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Certain aspects of the winning culture of The College of New Jersey’s wrestling team may be harder to see than others. While its strength and skill can be seen easily seen on the mat during match days, there are some things just invisible to the naked eye.
Teamwork and synchronization are more predominant in team sports. However, on this collegiate wrestling team, there is a band of brothers that look nothing alike but their loyalty to each other and the program makes it easy to win together.
A college wrestling match is a competition between two individual wrestlers of the same weight class, so by definition wrestling is an extremely individual sport. Teammates obviously can’t physically jump in to help like a WWE tag-team match, but when it was time to wrestle this past Saturday, the competition struggled to deal with the strength and unity of the Lions.
The team hosted a meet with Temple University Club, Rowan College at Gloucester County, Middlesex County College and Bergen Community College.
In a spectacular fashion, multiple Lions emerged undefeated after multiple matches.
In an almost cliché chain of events, three of the day’s undefeated wrestlers all happen to be close friends who live in the same house and all recently returned from injuries.
The official stats go as followed from tcnjathletics.com, “Team Captain Luke Balina (Long Branch, NJ/Long Brach) posted a 4-0 record on the day. He took two bouts by way of major decisions and two decisions.”
“Senior Kellen Whitney (Hammonton, NJ/Hammonton) dominated all three of his matches. He was victorious via fall, technical fall, and a major decision.”
“Eric Friedman (Chester, NJ/West Morris Mendham) also finished with a record of 3-0 on the day, winning two bouts from pins.”
Many of the upperclassmen wrestlers reside in a big yellow house across the street from campus. It is a place of interest because this the home base where sleep and meals are had before the battle. I made my way to this house and I got to spend time with this group of young men shortly after their commanding win on Saturday.
The house is full to the brim with water bottles for NCAA regulated hydration tests and there is a giant brand-new doctor’s scale to make sure they keep up with weight cuts.
There’s healthy pre-prepared meals in the fridge and there’s a uniform sense of urgency among each member of the household to do the right thing.
Eric Friedman, a junior 141-pounder won his only match of the season last year on November 9th against Stevens Institute of Technology, but shortly after injured his lateral collateral ligament he was forced to medical redshirt the rest of the year. After doing some rehab at the Princeton Regional Training Center he returned to the mat this week with a flawless 3-0 start.
“I’ve been doing everything I can to take care of myself since last year, there’s nothing to do but wrestle now,” said Friedman. “Winning these first three matches is just getting back into the groove of the season. Although it is early I can’t help but feel more optimistic this year because last year our living room looked like a hospital and this year we’re starting off undefeated. It is a good feeling being surrounded by guys who pick themselves up during the hard times and encourage me to do the same.”
This hospital being a reference to where the majority of the housemates were injured wrestlers, there was a point where not even half of the house was cleared to compete including Balina, Whitney and Friedman.
Whether their injuries were the result of bad luck or the nature of the sport, Friedman said that his recovery went well and it felt like a team effort because he had his teammates by his side at all times. Whether it was going to see the TCNJ athletic trainers together to nurse their injuries, or do physical therapy, he was never alone. Friedman said that when everyone makes sure that the other is resting, or icing and wearing braces, it makes the road to recovery a lot easier.
“Though we may stand in the ring alone,” said Friedman, “each and every one of us knows we have the whole team behind us.”
In a sport where your aim is to throw and dominate your opponent it is no shock that injury is always a looming threat. But when Lions fight for themselves, their team and for each other, to them, it feels like no injury or opponent will be too daunting.
The Lions showed great heart and an unbeatable fighting spirit at their season opener last weekend, and doing so in wake of injuries attests to the group’s resounding toughness and resilience.
Winning attitude is contagious and these early signs of toughness prove the Lions have a promising season ahead of them.