BY MIKE WHITE
Staff Writer
PLUMSTED — Any coach who has a team loaded with a bunch of young players likes to close the season on a positive note.
New Egypt High School wrestling coach Kevin English was thrilled the way the Warriors finished out the regular dual-meet schedule last week.
New Egypt, which finished second in the Freedom Division behind Riverside, ended the 2004-05 campaign with a five-match winning streak. The five consecutive victories lifted the Warriors’ record to a respectable 14-11.
“Every year you go out and compete, you want your team to finish at least with a .500 record,” English said. “I was real pleased with the way we accomplished our final record. To win five straight at the end of the year says something about the growth of the wrestlers on this year’s squad.”
Last Saturday, New Egypt swept a quad meet with Manasquan, Freehold and Pinelands.
The Warriors topped Pinelands, 45-27, then returned to edge Freehold, 37-32, before closing the day with a resounding, 51-27, triumph over Manasquan.
“It was a long day and the kids handled it well,” English said. “They remained focused through all the matches. That is not an easy thing to do when you are wrestling all those matches.”
Triple winners for New Egypt included seniors Chris Springer (140) and Lee Hopkins (189), and juniors Dan Murray (135) and Nick Markee (heavyweight).
New Egypt also had a number of double winners. Senior Noel Larios (125), sophomore Rosario DiGangi (215) and freshman Tommy Morton all notched a pair of wins.
New Egypt is scheduled to compete in the District 25 tournament this weekend at Rancocas Valley.
“We’ve got a couple of kids who I feel can do pretty well there,” English said.