Donatien progresses to champion for WW-PS wrestling
By: Bob Nuse
Randy Donatien has seen himself progress as a wrestler enough over his four-year career that he didn’t think winning a Mercer County Tournament title was out of the question.
"I’ve been wrestling for four years and I’ve improved each year," the West Windsor-Plainsboro High South senior said. "I was ninth as a freshman at counties, then fifth and then third last year. So this year I felt like I had to win."
And Donatien did just that, recording a pin of Trenton’s Kevin Mitchell in the finals at 215 pounds. Donatien’s win at 215 was one of three individual titles for the Pirates who also had J.T. Hutchinson win the title at 145 pounds and Tim Woodhull win the 189 pound title. Their efforts helped WW-P South to a second-place finish as a team.
"I expected to see Emre (Guzelsu) from Princeton in the finals, but he lost a weird match where he was up on the guy and then lost in the last 10 seconds," Donatien said. "I just go out and wrestle whoever is there. I really felt like I had to win this year because it’s my senior year.
"Last year when I finished third, I knew I had one more year and I had to improve on that. But this year I knew it was my last chance."
Randy Donatien is the Princeton Packet Athlete of the Week.
"Randy has had a real good year for us," said WW-P South coach Keith MacDougall, whose team improved to 8-5 with a win over Trenton on Wednesday night. "Last year he tied the school record with 18 pins. He was third in team points behind Brendon (Morfe) and Vince (Avery). He wants to get that pins record this year and he has a chance for team points. He’s doing a nice job."
Donatien is part of a top half of the lineup that has been doing a nice job at South for the last few years. Once teams hit Hutchinson at 145, they know they’re in for a tough bout all the way through to Donatien.
"It can get crazy up there at practice," said Donatien, who also had a standout season for the Pirates in football. "We tear each other apart during practice. It’s a lot of fun and I look forward to it. We call ourselves Murderers Row. We added J.T. to it this year. Last year it was me, Vince, Woodhull, (Josh) Wagner and Morfe, so this year we added J.T. It’s good for us. We all have confidence because we don’t feel the pressure that we have to win."
Donatien has been doing a lot of winning this year. On Wednesday he raised his record for the season to 16-3, with one of the losses coming to MCT heavyweight champion Mike Williams of Hopewell Valley.
"Not every team has someone at 215 so I’ve been bumping up and getting better practice to get ready for districts and regions by wrestling some heavyweight matches," Donatien said. "I want to place at regions this year. Last year I went to regions and lost in the first round. I want to get to Saturday this year.
"It’s tough when you work hard and practice and then get to the match and they forfeit. You don’t want to sit there and not get a workout. So when I wrestled Williams it was good for him to get a tough match and it was good for me to get a match against a good wrestler."
Each day in practice Donatien gets in a good workout against the likes of Woodhull, Wagner and Avery. Down the line that should benefit all of the South wrestlers.
"Any time you walk into that room and you’re an upper weight you know you’re going to get a workout," MacDougall said. "One of our assistants, who was also a wrestler in college and high school, sometimes gets in there and gives the guys a good workout. They’re working hard with and against each other to get ready for the matches. It’s very good for the team."
This year, Donatien has been as good for the Pirates as any wrestler. And as the season heads towards the finish, he has high hopes for more success.
"I want to win districts this year," Donatien said. "I know there will be some tough competition with South Brunswick, Old Bridge, Sayreville and North Brunswick. I know it will be tough, but I think I can do well. We wrestled some of those teams earlier this year, so we know what to expect at districts."
The Pirates know they can always expect a good effort from Donatien, who turned in a great one over the weekend at the MCT.

