LHS is upended

WRESTLING

By: John E. Powers
   If tough lessons are going to come, they might as well come early in the season.
   That’s how the Lawrence High School wrestling team felt after last Saturday’s very disappointing 37-29 loss at Steinert.
   The Cardinals lost two bouts they appeared on their way to winning.
   Junior Andrew Goldberg was leading Jason Miller 9-0 after three periods at 145, but Miller won by fall in five minutes.
   Sophomore Sean Pearson led 7-3 after two periods at 160, but Steinert’s Allen Bing tied the score and forced overtime where he won 10-8.
   Tuesday morning, head coach Chris Lynne talked to his team in practice about what needs to be improved. The team worked for two-and-a-half hours.
   "We basically had a discussion in dedication and conditioning; you can tell who the kids are who are doing the extra running," Lynne said. "The kids who are dogging it need to step it up"
   "Our wrestling is there," he added. "It was the conditioning that killed us. When we came into the third period it killed us. But those things happen with a young team. We don’t have that leadership we had last year with (Matt Freideborn, Alex DeHart and Dan Williams), most of our guys didn’t wrestle varsity last year."
   Lynne said that he did get some encouraging words from referee Ken Bernabe who worked both dual meets the Cardinals wrestled. The Cardinals beat Ewing 52-21 last Wednesday at home.
   "He told me that he thought we were just where we wanted to be," Lynne said. "But it’s a horrible feeling in the pit of your stomach when you lose like we did. You’d almost rather get blown out. We should have won it by 15 or 16 points. The kids aren’t shirking their responsibilities. We’re learning how to get there. It’s just growing pains."
   Lynne said senior 152-pounder Mike Scott is developing into a leader on and off the mat. He missed the season-opening Roselle Park Tournament Dec. 16, but won by fall in the Ewing and scored a 9-0 major decision against highly-regarded Steinert sophomore Joseph Benedetti.
   "Right now Mike is flying under the wire and there’s nothing wrong with being there," said Lynne, who added that the team will get a boost when senior 145-pounder Sean Goldstein returns soon. "The Hunterdon Central tournament is going to be a real proving ground for Mike. He has to win the close ones."
   Senior Dustin Renelt’s third-period fall at 130 clinched the victory for Steinert with two bouts remaining. Renelt was a Region 7 runner-up and third-place District 25 place-winner last year.
   "We had some good efforts, but we don’t have the kind of depth to overcome the losses we had," Lynne said. "We’re too inexperienced for that. We have to have a team effort."Junior John Murawski (215) scored an impressive 9-3 win and senior 140-pounder Mike Czigler won by major decision.
   The Cardinals were scheduled to wrestle at Princeton Wednesday morning and were to make their annual trip to the Hunterdon Central Holiday Tournament Thursday at the Central Fieldhouse.