BY JEFF APPELBLATT
Correspondent
Praying and wrestling. Some wrestlers may pray to be successful in the sport, but it is not too often the two words are linked together.
But at Freehold’s Abundant Life Church of God (632 Colts Neck Road) the two have been inadvertently connected.
At the center of it all is 14-year-old Tyler Fraley, who will be entering Colts Neck High School in the fall. Fraley, who is the son of the Rev. Chris Fraley, recently went out to Green Bay, Wisc., and won a title at the National Freestyle Championship.
OK, so how did the youngster not only end up in such a competition, but win it?
The “schoolboy” (wrestlers age 13-14) can boast the most wins and takedowns in one season of any wrestler ever at Eisenhower Middle School, Freehold Township, Tyler Fraley’s father said. He also noted that the 80-pound wrestler went 42-0 during his middle school career.
“He was representing Team New Jersey in Wisconsin,” Chris Fraley said about Tyler. “But he has also trained at the Rhino Wrestling Club in Wall. They train year-round.”
And the top reason Tyler Fraley was battling in Green Bay – he won his weight class at the state freestyle championship.
While Tyler has been in the wrestling limelight, his older brother Christopher has also been dominating on the mat.
Wrestling in the 125-pound weight class, Christopher Fraley, who will be a senior at Colts Neck next year, ranked fourth in the district. He will be moving up to the 130-pound category as a senior and he hopes he can accomplish enough to continue wrestling in college.
How did these boys ever discover such a talent wrestling?
“My wife got them into wrestling, through a rec program,” their father said. “Tyler was an excellent baseball player, but [my wife] asked him if he wanted to try wrestling. He tried it, liked it, wrestled for the [Howell] Predators [Wrestling Club], in middle school and soon in high school.”
At Colts Neck, Tyler is looking to fight in the 103-pound weight class, which his father calls “his biggest challenge.”
“He will be challenged because of his size,” Chris Fraley said. “But after his first year, he should be able to ride.”
And perhaps Chris Fraley should know. Maybe he didn’t inspire his kids to wrestle, but he too spent some time wrestling in his life. All he had to say about his wrestling experience was that he “never did so at the level of what [Tyler and Christopher] are.”
His main focus is on the future of his kids, not on his own past.
“Christopher hopes to finish first in the region,” Chris Fraley said.
“[Tyler’s] immediate goal is to win more national championships,” he added. “He hopes to win more as he’s moving along. In the future, he will be a premier wrestler in high school.”
Wrestling probably isn’t talked about much at his church services, but Chris Fraley knows many in the congregation understand the sport, saying that “there are several wrestling families in the church” before going on to name a few.
The Fraleys, though, with the accomplishments of Tyler and Christopher, may boast the best.