New Egypt A fter a slow start, New Egypt High School’s wrestling team has reeled off victories in four straight dual meets and a 7-5 record coming into this week, along with a renewed quest for a Burlington County Scholastic League (BCSL) Patriot Division championship and a focused bid to repeat as District 25 champions next month.
“Things are moving along in the right direction,” said new head coach Jason Frable, a former assistant coach. “We have some tough guys and some inexperienced guys — two varying levels, so it’s hard to focus on things in training and practices. There are guys who know what to do and guys you have to teach. We’ve got guys who are now down in the weights they’re used to being at and that’ll help. Now everybody is where they have to be.”
Frable said the balance among teams in the district for the Feb. 22-23 competition at Steinert High School means that many teams have a shot, including his own team if his younger wrestlers continue to mature and develop.
New Egypt had its BCSL Patriot Division opener on Jan. 23 at Bordentown Regional High School. It has a tri-meet at Pennsauken on Jan. 26 that includes Willingboro High School.
New Egypt currently has three 100-win wrestlers and two seniors are near 100 career victories this year — Brad Schwarze at 182 pounds and Sean Przybylkowski at 138 pounds. Going into last weekend’s inaugural Burlington County championships, Schwarze had 90 career victories, including 16 victories this season and 13 coming via pin. Two of the other three victories were forfeits and the remaining one was a 7-0 decision.
“He should win in the region and place in the states,” Frable said of Schwarze.
Przybylkowski won 14 of his first 16 bouts, half of them via pin, and had 83 career victories heading into the Burlington County meet. He was fourth in the region last year.
Schwarze pinned in his Burlington County meet championship final and Przybylkowski won an 11-7 decision.
There are others who have piled up victories this season, especially in recent meets when New Egypt beat Riverside High School, Rancocas Valley Regional High School, Gloucester City High School and Pemberton Township High School in its streak.
Ryan Molokie is 14-3 at 120 pounds, heavyweight George Wolyn is 12-5 and Owen Rowley is 11-3 at 220 pounds leading up to the Burlington County meet.
“Up top is where a lot of teams struggle, but from 182 on up, we have a solid team,” Frable said.
In the Burlington County meet, junior Jarrett Grala (126 pounds) finished third, which earned praise from Frable, and Rowley and Molokie each finished fourth. New Egypt finished fifth in the team standings.
Frable said he had to hold out some wrestlers who might exceed the NJSIAA’s 30-bout limit mandated for Feb. 9, but he said the meet also “showed that we’re not ready to pin down a district title. But we have guys we expect to see improve over the next five weeks.”
He also has wrestlers who may not have good seeds because of their records against a very tough schedule, but those wrestlers could do well.
Overall, New Egypt has competed hard despite losing Dylan Pescatore to a torn anterior cruciate ligament, which shook up the middle of the lineup. Senior Johnel DeCamp has stepped in and may not have a lot of victories, but his athleticism makes for close matches and not many bonus points against him via pin and major decision.
As for the younger Warriors, Frable said juniors Ronnie Archer (132 pounds) and Bryan Bray (145 pounds) have battled hard while winning about half of their matches. Twins Sean and Ryan Hagen are juniors who have held their own at 106 pounds and 113 pounds, respectively.