By Rudy Brandl, The Packet Group
Tommy O’Rourke’s post-season performance epitomized the rebuilding spirit of this year’s Lawrence High wrestling team and why head coach Chris Lynne is so pumped about the future.
The LHS sophomore came within one victory of punching his ticket to the NJSIAA Championships in Atlantic City. O’Rourke, who won the District 17 title the previous weekend, continued his post-season run by taking fourth in the Region 5 Tournament.
O’Rourke and the bulk of this year’s varsity Cardinals will be back next year. Lawrence loses only two starters to graduation, so things are looking up for a bright future.
”If you count a couple guys who split time, we really have 14 guys back,” Lynne said. “This was our year to get kids experience. We had nothing to lose. We wanted to get kids fighting for spots. A lot of kids got varsity time.”
The emphasis was different for O’Rourke and senior standout Sean Pearson. Lynne expected his two top guns to lead the way and they didn’t disappoint.
O’Rourke became Lynne’s first sophomore to win a district championship when he avenged two previous losses to capture the crown. O’Rourke finished with a 26-11 record and has 46 victories at the midway mark of his career. He won two bouts in his first trip to the Region 5 Tournament.
”I’ve already shown I can do it here,” O’Rourke said moments after finishing fourth. “I have to build from here. Hopefully, next year I can be a region champ. This year got me going in the right direction.”
”The whole point of the season is to peak at the end,” Lynne said. “Tommy did his best wrestling from districts on.”
Pearson (28-8) enjoyed another great year and led the Cardinals in victories. He finished in the 5/6 place category in the regions for the second straight year. The 160-pounder also ended his career with 85 victories, which ranks sixth on the school’s all-time list. Pearson finished with a school-record 126 escapes.
”I’m happy with my career,” said Pearson, who was a District 17 champ as a junior and Mercer County Tournament runner-up this year. “I couldn’t ask for anything more.”
”Sean was a great captain and leader,” Lynne added. “I wanted to see him do well because he’s put in so much time over the years.”
Pearson was happy to give his head coach a special gift in the regular season finale at Hamilton West. The captain won the coin toss and followed Lynne’s instructions to implement a strategy that helped create favorable matchups to produce the veteran coach’s 200th career victory.
”It was great to get that for him before I graduated,” Pearson said. “I could feel the gratitude from him.”
The Cardinals (6-13) won their fair share of close ones this winter. Many of their victories came down to the final bout. The highlight of the team season came in a Saturday afternoon home tri-meet when Lawrence swept West Windsor Plainsboro South (36-35) and Princeton (43-32). The Cards also beat Trenton, West Windsor Plainsboro North and Allentown.
The victory over Allentown was sweet because it came over a team that placed many spots higher than Lawrence in the Mercer County Tournament. It also epitomized the improvement in the team, which won four of its last five league matches.
”It was a steady progression that I could see in the kids,” Lynne said. “No one lost heart. They were all still there working every day in practice. They were more competitive among themselves. There was so much battling for spots. I had kids wrestling off once or twice a week. We were changing a lot of names.”
While Pearson and 215-pounder Lee Wing Zhou (15-10) will graduate, the rest of the Cardinals are eligible to return. That list includes Joey Stevens (103), Anna Martinez (112), Katie Soto (112), Thomas Yeager (119), Ben Kraun (135), John Friedfeld (135), Ian Wolf (140), Pat Reven (140), Chris Horner (145), Gerrayl Bryson (152), Charles Pearson (152), Chris Delcid (171), Randy Gorski (171), Sean Adamcik (189) and Glen Friedeborn (Hwt).
Bryson ranked third on the team with a 15-7 record, while Wolf (13-12) and Friedeborn (12-13) also reached double figures in victories. It will take a collective effort to get the Cardinals back to the top of the CVC.
”Everybody has to pick up the slack,” Lynne said. “We really depended on Tommy and Sean this year. We moved people around to win matches. Hopefully next year, we’ll be deep enough where teams will move around us.”
The Cardinals will do the usual off-season workouts, attend camps and clinics and possibly enter a county wrestling league in the summer. Many underclassmen got their first taste of varsity wrestling this winter. Now they have to build on that experience and reach a higher level.
”We’re just looking forward to next year,” Lynne said. “I’m going to try to do twice as much this year to get the kids ready for next year. We need commitment from everybody.”
