By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
When James Verbeyst started thinking about winning 100 matches for the Princeton High School wrestling team, his overall total was zero., “It’s been a goal of mine since I was in middle school,” said Verbeyst, who picked up his 100th win last weekend during a Princeton quad match at Burlington Township. “I knew then it was something I wanted to do. It’s a really cool experience to actually get it., “When I was in middle school I was coming to matches at the high school and was already starting to think about it.”, Verbeyst, a senior, is one of a handful of veteran wrestlers on a young Princeton squad that improved to 4-12 with a 57-15 win over West Windsor-Plainsboro North on Wednesday. With so many young wrestlers in the program, having a veteran like Verbeyst achieve a first for the school is something special., “It’s good for the school,” Princeton coach Rashone Johnson said. “He’s the first to do it in the history of Princeton High School to do it. It’s good stuff.”, As a team, Princeton has struggled to win matches. But Verbeyst and fellow senior Ethan Guerra have been solid leaders as the team continues to grow., “It’s a rebuilding year,” Johnson said. “We only have two seniors on the team, James and Ethan. So it has been a legit rebuilding process. Each match the guys get better. It’s the process. It’s all good. We have some young people in the lineup. But we also have some experienced guys and some young guys that are stepping up and doing better this year coming out of the woodwork. The work is paying off for them.”, Princeton and North will wrestle in the Mercer County Tournament this weekend at Robbinsville. Verbeyst is hoping to repeat as a county champion and then continue ti build on that success as the year goes on., “I am looking to place at states,” said Verbeyst, who was fifth at regions last year. “We have the Mercer County Tournament this weekend. I won it last year (at 145) and I didn’t wrestle well. I am at 160 now. I should have a solid finals match and I am looking forward to rest of the season.”, Princeton picked up a nice win over the Knights on Wednesday. On the mat, Daniel Monahan, Alec Bobchin, Reinaldo Zephirin, Zad Mahana, Verbeyst and Guerra all recorded pins for the Little Tigers. Andrew Staples added a decision win in the match., “The young guys have been doing great,” Verbeyst said. “We won today but there have been some tough matches. We’ve also had some close matches. It’s been a pretty good year for the team.”, WW-P North fell to 0-13 with the loss to Princeton. The Knights picked up wins from Jacob Mitchell (pin) and Kobby Twum-Barima (decision) on the mat, as well as a forfeit win for Marco Cabrera in the loss to Princeton. Mitchell has been having the best season for the Knights and is the team’s best shot at a medal at the MCT., “Realistically, we have Mitchell at 145,” North coach Ed Ferraro said. “He’s the best kid on our team and the only one with a winning record. I am hoping he is going to be right around a four seed, possibly fifth. Our numbers are better and we’re looking at approximately 20 eighth graders in the middle school program. So hopefully we can get at least half of them and continue to work. These young guys are putting things together now and putting some great matches together, even if they are losing. They are learning.”
