Mohrfeld Having Breakout Season for West Wrestling

Nick Mohrfeld has spent his entire wrestling career at Cherry Hill West wrestling at the lightest weight class, which recently moved from 103 pounds to 106.

That doesn’t mean he’s always been around that weight, though.

“When he was a freshman, he was about 80 pounds or so wrestling at 103,” Cherry Hill West coach Zach Semar said.

As a result, Mohrfeld was often overmatched during his freshman and sophomore seasons, and there was little he could do from a physical standpoint.

Now a senior, Mohrfeld is no longer being pushed around on the mat. Instead, he’s the one putting opponents on their backs.

Mohrfeld went 2-1 at the Collingswood Duals Saturday, improving his record to 10-4 while helping the Lions claim third place in the tournament.

“It’s definitely nice to be right at the weight,” Mohrfeld said. “I can feel myself really growing each year and it feels good.”

Semar says he has noticed a change in his lightweight this season, seeing an expanded confidence that has allowed him to go into matches knowing he belongs.

“He was able to grow into it,” Semar said. “At first he had to be all defensive because he didn’t have the physical power to take a guy down, but now he has changed his mindset to be on the attack. It’s great to have a guy with experience at that weight.”

Having an upperclassman at the lowest weight is quite rare, so Semar considers himself lucky to have such an experienced wrestler at that weight class. While many teams send out freshmen and sophomores at 106, Semar is able to send out one of his most veteran grapplers.

Victories by both Mohrfeld and the Lions have been the result.

“I definitely have a much more positive mindset this year, and so does the whole team,” Mohrfeld said. “The little things I have worked on in practice have really paid off this year.”

It was a productive weekend for the Lions, who got a 37-21 win over New Egypt before falling to Cherokee, 38-22 in the semifinals. West rebounded with a 40-25 victory over Pequannock in the third-place match.

The Lions have been on a mission to reach the postseason and their results thus far have them well on their way to doing so. The Lions have won five of their last six matches to get to 8-2.

Semar said his team gained valuable experience at the Collingswood Duals that they can carry with them as the season progresses.

“I thought it was great competition and a good test for our guys,” Semar said. “We won some and lost some but this is getting us battle-tested for the end of the year.”