FOUR PEAT: Princeton High wrestler Cole Rose poses for a preseason photo. Last Saturday, senior star Rose placed first at 132 pounds at the Colonial Valley Conference (CVC) Tournament (formerly known as the Mercer County Tournament.) It marked the fourth straight title for Rose in county competition. PHS finished sixth in the team standings of the event won by Hopewell Valley. (Photo provided courtesy of Cole Rose)

By Justin Feil

When Cole Rose was an up-and-coming wrestler, he sometimes worked out in Alec Bobchin’s basement.

Rose always aspired to be at least as good as his Princeton High teammate Bobchin, and he achieved one measure of that mark last Saturday when he joined Bobchin as the only PHS wrestlers to win four straight titles at the boys’ Colonial Valley Conference (CVC) Tournament (formerly known as the Mercer County Tournament).

“It’s great,” said senior star Rose. “I’ve worked all season to do that and I think I’ve created a good mindset towards winning that tournament. I feel like winning just gave me satisfaction and now I don’t have to worry about not being able to be a four-timer or doubting myself. It builds some confidence in a way.”

Rose has won his titles at four different weights, slowly climbing up from 106. He won the 132-pound class Saturday at Robbinsville with a 17-5 major decision over Lawrence’s Steve Ham. Rose improved to 18-1, with his one loss coming by injury default due to an ankle injury.

“He wrestled great,” said PHS coach Jess Monzo. “He was never in a position to put himself in danger. He dominated every one of his opponents. We talked before the tournament started and I said, there’s not a reason in the world you can’t walk through this tournament.”

Senior star and Princeton University commit Blasé Mele was the only other winner for the PHS at the CVC Tournament. Mele won his third career title there — he missed a year due to injury — with a wild match in the championship. Mele was in complete control until Allentown’s Nicholas Gaul put him on his back and came dangerously close to pinning Mele. He escaped after falling behind and returned to win by technical fall, 27-12.

“We knew the kid coming in was a little bit of a junk style kitchen sink wrestler who was just going to try to catch him in a position,” said Monzo. “We did a really good job of limiting what that kid was able to do at all. We just got caught not being aware at a certain time. So you know good for that kid to make it a match, to put a scare in him. But sometimes you awaken the beast when that happens.”

Mele improved to 16-0 this season, and the scare will serve as an emphatic reminder of how focused he will have to remain as he eyes his goals.

“He wants to win a state title,” said Monzo. “The first thing he said to me coming off the mat is, ‘A state champ doesn’t do that, I got to fix it.’ And he’s 100 percent right.”

The girls’ CVC tournament was also held Saturday, and the Tigers did best at the lowest weights. Evelyn Xiao pinned Leslie Velecela of Hightstown to claim the 107-pound title. Lara Bahr reached the final at 100 pounds before falling by decision to Stella Kramer of Lawrence.

“We had two girls that, unfortunately due to injury and sickness, had to pull out of the tournament early,” said Monzo. “But other than that, they’re enjoying it. They’re having some fun and they’re having some success.”

PHS had one other finalist in the boys’ CVC Tournament. Rose’s younger brother, freshman Forest Rose, took second at 106 pounds. After claiming the silver medal, he sports a stellar 22-3 record.

“He’s been wrestling well,” said Cole Rose. “I’m really proud of him. He got second at Sam Cali, which was amazing. And he beat some tough kids. He beat (Julian) Zargo from St. John Vianney, who’s been beating some tough kids as well. I’m really proud of him. He’s definitely doing better than I did my freshman year and I think he’ll get around to placing in states sometime soon.”

Colin Fitzgerald was another highlight. The sophomore exceeded expectations with his fourth-place finish. The Tigers ended up placing sixth in the team standings at the event won by Hopewell Valley.

“Other kids on the team as well have been developing as the season has gone on,” said Rose. “Our next match, Point Pleasant Boro, is going to be a tough match, but I feel like each of the kids on our team is developing as the season goes on. I’m proud of them when they go out there and perform and beat kids that they aren’t expected to beat.”

Rose has been more of a driving force for the less experienced Tigers. He’s in his second year as a captain.

“He’s been really good at taking the lead this year,” said Monzo. “He’s speaking up when he has to, calling kids out in the room for not doing what they can do right. A lot of times in this sport, stuff gets hard, stuff causes you to get tired. And when you start taking breaks and getting tired, unfortunately this sport doesn’t wait for you. So anytime you do that, there’s someone else out there that’s not doing that, that’s getting that 1 percent better than you are today. So I think he’s really been kind of buying into that.”

Rose is determined to make the most of his final season with PHS before he continues his wrestling career at Case Western University, where he intends to study pre-medicine to become a surgeon. Rose has been a reliable wrestler for four years. He has reached the region level each year and advanced to the state tournament in Atlantic City as a sophomore.

“My end goal is to place at states,” said Rose. “Winning districts and regions is like a check on the board along the way. So there’s some small goals, but placing at states is my big goal.”

He had hoped to be there last year, but didn’t advance from regions. He’s used last year as fuel for this season.

“I got a lot more motivated,” said Rose. “Last year I was expected to do all these things. I was ranked seventh in the state and I just didn’t perform.”

So far, it’s been a year of contrasts. In the CVC, he was a well-known commodity and absolute favorite for his fourth title. But his ankle injury cost him some matches and he hasn’t built up a lot of power points to be ranked state-wide.

“Right now I’m an underdog,” said Rose. “I’m not even ranked. I’m not even an honorable mention. And I think people have kind of forgotten about me. Coming back and winning districts and regions and placing at states, a lot of people won’t expect that. I don’t have as much pressure on me now, so I think I can perform better under those circumstances now.”

Rose’s experiences through the years have put him in a strong place to make his goals happen. He’s not so focused on the wins, but on wrestling as well as possible, and figures that the results will take care of themselves.

“My mindset is the big thing,” said Rose. “I think last year I wasn’t really thinking about what I needed to do during the match and I was just thinking about what would happen if I would lose. Everyone was expecting me to do super well.”

Rose lived up to those expectations at the CVC Tournament this year. He wrestled well to dominate his class and come out on top. That ensured his place in history alongside Bobchin, who was there for some lessons in his early career.

“He was instructing us and he would run us through some drilling,” said Rose. “We would drill for a little bit and then at the end, he would be like, ‘All right, you guys got to take me down,’ and if we didn’t take him down we had to go for like two minutes straight or whatever. It didn’t feel good, but it paid off in the end.”

Bobchin ultimately finished fourth in the state tournament to end his PHS career. Rose has grown up to give himself a chance to have a similar ending to his scholastic career.

“Over the years I’ve been comparing myself to his accomplishments and trying to pass him almost,” said Rose. “But I think from last year I don’t know if that’s going to happen. But maybe this year I can do that.”