Friedman, Savino claim MCT titles

Wrestling

By: Mike Molaro
   Lawrence High School wrestler Matt Friedman earned the top seed at 103 pounds in last weekend’s Mercer County Tournament at Trenton with an outstanding season, highlighted by an early January victory over previously undefeated Mostafa Omara of Ewing.
   Although Friedman was the top gun going into the county tournament after handing the Blue Devil junior his first-ever dual meet loss, the Cardinal sophomore had something to prove. Most veteran observers felt the 103-pound weight class was still Omara’s to win or lose.
   Defending 125-pound champion Mark Savino, who is no stranger to being the hunted, grabbed the No. 1 seed in his weight class. The Cardinal junior is pegged by many for a spot in the state championships and needed to justify those predictions at the county tournament.
   Both were successful in their personal challenges, capturing their respective individual county titles last weekend. Friedman put the exclamation point on his superb performance by being named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler, as selected by the coaches.
   "I had to keep my guard up throughout the tournament," said Friedman, who earned a 16-2 major decision over the second-seeded Omara in the 103-pound final bout last Saturday. "Being the top seed means you are the one to beat and the one the others have to get past.
   "Being seeded first gave me more incentive to win, especially since many people saw me as the underdog. I was confident going into my title match against Omara, since I had beaten him before."
   Savino had a 7-3 decision over third-seeded Tom Roberto of Notre Dame in the 125-pound final bout.
   "There’s always extra pressure as the top seed," Savino said. "People expect you to do well."
   In addition to dominating Omara, the defending District 17 champion, Friedman (15-3) recorded pins in the quarterfinals over ninth-seeded Ross Zebhur of Princeton (47 seconds) and in the semifinals over fourth-seeded Matt Charette of West Windsor-Plainsboro South (3:31). As the top seed, Friedman received a first-round bye.
   "Against Zebhur, I went out there knowing I was there for a reason," Friedman said. "I was ready to wrestle Charette. I took him down and stayed on top. I took it step-by-step and move-by-move, just like we do it in practice.
   "I had mixed emotions before the Omara match. I was nervous, anxious and excited. I knew I would either win the county title or lose to a very respectable opponent. I knew if I disabled his offense, I’d be in a good position. I wanted to stay in control by not letting him do many moves."
   Savino (15-3), who also received a first-round bye, notched pins against eighth-seeded Erik Crawford in 1:07 of the quarterfinals and fourth-seeded Nick Painchaud of Allentown in 5:44 of the semifinals.
   "Although Crawford was seeded eighth, I had to wrestle hard," Savino said. "I took that match as if it were the finals. I was beating Painchaud 6-1 in that match. I was being patient. He was a county champ at 112 last year. My patience paid off. You have to respect a county champ.
   "(The final against) Roberto was a tough match to wrestle. His strategy was to be defensive. I had to be very careful on my feet. I didn’t want to make a mistake. It made for an exciting tournament to wrestle guys like Painchaud and Roberto."
   Cardinal head coach Chris Lynne was impressed with his top wrestlers.
   "I was confident regarding Matt (Friedman) going in, but not that confident," Lynne said of his 103-pound champ. "He dominated all through the tournament. He was so focused on scoring. He was relentless against Omara. Matt didn’t even know the final score of that match. He was the epitome of aggressive in the tournament. He truly deserved his Most Outstanding Wrestler award.
   "Mark (Savino) had the hardest weight class in the tournament. He had to pin a district champ in the semifinals. He dominated the entire match against Roberto, but you couldn’t tell by the score (7-3)."
   Savino, who was one of only three repeating county champs, is also looking forward to future battles, including dual-meet matches against Painchaud and Roberto this week.
   "Having the county tournament in the middle of the year is great," Savino said. "It’s a nice reward for hard work. Winning the county title boosts your confidence. You feel good about your wrestling and feel good about heading into districts."
   The Cardinals had five other individual medal-winners. They included sophomores Chris Floyd (140) and Adam Oliszewski (215), who placed third in their respective weight classes.
   Seventh-seeded freshman Alex DeHart (112), fourth-seeded junior Brian Friedeborn (160) and fourth-seeded senior Dan Lookner (189) each placed sixth. The top-six finishers in each weight class earn medals.
   Friedeborn and Lookner received first-round byes, while DeHart had a 15-0 technical fall triumph over 10th-seeded Mike Lieberman of West Windsor-Plainsboro South in the opening round. All three fell in the quarterfinals, but each won three wrestleback matches, earning the right to battle for fifth place.
   Floyd, seeded third, received a first-round bye before losing to sixth-seeded Nick Avery of West Windsor-Plainsboro South 8-6 in the quarterfinals last Friday. He then pinned Avery in 2:15 of the wrestleback round to secure third place.
   Oliszewski, seeded eighth, pinned ninth-seeded Luke Cheng of West Windsor-Plainsboro North in 45 seconds of the first round, but was pinned by top-seeded Randy Donatien of West Windsor-Plainsboro South in 4:39 of the quarterfinals. Like Floyd, Oliszewski came out of the wrestlebacks to pin fourth-seeded Greg Roman of Hopewell Valley in 3:52 for third place.
   "After losing in the quarterfinals, Chris (Floyd) won four straight matches," Lynne said. "He came all the way back to beat Avery. He was determined to win. He did the exact same thing last year to J.T. Hutchinson of South.
   "Adam (Oliszewski) had a nice pin over Roman. He went from being a low-district seed to a probable fourth-district seed. He has beaten all of his Mercer County competition. He also won four matches on Saturday. I’ve never seen Adam so aggressive."
   The Cardinals placed fifth with 135 ½ points in the team competition, which was won by Hamilton (203).
   In other first-round action, sophomore Simeon Zeschky, the eighth seed at 130, pinned ninth-seeded Dave Webber of Nottingham in 52 seconds, while junior Kyle Miller, seeded seventh at 135, recorded an 11-2 major decision over 10th-seeded Mike Commiso of Ewing.
   Sophomore Andy Chalofsky, seeded eighth at 145, had a 5-4 decision over ninth-seeded Rob Singletary of Trenton. Junior Rob Klontz (10th-seed at 119), sophomore Neal Amato (seventh-seeded at 152) and junior Eric Pac (11th-seeded at 171) each lost their first-round bout.
   Zeschky, Miller and Chalofsky lost in the quarterfinals and didn’t advance out of the wrestleback round.
   Notes: The Cardinals hosted Allentown on Tuesday and visited Notre Dame on Wednesday. They then host county champion Hamilton on Saturday.