Seventh Place in State Is Just The Beginning For Lewis

As the Region 6 Champion at 119, Toms River East sophomore Richard Lewis was fortunate enough to earn a first round bye at the state finals in Atlantic City this weekend.

After some up and down matches, Lewis will be able to end his second season on the medal stand after an impressive win clinched him seventh place in his weight class.

For Lewis, his tournament started with a 7-2 win over Dante Pomazzo of DePaul Catholic. That was his last victory in the top part of the bracket as Buena's Billy Ward, the Region 8 champ and his second region champion in a row handed him a 4-1 loss in the quarterfinals.

Lewis said that loss nearly derailed him from what he was hoping to achieve at Boardwalk Hall. "I got really down on myself but my coaches talked me out of it," he said. "They said you've got to come back and take third, but that didn't happen so I came back and took seventh."

After beating Justin Colon of Belleville in the second round of consolations by a 5-3 score, Lewis was barely edged out by William Hagany of High Point in the consolation quarterfinals.

That set up the seventh place bout against Mike Pongrancz of Delaware Valley who had an impressive record of 36-1 and a Region 5 title to his name when he made it to Atlantic City. 

On Sunday morning it was Region 6 pulling off the win as Lewis beat his opponent 9-2 in a relatively easy match. Lewis had a quick 5-0 lead in the first period, and only built from there to earn the win.

Lewis said that while he was happy to have a medal, there are still bigger goals to reach. "It's great that I took seventh, but I didn't come here for seventh," he said. With hard work in the offseason, Lewis said he hopes to be higher up the podium this time next year.

And while the finish may not have been exactly what he was hoping for, the sophomore said he was proud of the way he performed all around. "Representing the region, we always have guys representing and we always have guys representing the district," he said. "But it means a lot for me to place because I was the only one from my school here."

Lewis said it was unusual for there to only be one Raider wrestler on the mats in the tournament, but he was glad it could be him standing with a medal around his neck. "It meant a lot to my coach and also to me."

Lewis finishes his year with an impressive 27-5 record and will have a chance to improve on his second place finish in the districts while working to defend his Region 6 title.