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DelaRosa mulls a decision

Monday, January, 28 By Dave Dyer
Staff writer

There are few vocational students as dedicated to wrestling as senior 152-pounder Chris DelaRosa, who was 44-4 last year and placed fifth at the New England meet.

"He just works his rear end off in practice every day," said Greater Lawrence coach Tony Sarkis, whose team is ranked No. 1 in the state for all divisions. "He never lets up, it's unbelievable."

Even on the (every other) weeks when he works 40 hours for Electrical Union No. 3 in Cambridge, he hustles up the highway every day to get to practice. He's also a presence in the wrestling room.

For DelaRosa, who started in the sport as a freshman on the urging of 189-pound captain and friend Victor Sosa, his dedication is partly driven by his ability, which he hopes to translate into a possible New England title this year. But it's also fueled by his appreciation for all that wrestling has done for him.

"Wrestling has changed me mentally big time with my confidence, it's made me more responsible and it's made me more of a man," said DelaRosa. "I also like what it does for you. I've gotten to do a lot of traveling I wouldn't have done, and I've met a lot of good people. It's a good environment."

Taking all that into consideration, it's somewhat surprising that DelaRosa probably won't wrestle again after this year, even if he does go to college. He hasn't made up his mind. "Right now, I'm leaning toward college," said DelaRosa, whose older brother Jonathan wrestled at Lawrence High before graduating last year. "I'd rather be the guy behind the desk giving orders than the guy taking them. I've been thinking about Bridgewater State or Springfield College." But, says DelaRosa, even though Bridgewater and Springfield have solid wrestling programs, he probably won't join them unless wrestling is the financial reason he's at one of those schools.

"If I have to, I'll suck it up, but this is probably my last year wrestling," he said. "I want to go to college for an education."

That decision will need to be put off, however. For now, he has a specific goal in mind.

"My goal this year is to take it all (first place at New England)," he said. "I'm doing all the drilling, all the work I can to get it done."

Although Sarkis may have the highest hopes for DelaRosa, he is not the only Reggie who could score at New England. After all, Matt Buco (103), Miguel Guzman (112), Franchesco Ortiz (119) and Saul Orellana (135) are all still undefeated and Victor Sosa (189) has just two losses.

However, because of his experience, DelaRosa probably ranks No. 1 among all the talented Reggies.

"He's our best technician, probably our toughest kid, our best conditioned | he's probably our best at just about everything," said Sarkis.