Morton-led Warriors find success on mats
BY MIKE WHITE
Staff Writer

Above, New Egypt’s Eddie Roman tries to bridge his way out of the hold of Allentown’s Pat Pope during a recent match in New Egypt. At left, New Egypt’s Pat Riordan works on Allentown’s Matt Vahabi.

PLUMSTED — New Egypt High School wrestling coach Kevin English has enjoyed watching the progress of Tom Morton.

Not only is the sophomore proving to be one of the top 103-pounders in District 25, but Morton is developing as a leader on the Warriors club as well.

“He is everything that you could want in a wrestler,” English said. “He is a tireless worker in the wrestling room. He leads by example and this year he has even become a little more vocal. He encourages others on the team to put their best foot forward and to compete at their best.”

Morton is a perfect 25-0 to date. He has been one of the cornerstones to the Warriors success this season. New Egypt is 12-8 overall. The Warriors finished runner-up behind Riverside in the Burlington County Interscholastic Athletic League Freedom Division with a 4-1 mark.

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In addition, New Egypt narrowly missed qualifying for the state tournament.

“We set a couple of goals this season of trying to overcome Riverside to win the Freedom Division and to earn a berth in the states,” English said. “We knew at the start both of those were lofty aspirations. We just missed attaining both. The kids have had a good season and have wrestled hard.”

New Egypt had won five consecutive matches before falling to Rancocas Valley and Cinnaminson last week.

The Warriors’ win streak consisted of victories over Palmyra (61-16), Burlington (51-20), Bordentown (45-30), Robbinsville (65-3) and Allentown (36-31).

More satisfying was the fact that New Egypt had lost to Allentown, Burlington and Bordentown last season.

“To come back and register victories over three schools that had knocked us off last year was big,” English said. “It shows the kids that they are progressing as a team from a year ago. We want to constantly get better as a group. I think that we have done that.”

This Saturday at 10 a.m., the Warriors are scheduled to host a quad meet with Pinelands, Manasquan and Freehold. Once a season, English likes to bring in teams from the Shore Conference to use a measuring stick.

“In my opinion the Shore Conference is one of the best conferences as far as wrestling goes,” he said. “We look forward to competing against those kids. It is only going to help us when we compete against teams that are of high quality.”

Last year, New Egypt swept all three teams in the quad meet. He is hoping for the same result Saturday.

“It won’t be easy that’s for sure,” English said. “But I feel that we are wrestling at a high level right now. It should be a lot of fun.”

New Egypt has a couple of seniors that have registered solid seasons to date. Albert Cook, who was fourth at districts last year, is 19-7 at 171 pounds. Pat Riordan, second at districts last season, is 18-5 at 130. Both have a shot at bettering their results in the post season.

“Both are doing a great job for us,” English said. “If they stay focused and continue to improve, there’s no telling how well they will do.”

Heavyweight Nick Markee is 15-7 overall.

“He was hurt at the start of the season and missed a couple of matches,” English said. “But he has come around and been a big plus for us.”

English cited a couple of freshman who have made contributions and will be key players in the future.

At 112 pounds, Mike Schwarze is 11-8.

“He should really be wrestling at a weight lower, but we have Morton there,” English said. “He is wrestling up and handling himself very well.”

Anthony Wahler is 8-1 as the backup at 103 pounds.

“He is doing a great job of filling in when we need him,” English said. “Both guys have a bright future in the program.”