By Alex Frazier
Meet…Marcus Robbins
A lot has changed since Marcus Robbins’ freshman year.
As a ninth grader he broke into Norristown’s lineup as a heavyweight.
A puny one.
“He couldn’t bench 100 pounds,” said coach Mark Harner. “It was pretty bad.”
Wrestling against older and stronger kids, he ended up his first year 8-15.
Fast-forward four years and Robbins is now benching 350 pounds and his record after 13 bouts is 12-1.
“He put a lot in this year,” said Harner. “We finally got him to buy into the sport.”
Obviously a few things have changed.
Robbins has grown into the weight. Last year he came down from 300; this year he started as a svelte 285.
A lot of that had to do with all the freestyle wrestling he did over the summer. He even qualified for the Senior National Freestyle Tournament in Fargo, ND, though he didn’t go.
But he did get some good competition against the likes of William Tennent’s Ricky Dracup as well as state champion Evan Craig.
“He’s working harder than he has in the past,” said Harner, who preaches that conditioning at heavyweight is crucial, though for Robbins it’s hard to find practice partners that can push him.
“We have a bunch of heavyweights in the room, but he just chews them up,” said Harner. “I have an assistant that wrestles him, and every once in a while a college kid will come in.”
Partly because of football, Robbins' foot speed has accelerated. Though not fast, he has become agile.
“He has the agility of an offensive lineman,” said Harner, “and he has pretty good balance.”
Robbins is hoping all this adds up to a state medal.
Last year he bowed out of the post-season with a loss to Pennsbury’s Josh Mitchell in the second round of consolations at the SE Regional Tournament.
If he has a weakness, it’s his impatience.
For example, he’ll go for the big throw when he doesn’t have to, just to shoot for the pin.
In his only loss of the year, he tried a headlock in the opening seconds and was taken down.
“He’s impatient,” and Harner. “Scoring (at heavyweight) tends to be so low, you can’t afford to make a mistake.”
Robbins would also like to go down in Norristown history by eclipsing the 100-win mark, which looks like a safe bet. He is now 80-35 with 48 pins.
“He should get 100 wins,” said Harner. “He is probably the first heavyweight we’ve ever had to get 100 wins, if he stays healthy.”
Lighter is better – Bensalem is in a rebuilding mode, from the ground up—103, 112, 119, 125, 130.
Instead of a 1-2 punch, it’s a 1-2-3-4-5 haymaker.
“From those five we hope for all the bonus points,” said second year-coach Eric Knoblouch.
The Owls have just two seniors in the lineup at 152 and 189 as well as three to four juniors. The rest are all sophomores and freshmen.
“It’s a little rough for this year, but the program is rebuilding,” said Knoblouch.
Last year Knoblouch took a “tough love” approach, which turned away some grapplers.
But there was a silver lining.
Last year’s freshmen class of six blossomed into 10 this year. Add to that eight new freshmen, five of whom start, and you have the makings of a team of the future.
Heading into the first week of January, the first five wrestlers have a combined record of 35-11.
103-pound-freshman Mike Pritchard (6-1) was third at the SE Classic and first at the Wetzel Tournament. 112 pound-freshman Justin Cummings (8-3) was fourth at the SE and second at the Wetzel.
At 119, Shane Hughes (7-4), a sophomore, was third at the SE Classic and fourth at the Wetzel. 125-pounder Anthony Prisco (6-1), a junior, was third at the Wetzel; and at 130 Nick Lippincott (8-2), another junior, won the SE Classic and placed fifth at the Wetzel.
“They’re all very hard workers,” said Knoblouch. “They work hard in the room. They get extra practices at private clubs during the week. They’re constantly trying to improve.”
Pritchard and Cummings have a history of wrestling together.
“He’s a really good practice partner,” said Pritchard, who also practices with Hughes. “They’re really good kids so I can get better.”
While Pritchard was a known factor, having wrestled through the Bensalem program, Cummings was a relative unknown as he transferred in from Calvary Christian. He has wrestled for the Wrecking Crew club team.
“I knew what they had done in the youth clubs and various youth tournaments,” said Knoblouch.
Cummings is not surprised with the success of the lower weights.
“I was expecting it,” he said. “I’m friends with Mike and I knew him before coming to high school. Mike’s really good and Shane’s really good and Nick’s good. We’re going to have good lightweights this year.
“I teach Mike, Shane or Nick; and Nick, Shane or Mike teaches me. We help each other out.”
At 125, Prisco’s only loss was to regional qualifier Jake Ellis of Upper Moreland.
“He’s wrestled well,” said Knoblouch.
At the Wetzel, Lippincott lost to eventual champion Tim Santry in the second round at 130.
“He’s close,” said Knoblouch. “He was a few steps off, a few steps behind, but he’s improving and is trying to get better.”
Lippincott then dropped a close 3-2 decision to Hatboro-Horsham’s Drew Felice in the consi semifinals and had to settle for fifth.
“Drew’s style of wrestling brought out all the flaws in Nicky’s style,” said Knoblouch. “It probably turned out to be a good thing because it showed what Nicky has to do to improve on.”
The Owls also have a pair of freshmen at 135 (Kevin Hopkins) and 140 (Aereus Clarke).
“They’re not at the level of Pritchard and Cummings coming in, but they have experience and wrestle tough,” said Knoblouch. “It hurts a little because they’re undersized, but they’re good wrestlers.”
While Bensalem won’t challenge the likes of Council Rock South or North just yet, the future looks bright.
“Across the board we have a lot of guys that are getting better week in and week out,” said Knoblouch. “They should be able to hold their own against the average wrestler and pull out some wins, but they aren’t guys we rely on for the pins.”
Around the league – The SOL league season started up again on Wednesday with a few notable matches.
In the American Conference, Upper Dublin’s Sam Jacobson pinned at 140 and Brian Ego followed that with a 4-3 decision at 145 to post the Cardinals to a 38-33 win over Springfield.
In the Continental, Souderton roared to a 40-12 lead with John Lewis’ pin at 112 and then lost the last four matches, but still managed to defeat Central Bucks West, 40-36.
In the final bout of the night, Central Bucks South heavyweight William Bendon decisioned Pennridge’s Joe Winters 9-7 to give the Titans a 31-29 win.
In the National Conference, William Tennent cruised past Abington 44-27. At one point the Panthers led 36-9, thanks to Shawn Stefanelli’s pin at 160.
• In the first action of the New Year, North Penn and Souderton placed first and second at the West Chester East Invitational, with Central Bucks South finishing sixth.
The Knights placed six wrestlers in the finals with four taking titles. Tyler Romano (130), Greg Lacoff (135), Randy Haun (152) and Will Bachert (171) also stood atop the podium at the end of the day. Matt DiNenno (112) and Dominic Colangelo (160) finished second with Nick Gallagher (140), Mike Robinson (145) and George Shipp (189) garnering bronze medals.
All three of Souderton’s medalists took titles. John Lewis was crowned at 112, Rob Smothers at 189 and Joe Stolfi at 215.
Greg Kabakjian (119) and Sidney Outlaw (171) were third.
Mike Mathis added another tournament title to his resume, as he won the 119-pound championship. Nick Naegle at 103 also took his place on top of the podium.
The Titans’ Jeff Sklencar (125), Blake Wise (152) and William Bendon (215) finished third.
• At the tough POWERade Tournament, Council Rock North finished 21st, but the Indians had a titlist in Jamie Callendar (189). Shane Longstreth (119) finished fifth and Greg Lanctot (152) was sixth.
TOP Five SOL
1. Council Rock South
2. Council Rock North
3. Quakertown
4. Norristown
5. Upper Moreland
Top Guns
103—Billy Rappo, Council Rock South
112—Josh DiSanto, Pennsbury
119—Mike Mathis, Central Bucks South
125—Scott Wolfinger, Quakertown
130—Tim Santry, Upper Moreland
135—Luke Wisniewski, Plymouth Whitemarsh
140— Josh Dziewa, Council Rock South
145— Matt Martoccio, Council Rock South
152— Eric Koch, Quakertown
160— Greg Lanctot, Council Rock North
171—John Staudenmayer, Plymouth Whitemarsh
189— Jamie Callender, Council Rock North
215—Joe Stolfi, Souderton
285—Marcus Robbins, Norristown
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