THE WRIGHT STUFF: Princeton High wrestler Zyair Mackey-Wright, right, battles a foe in a bout during the 2023-24 season. Senior Mackey-Wright has starred at 215 and 285 pounds this winter for PHS as it has gotten off to a 1-6 start in dual matches. The Tigers, who are being led by new head coach Emmanuel Perera, have a dual at Nottingham on January 7, host Hopewell Valley on January 8, and then have a quad at Notre Dame on January 10. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)
By Justin Feil
Progress is the pitch for Emmanuel Perera.
The new Princeton High wrestling head coach inherited a young team that graduated state champion Blasé Mele and lost Forest Rose to transfer. On top of that, the Tigers haven’t seen their real lineup through the first month due to ongoing illnesses and injuries.
“A big thing for them is just not focusing on the results, but being process-oriented,” said Perera. “We’ve been talking every single day about just focusing on that process and getting better and just building that trust with them that we’re here for their long-term development.”
The Tigers were missing seven starters in their first tri-meet of the season on December 17 at the Peddie School. They’ve tried to keep those sick away from the team until they are fully healthy, and are preaching how to fight ongoing flu and sickness with good nutrition and habits. At the same time, they’ve tried to gain experience for everyone who has been healthy enough to practice and compete.
“If we can get everyone healthy on the mat at the same time, I think our team is actually a really solid team,” said Perera. “But just kind of us figuring out, how do we battle these sickness or injuries or what not, and just making sure that everyone in the room elevates and then maybe some of those sickness and injuries don’t affect those as much.”
The Tigers have won one dual this season, an exciting 40-39 victory over West Windsor-Plainsboro South on December 18 with pins from Sebastian Hunt at 106, Sawyer Zwick at 120, Morton Whitlow at 157, Rehan Ahmed at 165, Adam Schwarz-Manocchio at 190, and Zyair Mackey-Wright at 215 plus a major decision by Colin Fitzgerald at 150. And they have been competitive in a number of other matches while building toward the Colonial Valley Conference (CVC) tournament at the end of this month.
“The kids are really working hard every single day in the room,” said Perera. “They’re keeping just great positivity in the room. They’re all working. We got some first-year guys in some big spots filling weight classes on varsity and then just all trying their best, getting better every single day. And then something else that’s been good for us is watching our upperclassmen starting to develop into the leaders and help out these younger kids and they’re starting to step up in these big scenarios.”
The PHS girls’ team is looking promising with a core led by Lulo Bahr, Evelyn Xiao, and Emma Merritt. Bahr is off to an 11-1 start with a second-place finish at 114 pounds at the Ron Mazzola Memorial Tournament. Xiao was third at 107.
“They’ve been winning a lot of matches too, and we’re trying to give them as many opportunities to compete as we can,” said Perera.
“There’ll be some matches within the CVC that they’ll be able to face those girls. The CVC does a really good job at getting girls teams. And then we also have a few out of conference dual meets scheduled for the girls.”
The Tigers have seen positive signs in the practice room. There are plenty of reasons for optimism for a PHS team that could surprise some by the end of the month.
“We truly believe that the wins will come,” said Perera. “The wins will be a consequence of our hard work, our positivity, and just everyone coming together. But it’s understanding that what we are right now is not where we’ll be at the end of the season.”
Mackey-Wright, a senior, enjoyed the best day for the PHS boys on Saturday. Although the Tigers were swept by A.L. Johnson (55-24), Moorestown (47-30) and host Hightstown (56-19) in the quad meet, Mackey-Wright won all three of his matches by pin at 285. Matt Brophy, a junior, won two of his three matches at 138 pounds with one coming by pin and one by major decision. Another junior, Colin Fitzgerald, also won two of three at 144 pounds, one by fall and one by decision. Sawyer Zwick had a win by pin and a forfeit win. Rehan Ahmed, a senior, won by pin at 157 against A.L. Johnson.
“Those are three good teams, but the kids fought hard,” said Perera. “They’re just working their best to kind of do what we do. We had some weight class shifts too, so it’s just getting some of our kids adjusted at their new weights. Plus the allowance, some of them are dropping some extra weight, so getting that off.”
The quad was another big day for growth. The more matches that the Tigers get in, the more opportunities they have to compete and improve. Princeton has tried to give plenty of opportunities on the mats.
“We’ve also had an extra busy winter break, a little bit more than usual,” said Perera. “We sent our team, both our JV, our girls and our boys, to some tournaments. So just keeping them active, making sure that they’re working on kind of upholding what our philosophy has been and just keep working hard, attacking, and having fun.”
Perera is a familiar face for some on the team. He coached their district middle school a couple of years ago before taking the high school coaching job. He’s kept an open line of communication with the wrestlers, who are only a few years out from working for him in middle school.
“They’re definitely different,” said Perera. “They’ve matured, but in some ways they’re some of the same kids kind of with that same energy, just obviously a little bit more mature now. I think it’s helped with kind of building the trust. I think a big thing that does help with wrestling is them trusting the process that they’re going through and not them feeling that they’re kind of following blindly and going through this, especially in a situation where we’re a younger team.”
Perera believes it’s been a relatively seamless transition from former head coach Jess Monzo to him. The young team picked up his message and has been making strides each day. They are looking to be the next generation of success wrestlers at PHS.
“I wouldn’t say that it took that long,” said Perera. “The kids were just all hands on deck. I think when you come in off the kind of high that Princeton wrestling had with Blasé’s state championship, it’s kind of easy for the morale to be up. We ended last season on something really good. You saw what a kid from this town can do, so that kind of encourages everyone to just buy in and keep working.”
Mele, who is now adjusting to wrestling at the next level at Princeton University, set a new standard as the program’s first state champion on the boys’ side. The girls have had state champions before, and their side is shaping up nicely with eight girls on the team.
“We’re really excited about this year kind of where our girls team is going,” said Perera. “Previously they’ve had one or two really good girls, but now we got a team full of girls that we really believe in. They’ve been putting in work, their camaraderie is really good, and I think that’s something we’re super excited for with the CVC tournament.”
PHS is hoping to be healthier by then and to have a more experienced group ready to compete. Highly regarded junior Matthew Ocampo is expected back in the next week to compete at 126. Alex Wayne, a freshman, looks competitive at 132. Mark Molnar-Somogyvari and Jacob Topolewski both could help bolster the lineup. Dayron Ospina Posada has been in and out, and should give them a boost once he gets in a rhythm.
“We’re not here to necessarily win these first few matches,” said Perera. “We’re here for the end of the season, the end of their careers. We’re just constantly working on getting better and better and just kind of reassuring them that this is going to be a long roll. You gotta stay resilient through it and just keep having fun because the more positivity that’s around our team, the more the kids are going to want to be there, the more they’re going to work harder, the better that they’re going to get.”