Multi-sport athletes producing plenty for Seneca wrestling

TABERNACLE – Greg Bauer loves to see multi-sport athletes on his wrestling team at Seneca High School.

The head coach says the versatility pays plenty of dividends and there's no arguing with the results on the mat.

“We have a ton of multi-sport athletes on this team; probably 80 or 90 percent of these guys play another sport, some three sports,” Bauer said. “Technique-wise, maybe they aren’t as savvy as other guys (who are wrestling year-round), but they have the athleticism and work ethic to be successful at wrestling.”

More: The Mat Pack unveils its first individual rankings for the 2023-24 season

Senior Kenny Konopka is one of those multi-sport guys who has parlayed the skills from football to wrestling. He was a two-way lineman on the Golden Eagles’ back-to-back sectional final runs, which culminated with a combined 20-4 record over the last two seasons.

He’s also a point-producing upper weight on the mat for Seneca. A District 26 runner-up last winter, Konopka is 5-3 at 190/215 so far this season, including a 7-5 decision against Delran’s Victor Rizzo on Wednesday.

“I love wrestling because it really helps with football,” Konopka said. “The way you move, the stances, the tackling. And when you’re going from football to wrestling, you’re already in pretty good shape, both physically and mentally.”

One of Seneca’s biggest strengths on the mat is being able to fill out the top portion of the lineup. Konopka said he and the rest of his football teammates recruited junior heavyweight Trevor Dolezar to come out for wrestling for the first time.

“Absolutely,” Konopka said when asked if he gave his best sales pitch for wrestling. “It wasn’t too tough because it is fun to play multiple sports with the same guys. It just tightens the bond between us.”

Joining Konopka and Dolezar in trading in shoulder pads for singlets are Anthony Fedeli (215), David Vacca (150), Kyle Stickel (165) and Fredrick Seeber (175).

All in the family

Bauer gets to write in some familiar names in his lineup on a nightly basis. Sophomore Jake Bauer (132) is his son, while junior Travis Bauer (106) is his nephew.

“There’s nothing like it,” the head coach said about the opportunity to work with his immediate family. “I love all of these boys on this team. They are all like my sons, but it’s definitely special when you have your son and nephew out there. It’s really special.”

Travis Bauer is off to a 7-1 start, including a second-period fall against Delran. He’s ranked No. 8 in his weight class by The Mat Pack.

Jake Bauer is 4-4 with a 6-5 decision over Delran’s Gabriel McNeil. Both Travis and Jake are members of the school's soccer program in the fall.

“You tend to be tougher on your own kids, your own family,” the coach said. “Sometimes I have to defer to my assistants in some situations. I never have to worry about the effort from either one of them.”

Moving right along

Seneca, which is ranked No. 9 in The Mat Pack's South Jersey Mean 15 rankings, improved to 2-0 with the 49-15 victory over Delran on Wednesday. The Golden Eagles will wrestle district rivals Cherokee, Shawnee and Lenape on Friday their annual quad-meet.

The program has earned 69 wins over the last four seasons combined, including a pair of sectional semifinal appearances. The Golden Eagles are 49-10 since 2021 with a 23-2 mark last winter.

“This team may be a little more balanced,” Greg Bauer said when comparing last year's squad with this one. “We lost some big guns from last year. A lot of people thought we would be down a little bit, but these guys just grind. They grind out wins. They’re well-conditioned and work hard. There were a couple of times late in the match we either get the win or pull away with the lead. That was really good to see.”

Seneca won four bouts by three points or fewer, including three by one point.

The Results

Seneca 49, Delran 15

190: Kenny Konopka, S, d. Victor Rizzo, 7-5; 215: Anthony Fedeli, S, md. Michael Viereck, 11-0; 285: Jake Namnun, D, p. Trevor Dolezar, 3:11; 106: Travis Bauer, S, p. Chase Dubuque, 3:46; 113: Michael Mirassol, S, p. Yusuf Kilic, 1:36; 120: Peyton Reese, S, p. Matheus Nazarth, 4:39; 126: Kye Figueroa, S d. Justin Scotton, 5-4; 138: Jake Bauer, d. Gabriel McNeil, 6-5; 138: Jackson Weller, D, d. Daniel Bogardus, 5-2; 144: Sean Broderick, S, d. d. Shane Palena, 1-0; 150: David Vacca, S, p. Finnian English, 1:36; 157: Drew Roskos, D, p. Nicholas Schmied, 1:20; 165: Kyle Stickel, S, d. Benjamin Hoffman, 7-3; 175: Frederick Seeber, S, p. Pedro Sousa Sales Araujo, 2:41.

Tom McGurk is a regional sports reporter for the Courier-Post, The Daily Journal and Burlington County Times, covering South Jersey sports for over 30 years. If you have a sports story that needs to be told, contact him at (856) 486-2420 or email tmcgurk@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @McGurkSports. Help support local journalism with a digital subscription.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Seneca's athleticism shines brightly on the wrestling mat