrestled those teams now, we’d win. We pounded JFK and South River ‘ that’s how much improvement we’ve had. It lets us know that the program Sal (coach Sal Profaci) has set up for us is working and what he tells us is true. We’re staring to win now. We know it’s working."
Horsch said the Falcons now understand the importance of working as a team, even though wrestling often can be viewed as an individual sport.
"Sal’s made us realize it takes a team effort," he said. "Every point counts. When you get a guy on his back, pin him. What each guy does makes a difference."
Against North Brunswick, the Falcons got wins from Anthony Mancini (119), Mike Tuhy (125), John Jensen (140), and Horsch while Craig Mazor, Bryan Georges, John Urbanowicz, Mike Goff, and Chet Urbanowicz picked up forfeit victories.
Monroe, which shared the Greater Middlesex Conference Blue Division title last season, moved into the White Division this year. Horsch said the upgrade in competition should benefit the Falcons."
I think it’s going to be tougher for us, but we’re only going to see improvement as the season goes on," Horsch said. "This will have us ready for the county tournament. In the past, when we saw kids (from the larger programs) we weren’t ready for them. Now, we’re making a name for ourselves. We’re winning and people know Monroe. It will help us get better seeds and we’ll be ready for the competition. We’ve seen what it’s about.
"I don’t know how good we can be, but we’re improved. I know that."
Horsch went 10-8 last season. He is 9-5 this year and had third-place finishes in both the Ewing and Holmdel tournaments last month.
"I don’t have any goals about how far I want to go," said Horsch, who started wrestling in the seventh grade. "I can see myself improving and winning more matches. I just want to improve as the season goes on. There’s always room for improvement."
The Falcons were scheduled to wrestle Freehold Township Thursday. Just another chance to improve, and taste the reward for hard work.

