TOP OF THE PODIUM: Princeton High wrestler Kwabena Afrifah, second from right, enjoys the moment after he took first in the heavyweight division at the Mercer County Tournament last Saturday at Robbinsville High. In addition to senior Afrifah, junior Cole Rose placed first at 126 pounds and junior Blase Mele won at 138. The Tigers finished third in the MCT team standings behind champion Hopewell Valley and runner-up Robbinsville.

By Justin Feil

Kwabena Afrifah won the heavyweight title in his first boys’ wrestling Mercer County Tournament on Saturday, but it wasn’t beginner’s luck.

Afrifah only joined the Princeton High team this year after transferring from J.P. Stevens, where he was a two-time Region 4 qualifier out of District 15. After sitting out because of the 22-day senior transfer rule, Afrifah has taken to the mats with a vengeance, and the county crown was the latest in a string of wins.

“It feels great,” said Afrifah. “It really feels great.”

Afrifah was one of three individual champions for the Tigers along with Blase Mele and Cole Rose, who placed third in the team standings with 174.5 points. Hopewell Valley won the team title with host Robbinsville second with 180 points.

“Robbinsville beat us by 5.5 points,” said PHS head coach Jess Monzo. “It was close. There were a couple weights where we might have underperformed our seeds, and there were a couple weight classes where we outperformed our seeds. Overall, it was a good day to be a Tiger. We had three champs.”

Afrifah came in seeded second in his division but felt confident in his abilities. He pinned all three of his opponents on the day, finishing with a pin in 2:24 of Notre Dame’s Andrew Onzik.

“Honestly I felt like my chances were good,” said Afrifah. “Prior to this tournament, I had wrestled a decent amount of kids, so I knew what I was expecting when I got there.”

Junior star Mele won the 138-pound division with a 25-0 technical fall in the final against Allentown’s Tanner Wilson. Mele won his first two matches by pin and overall reinforced his dominance in the county. It was his second straight MCT title (Mele missed his freshman year’s MCT due to injury).

“He’s running into the fact that a lot of people now know who he is, and it’s a testament to how good he’s been and what he’s done, they’re not really trying to wrestle him, they’re trying to escape or weather the storm or see how long they can last on the mat with him,” said Monzo. “He’s figuring out ways he can continue to score points. If a guy wants to sit back, we have to keep the pressure on and not give him a chance to look for that out. We have to fire on all cylinders and leave no doubt, and let them know who you are, keep your foot on the gas. That’s what he’s been doing.”

Rose won his third straight MCT crown. In the second-closest final of the day, the junior avenged a regular-season loss to Hightstown’s Christopher Cropanese with a 2-0 shutout at 126 pounds. Rose had hoped to build a substantial lead to alleviate some third-period pressure, but only scored the two points with a second-period escape from the bottom, something that didn’t happen for him in the earlier loss to Cropanese.

“We composed ourselves and stayed in really good position and were able to fight and gut out a 2-0 win,” said Monzo. “It’s tough when you’re winning by two going into the third period and you have a kid that’s good and can wrestle so he’s looking to cause a scramble and get into a roll and weasel his way to a reversal. We were able to limit the times where we were going to be scrambling. We stayed really solid and kept our composure and stayed calm.”

While Rose and Mele are familiar names for PHS wrestling, Afrifah is new. He’s been a welcome addition to the lineup although he got off to a tough start. Afrifah actually lost his first match as a Tiger.

“From that first match, it was a cardio issue,” said Afrifah. “I wasn’t getting enough cardio in, that’s why I was so exhausted by the second or third period, and the kid was able to pin me. Moving from that time on, you have to up the conditioning to better prepare me for my other competitors out there.”

Afrifah made significant strides since then. He has not lost a match since his debut and he’s become a valuable contributor to his new school.

“He’s progressing,” said Monzo. “He’s gradually improving. He came in and had a good skillset. We’ve been correcting little things. As long as we keep correcting them and keep progressing forward, we’re going to have a really good shot come postseason time.”

Afrifah has been adjusting to his new environment. It started with him playing offensive and defensive line to help the PHS football team to one of its better seasons in recent years as the Tigers went 5-4. Afrifah is considering playing football in college. He jumped from the gridiron right into another physical sport when he joined the wrestling program at his new school.

“It hasn’t been bad so far,” said Afrifah. “I’ve met a lot of people, a lot of nice parents. Being in this program, surrounded by good people all around, it’s truly remarkable. Not everyone gets to experience this type of love that I’m experiencing right now.”

Afrifah came into the season hoping to advance further than he ever did at J.P. Stevens. He advanced to regions twice from districts, but is looking for his first trip to the state tournament. As the calendar turns to February, he is feeling good about his progress.

“I think I’m definitely ahead in comparison to my previous years,” said Afrifah. “Just because of the experience.”

Afrifah continues to work on his conditioning and strength each day with the Tigers. He has adjusted to the practice routine and coaching. He’s been appreciative of the smooth transition.

“It’s been great,” said Afrifah. “The conditioning that we go through, having me wrestle with the coaches or other guys near my weight class that are good at their respective weight classes, all of that and even going to the weight room and getting some cardio done or some lifting, all of that has been able to help me prepare for where I’ve come from.”

Waiting to debut for the Tigers was the hardest part. Afrifah had to watch from the sidelines for the first 22 days of the season, and could only help with his encouragement.

“It was definitely difficult,” said Afrifah. “Watching my team go out there and handle business, that was enough to keep me going and waiting patiently.”

Once Afrifah got back on the mats, he was able to show his abilities to everyone in the county. He has become a big presence for the Tigers and a reliable winner.

“He’s 287 pounds, so he’s right at the top of the limit,” said Monzo. “He’s a big boy and he likes to use his weight, but he’s quick. He’s quick on his feet. He’s deceiving for a big heavyweight. He’s got really good footwork. He’s able to use his weight the right way. Sometimes at heavyweight, they get their weight going and they can’t stop themselves and it’s kind of like who falls first. But he’s been pretty good at being shifty. For a 285-pound kid, he’s pretty light on his feet.”

The Tigers are hoping that they can count on him for points in the state sectional team tournament. PHS is expecting to make the state tournament for the third straight year, and the Tigers are hoping for a longer run.

“We’ll find out where we actually stand when the final standings come out where we’re going,” said Monzo. “The last two years we’ve been fortunate enough to qualify and represent Princeton and Mercer County on the state stage. But we’ve been unfortunate with our draw, going down to Brick Memorial for the last two years and wrestling Brick and wrestling Long Branch. We’ll see where we stack up this year. It could be the same, we have to go down there looking to win a match. We can’t be happy that we qualified. We’ve been there two years in a row, now we have to start winning these matches.”

The county tournament was another teachable moment for PHS. Just a few different outcomes could make a difference. The Tigers can take away how close they were to placing second overall.

“It still showed us when we expect things to happen, sometimes they don’t,” said Monzo. “We still need to make them happen. But overall I’m very pleased with the way we performed. As a program, it’s a good thing. We took some bad losses this year to some of these Mercer County schools, so to come back and outshine them at the county level when everyone is here to show the rest of the county where we really are was good.”

Afrifah made the most of his one and only Mercer County Tournament. It was his first big tournament win with the Tigers, and he’s grateful for the strides he has taken in his final scholastic season at a new school.

“It’s all helped me,” said Afrifah. “Every single guy in that program, they always urge each other to push beyond their limits all the time whether it’s out on the mat, or just in the training room. They always find a way to find a way to push each other beyond their limits.”