Olexson bares heavy weight of Monroe tradition well

By: Ken Weingartner
   There was a time when Penn State was commonly referred to as "Linebacker U" for its ability to routinely produce football players like Jack Ham, Shane Conlan and LaVar Arrington.
   Maybe Monroe Township High School one day will be called "Heavyweight High" for its tendency to come up with talented big men on the wrestling mat.
   This season, Frank Olexson is following in the footsteps, large ones at that, of Boleslaw Jaskiewicz, Mike Goff and Justin Lupo in making a name for himself in the heavyweight division.
   Olexson, a junior, is 21-7 this season and placed third in the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament. Last season, he was 1-1 at the varsity level, but 19-1 on the junior varsity and won five jayvee tourneys.
   At the recent GMCT, Olexson won 4-3 over Spotswood’s Drew Mackay, who was then-ranked No. 6 in the state. His only loss came 3-1 to champ Argenis Minaya of Perth Amboy.
   "I had no idea what to expect this year," Olexson said. "I’m just going as hard as I can; I’m going for the ride. I have to live up to the expectations of the heavyweights that have been here in the past."
   Jaskiewicz and Goff were state place-winners for the Falcons. Lupo was GMCT runner-up last season and a regional qualifier. He was 31-7 last year, with his final three losses coming against state qualifiers.
   Olexson never worried about taking a backseat to Goff and Lupo the past two seasons.
   "I knew my time would come, and those guys helped me a lot," Olexson said. "I was just waiting my turn. I just knew they were real good and I was going to learn a lot from them. And if I trained hard with kids like (215-pounder) Jake Nale and my coaches, I’d be there."
   Olexson’s win in the GMCT over Mackay provided the Falcon with a measure of revenge for an overtime loss earlier in the season.
   "It felt good," Olexson said. "I came out a little harder and I knew what he was going to do. I just had a different mindset. We’ll probably meet up again somewhere."
   Olexson set only one goal for this season.
   "I didn’t want to get beat, but that didn’t happen," he said, laughing. "At first, I thought about having to live up to the guys before me, but I knew that whatever happened they would be proud of me."
   BACKPOINTS: The Falcons saw their chance to have sole possession of the GMC White Division championship ended by a 33-31 loss to Woodbridge last week. Monroe won eight of the 14 bouts, but five of its six losses were by pins. Woodbridge held a 15-7 edge in bonus points.
   Getting wins for Monroe were Sam "Bam Bam" Emburgia, David Saley, Wally Seeman, Justin Mazor, Nick Garibaldi, Ryan Worden, Nale, and Olexson.
   The Falcons (14-7) rebounded to post a 44-22 win over Piscataway. Emburgia, Brendan Hodel, Brian Mackiewicz, Garibaldi, Brett Rutzler, and Chris "Farm Boy" Boehm all had wins while Saley, Worden and Nale were awarded forfeit victories.