Baldwin conquers unexpected challenge

Jim Murphy was excited for the upcoming season. The longtime Baldwin wrestling coach once again had a full offseason to train his grapplers, many of which had All-County potential, and he knew he had one of the top 10 teams in the county.
But days before the season opener, five seniors abruptly left the team, leaving Murphy scrambling for answers and replacements. The result has been less experienced wrestlers competing against better competition and plenty of forfeitures during the Bruins’ dual meets. Throw in an early season-ending injury to another member of the team and a canceled match against on Dec. 22 because of Covid, you could understand why Murphy feels that “the wheels fell off the wagon.”
“It’s been one hit after another,” he added. “Every time I take a step forward, I’m taking five back.”
But there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel as some of the other wrestlers are turning heads on the mat and developing into budding stars.
One is Kwasi Bonsu, who is dominating the 189-pound class and didn’t suffer his first loss until Dec. 29. Many of his matches have resulted in a pinfall victory and he went on to win the King of the Mat tournament at Hewlett on Dec. 11 following a pair of 12-6 decisions in both the semifinals and finals.

“Athletically, he’s a freak,” Murphy said. “He’s one of those guys that just walks in the room and hits a roundoff back handspring and lands on his feet and says ‘Let’s go, let’s get the warmup going!’ I’m just in amazement that a guy that big can do such athletic things.”
Another is fellow junior Jayson Rivera, who has more that held his own in the 172-pound class and has remained in top shape following his football season. He won the Hank Parris Tournament on Dec. 4 with pinfalls in the final two rounds and defeated two other opponents in the same fashion in under two minutes at the Jericho Duals two weeks later.
“Everything is falling together for him,” Murphy said. “His confidence is tremendous. Just having the confidence and repetition in technique has put him in a different place.”
Sophomore John Wornian and junior Matt Atanasiu also impressed at the Hank Parris tourney by advancing to the finals in the 152 and 215-pound categories, respectfully.
Another wrestler to watch is Devonte Young, an eighth-grader who has never wrestled before. Young, who competes at 118 pounds, is a gifted athlete who also starred on the Bruins’ soccer team last fall. He recorded a 72-second pin against host Jericho during that dual event after stopping his Island Trees foe in just 22 seconds eight days earlier.
“I would say he’s the second-most athletic guy on the team behind Kwasi,” Murphy said. “Soccer-wise, he was a junior Pele. He’s got great natural ability, he’s always in the right place at the right time as far as wrestling goes.”
Sophomores Rodney Mills (218) and Paul Clement (160) have also picked up pinfall wins this season.