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Unsung Rivera sparks unbeaten Reggies

Thursday, January, 31 By Dave Dyer
Staff writer

Bring on the postseason!

That's the battle cry for the Greater Lawrence wrestling team because, like the New England Patriots, the postseason is the only thing keeping it from perfection for the second straight season.

Last night, the Reggies wrapped up their second consecutive undefeated regular season (22-0) with their 47th straight victory, a commanding 48-18 victory over a solid Lawrence team (14-5) that is enjoying a fine season of its own.

The defending Division 2 state-champion Reggies are tough enough to beat with their half-dozen superstars scoring big points every meet, but when some of their less-recognized wrestlers deliver, forget it.

Such was the case last night as Greater Lawrence captured 11 of 14 weight classes, including at 160 and 171, where sophomores Kyle Berube and Angel Rivera produced decisions. Rivera was losing to Donea Robinson 3-2 after the first period before recovering for an impressive 11-5 decision.

"Sometimes I feel like I have to step up so the team isn't just relying on our real good guys," said Rivera. "I really wanted to win tonight, especially because it was Lawrence. If they beat us, it'd be like the end of the world for us. They'd be doing a lot of trash talking. We don't (trash) talk, we just do."

The meet started at 152, where Chris DelaRosa remained unbeaten with a pin in 1:35. After Berube and Rivera's decisions made it 12-0, 189-pounder Victor Sosa pinned in the first period, making it 18-0, and 215-pounder Jason Orsini | in the closest match of the evening | won 5-4 in overtime, winning the final point on a rarely called penalty.

Heavyweight Pedro Cruz finally got on the board for Lawrence, recording a second-period pin. The only other winners for Lawrence, also by pin, were 130-pounder Pedro Rodriguez and 140-pounder Aaron Blanco.

"I was a little disappointed in some of my upper weights, but they (Greater Lawrence) are just really tough," said Lawrence coach Rob Niceforo.

The Reggies, who will be looking for their seventh straight Commonwealth Conference Meet crown Saturday at Whittier, had five pins on the day. In addition to DelaRosa and Sosa, Matt Buco (103), Brian Nadeau (125) and Brian Rivera (145) all had falls. Buco remained unbeaten, Nadeau registered his pin with his patented head lock and Rivera was impressive, leading 7-0 after the first period, before getting the fall in the second frame.

Winning by decision for the Reggies were Miguel Guzman (112), Franchesco Ortiz (119) and Saul Orellana (135). Lawrence's Hugo Dominguez and Melvin Rivera gave spirited performances against the undefeated Guzman and Ortiz and Elvis Garcia only lost to Orellana 7-6.