SOUTH BRUNSWICK: Vikes’ 171-pounders will do what it takes

By Rich Fisher, Sports Editor
   Does the South Brunswick High wrestling team have flexibility in its upper weights?
   Gumby himself would kill to be so flexible.
   Between Brendan Vercammen, Randy Christie and Jeff Goldhagen, the Vikings have three wrestlers who weigh in at 171, with two of them usually wrestling at a higher weight.
   Of the three, Vercammen has been especially outstanding this year.
   ”I’ve bumped Vercammen between 171 and 215, I usually tend to put him where the better kid is,” South Brunswick coach Joe Dougherty said. “Against Kittatinny (last Saturday) he was wrestling against a kid cutting down to 189 and I’m weighing him in at 171 and moving him up.
   ”Brendan is just learning how to wrestle. He’s learning how to wrestle well, what to do, what not to do, when to take a chance, when not to take a chance. I’m so pleased with Brendan. He asks me what I want and he goes out and does it.”
   He’s not the only one.
   ”Christie is the same way,” Dougherty continued. “He’s a Godsend, he’s the reason we’re close in matches, a lot of times. Actually all three of those kids, they’re doing what they’re supposed to be doing. It’s not only those three, but they’re a special case in that they’re all basically the same weight.”
   Christie usually draws the heavier opponent, by virtue of his experience.
   ”More often than not Randy is wrestling at 215 because he knows how to wrestle kids bigger than him,” Dougherty said. “He uses his speed and athleticism to get ahead by a couple points, then he wrestles smart. He doesn’t let a kid just squash him to the mat.
   ”He picks his spots, and is learning how to wrestle these big kids. He shows no fear, he’s a bulldog, I can’t say enough about him. He couldn’t break into the lineup at his weight so he said ‘All right, where do you need me?’”
   Goldhagen has yet to go up to 215, but has rotated with Vercammen at 171 and 189 depending on the situation.
   The trio has helped South Brunswick to an 8-6 record. The Vikings were beaten handily by South Plainfield Tuesday night, though that was not a big deal to the coach.
   ”South Plainfield is in a class of its own, they’ve proven that time and time again,” Dougherty said. “I don’t expect to be competitive with them, but we should be competitive with everyone else in our conference.”
   He feels the problem is, too many wrestlers have not obtained that Eye of the Tiger that is necessary to succeed on the mat.
   ”I love my team, I love my kids and as a staff we look at the potential of our team and we’re in awe of it,” Dougherty said. “I tell them ‘You’re on the top teams in Middlesex County, but until you work like that’s what your goal is, it’s not going to happen.
   ”I’m a goal-driven kind of dude, and they have to have those goals as well, something to go after. They just don’t despise losing enough. They forget the work they did to get there.
   ”They have to despise losing enough so when they do lose I can see a discernable difference like ‘Ugh! What do I have to do to turn that around? I need to get my butt in gear, I lost match in third period because I’m not in condition.’”
   Dougherty feels that is the one area where a coaching staff is pretty much helpless.
   ”Winning and losing is a by-product of what you do in practice,” he said. “I can’t make them wrestle hard in practice, it has to be internalized by them. They have to have that urgency.”
   On Monday, the Vikings fared well in a JV tournament at West Windsor-Plainsboro North. David Domingos (119 pounds), Luke Rimmer (125), Mike McMurray (130), Fabian Jackson (160) and Gin Kim (130) all won titles, while Chad Capraro, Jake Petrefessa and Justin DeAndrea each took second.
   ”They wrestled really well,” Dougherty said. “We definitely stood out.”