MAIN MAN: Princeton High wrestler James Romaine, left, battles a foe in a match last season. Over the weekend, junior Romaine placed first at 152 pounds in the District 17 tournament at South Plainfield. He advanced to the Region 5 tournament at Franklin High this weekend along with senior teammate Dominic Riendeau-Krause, who took second at 145 pounds. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Justin Feil

James Romaine had to change his attitude to become a top wrestler.

“I’d go in scared before,” said Romaine. “I’d wrestle scared, which is never good.”

Losing that fear has made a huge difference for the Princeton High junior as he has turned into a formidable competitor on the mat.

As part of that process, Romaine thought about why he had been wrestling since he started in first grade with the Princeton Wrestling Club, thought of all the fun he had and how much he enjoyed the sport and realized there was nothing to be scared of. He had to be confident.

“Confidence is key,” said Romaine. “I think that I’m the best when I step on the mat. I think that no one is going to be better than me. That helps me win. Not to be cocky, you’re supposed to be humble, but confidence is huge. Every time I step on the mat, I’m not there to take second, I’m there to win.”

Since adopting that attitude, Romaine has been a far better wrestler. After placing second in the District 17 championships a year ago, Romaine lived up to his top-seeding with a 9-3 win over Xavier Santos of South Plainfield to win the 152-pound division at District 17 on Saturday.

“It feels great,” said Romaine. “I just feel like all the hard work I’ve put in is starting to pay off. It feels like things are going my way.”

Romaine was the top finisher for the Tigers and only district champion. He pinned his first-round opponent, John Walter of Montgomery, in 20 seconds, earned a technical fall over his semifinal opponent, Isaiah Breedy of Franklin, in his second match, then dominated Santos for the title.

“James wrestled great,” said PHS head coach Jess Monzo, who is in his first season guiding the program. “Coming in, he knew he was the top seed, so that gave him a little confidence. Last year he took second and he was a little upset losing to a South Plainfield kid. This year, it was a different kid from South Plainfield, but I think it still lit a fire under him.”

Romaine is one of two PHS boys to advance to the Region 5 championships this weekend at Franklin High where he will be joined by teammate Dominic Riendeau-Krause, who placed second in the district at 145 pounds, the senior’s highest finish in his career.

“Dominic was in great spirits,” said Monzo. “Last year he took third, so to make the district finals was something that was definitely one of his goals. Getting to the finals was an improvement over last year. He’s been to the regions before. He won his first-round match last year. He knows what he has to do. He’s been there before. He’s experienced. He’s in good spirits. He’s one of the guys that came down to watch the girls. He’s ready for it and he has a chance and he believes he can make a little bit of a run.”

On Sunday, two PHS girls earned a trip to the upcoming state finals at Atlantic City with triumphs in the girls’ South Jersey Region. Ava Rose, a freshman, won the 100-pound final over last year’s state finalist, Jasmine Aizley of Allentown, 4-2. Junior Chloe Ayres defended her 107-pound championship with a 9-3 win over Trenton’s Johnae Drumright.

“It’s terrific,” said Monzo, whose squad placed third in the team standings at the district competition.

“We’re definitely peaking at the right time, starting to really wrestle well and look good. It started yesterday with the boys at districts. A couple of the boys did great and the girls were there to cheer them on, and a bunch of the guys came down today to cheer the girls on. It’s a real tight-knit group.”

The only disappointment of the weekend was that the Tigers didn’t have a couple of more region qualifiers from the boys. Chris Sockler lost in the quarterfinals while Aaron Munford fell in the consolation final.

“As a team, things went great before postseason happened,” said Romaine.

“With a new coach, it was definitely different how things were run, but I think they were run well. We won more matches than we were expected to. I love my team, I love my teammates and the seniors this year, I love those guys and I’m going to be sad that they’re leaving.”

Both Sockler and Munford were back in the wrestling room this week to help Romaine and Riendeau-Krause prepare for the regions and their bid to book a trip to Atlantic City. The camaraderie has been a plus to the season.

“They want to be back in the room and help out in the room however they can,” said Monzo.

“I know Chris and Munford are both coming back into the room to work with James and Dom and give them different looks and give them a different perspective and feel. It definitely helps. And there are some light guys that are ready to come back in the room and give Chloe and Ava what they need. One person might be getting the accolades, but they know it’s the group that’s behind with everyone earning a little bit of something.”

Romaine has put together a terrific year, overcoming a slower start than he wanted. An ankle injury cost him almost a month and several matches. He returned to win a title at the Mercer County Tournament and improved to 23-3 with a perfect weekend at districts.

“I haven’t really dealt with an injury before,” said Romaine. “It was a challenge. I have good teammates and all my teammates supported me. I faced that, and since coming back from my injury I’ve felt good and everything’s going as planned so far.”

After doing well at last year’s districts to earn his first trip to regions, Romaine was aiming to finish one place higher this year at the top of the podium.

“It was definitely important to win it because it was one of my goals,” said Romaine.

“It’s only the first step. I still want to win regions, go to A.C., and medal. That’s the overall goal. It was a stepping stone and I was happy to do it.”

It reinforced the work that Romaine had put in during the offseason. He attended camp, went to wrestling club workouts more frequently, and lifted weights more.

“He’s been focused,” said Monzo. “He’s been more locked in. He has a big boost of confidence from last year to this year. He knows he put a lot of work in. He knows he put a lot of time in. At the beginning of the year, he got injured and wasn’t able to wrestle. He came back about a week before the counties, and his win in counties gave him a bit of confidence and he’s been firing on all eight cylinders since then. Like Dom, he’s just peaking at the right time, wrestling really well and being good in positions and wrestling smart as well as strong.”

Romaine has also been carrying a new attitude onto the mat; it started a year ago and it’s enabled him to be more successful.

“Getting some wins under your belt obviously helps with confidence,” said Romaine. “With the coaches I have and have had, they helped the mentality and pushed for it.”

Pushing hard, Romaine has gone farther each season. He did not make it out of districts as a freshman, took second last year, and won this year.

“Looking at his weight and looking at who has done what so far, we’re expecting some big things from him,” said Monzo. “There’s definitely that shot where we could be making a trip to A.C. as a junior. It’s definitely one of James’s goals. He talks about it every day. He sees it. It’s right there, we just have to get out and get it.”

As Romaine looks ahead to the region competition, he will bring the same confident attitude that got him there with the extra motivation of achieving the goal of making the state finals.

“It’s definitely going to take a whole lot,” said Romaine. “I’m going to put forth all my effort. It’s going to be grudge matches, but I know I can do it. I have to place top four and I know I’m capable of doing so.”