By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
Coming into the season, Sean Thompson and Jon Kline both had an eye on a milestone in their respective sports., In the end, both West Windsor-Plainsboro High South seniors were able to achieve their goal., Thompson picked up his 100th career win on the wrestling mat with a victory over Jake Mostowsky of Freehold Boro last Saturday. A few days earlier, Kline became the school’s latest 1,000-point scorer for his career on the basketball court., “To me, it shows how far I have come,” said Thompson, who won a Mercer County Tournament title earlier this year. “During my freshman year I never would have thought it was possible. But my coach said if I put the hard work in and was willing to fight to get it, you will get better. I have been training and working with teammates and working with my coaches and every match I am willing to fight to the end. I am glad I got my 100th win.”, Thompson has steadily improved over the course of his career and as a senior he is putting together his best season yet. He will take a 29-2 record into the district tournament this weekend, hoping to move on to regionals., “That is what I am looking for now,” Thompson said. “I am going to put all the hard work in and hopefully move on to regions.”, For Thompson, improvement has been steady and comes with a lot of work not just in the winter, but the rest of the year as well., “I think wrestling in the offseason and going to clubs and tournaments has made me a better wrestler,” Thompson said. ”It has given me a mindset to do a lot and the physical training has made me a better wrestler., “I have to thank my coaches, Coach (Darren) Schulman and Coach (Warren) Gerstacker, as well as Joe Salerno and Steven O’Campo who have been great training partners. They have pushed me in the practice room. And the coaches have helping me drill and given me the tough mindset to get where I am.”, While Thompson started to see his goal getting closer this season, Kline has had an eye on 1,000 points since getting varsity playing time as a freshman for the Pirates. He was well on his way to the milestone before an injury cost him half of his junior season., “After last year’s injury to my ankle where I was out half of the games,” Kline said. “I knew this was something I wanted to accomplish this year because of the setback. Looking back this will probably be one of my best memories.”, While the Pirates have struggled to win games the last few years, Kline would not trade any of his career., “I love game of basketball, so it is a blessing to be able to play,” he said. “I love the guys on my team. We’ve had fun for four years. The wins will come eventually for the program. We have great guys and the team is going to get better.”, The future success will come without Kline, who will depart WW-P South having become a solid all-around player and now a member of the 1,000-point club., “I know from middle school I was a pass first guy,” Kline said. “I loved setting my teammates up. I worked really hard going into my freshman year on my shot because I knew it would be harder to go to the basket and facilitate. I became more of an offensive threat. I still love setting guys up. I am extremely thankful to play four years of varsity for this program in a tough, good conference.”
