January 26, 2015
By Edward Kensik
Lyndhurst High School will honor one of the best wrestlers from its past on Friday.
The Golden Bears will commemorate the 20th anniversary of Donny Pritzlaf Jr.’s first state championship. It would be the first of three state titles for Pritzlaf at Lyndhurst in the 90s.
After winning state championships at Lyndhurst, Pritzlaf would go on to be a two-time NCAA champion and four-time NCAA All-American at the University of Wisconsin and a World Championship medal wrestler. After wrestling Pritzlaf has been a wrestling coach for more than a decade and is currently coaching at Rutgers University.
Lyndhurst/North Arlington head coach Mike Goff is hoping that some day one of his current wrestlers or even a wrestler who is not on the team will become the next Pritzlaf.
The Golden Bears/Vikings co-op team has been taking baby steps under the tutelage of Goff the last three years. As of last week it was 5-9 in dual matches after finishing 10-11 last season.
The squad has about 10 dual matches remaining in the season, and Goff is hoping to match or exceed the 10-win total of last season and still believes they have a shot at making the Group 3 North 2 state team sectionals. “We’ve had a tough schedule, and that is the way I like it,” said Goff whose team has been competitive in most of its nine losses.
