810551251328c8e1f515819d720378d3.jpg

ROBBINSVILLE: Hard-working Tan wins MCT title

By Bob Nuse, The Packet Group
   Rich Gildner isn’t surprised by the improvement Chris Tan has made in his short time as a wrestler.
   ”This is only his third year wrestling,” the Robbinsville High wrestling coach said. “Last year was kind of that welcome to varsity kind of thing. He had the technique but it was the experience of being there that he lacked. Coming into this year he had been wrestling very well.
   ”His three losses are all up at 113. He lost to (Gordon) Wolf here, Arroyo from Burlington Township and to Ryan Harter from Point Pleasant Boro, but they were all up at 113.”
   At last weekend’s Mercer County Tournament, Tan showed how dominant he can be when he wrestles at his usual 106-pound weight class. The sophomore captured his first MCT title when he defeated Jackson Place of Hopewell Valley, 10-0, in the final at 106.
   ”I was kind of apprehensive because Jackson Place has been doing very well this year and he has been an established wrestler,” said Tan, who defeated Etai Yonah of West Windsor-Plainsboro South, 12-7, in the semifinals. “I feel like I have improved and I think it is the coaches and the mentality that they bring to our team that has made the difference. They challenge us to work harder and push ourselves and I think that shows on the mat.”
   Tan, who was fifth at the MCT last year, improved to 15-3 this year with his three wins in the MCT. He has yet to lose at 106 and could be heading for even bigger moments later this season. Gildner watches the way Tan works in practice every day and knows he has that special something all the top wrestlers possess.
   ”He’s that kind of kid,” Gildner said. “Everything he does is meticulous. He has a goal in mind and does everything the right way all the time. He is a pleasure to coach. I was joking around with one of the other coaches about it. If I told him the first day I met him you have to eat chicken, vegetables and rice, I would forget the next day and he would remember it three years later.
   ”He’s that kid who everything you say he takes to heart and gives 100 percent of everything every day. He was elected captain as a sophomore, which speaks a lot about him.”
   Tan, a captain for the Ravens as a sophomore, doesn’t think twice about working hard every day knows it takes hard work to get to where he eventually wants to be.
   ”You can always improve,” Tan said. “There is always something you can do better. You don’t want to stay complacent. That is how you lose. I am more experienced this year and I have been working hard, never slacking. You are only cheating yourself when you slack so you might as well make the most of it.”
   Tan was the only individual champion for the Ravens, who finished seventh as a team at the MCT. Hopewell Valley repeated as county champion.
   Robbinsville had four other medalists, as Tyler Gildner was third at 285, David Steward was fourth at 160, Sam Fosum was fourth at 220, and Ariunbold Munkhtur was fifth at 113.
   ”I was a little disappointed we only got one in the finals,” Gildner said. “But we’re young with one senior and three juniors in our lineup. We have a lot of kids coming back. Overall, I am pretty happy with how we wrestled. I thought our kids responded well to losses. We had a kid pick up his first one. So there were a lot of positive things that come out of the tournament.”
   The tournament, which the Ravens hosted for the second straight year, once again went off without a hitch. It was a great effort by a lot of people to pull the event off.
   ”The people I have here are amazing,” Gildner said.” The tournament director, Mike Bossie, through all of the volunteers in our youth program, through our athletic director, Curtis Wyers, even the administration here is supportive of the tournament. It makes it easy to do when you have a lot of good people who are dedicated. I think everyone, coaches and fans, are happy with it.”