ENRIQUEZ’S CONFIDENCE RISING

There was a time over the last couple years when Cameron Enriquez thought he was a pretty good wrestler. Last year he had a winning record as a freshman at Stroudsburg, won district and region medals and qualified for the PIAA championships in Hershey. Enriquez finished 30-15 that year. And then came the offseason. Like every other year, he competed in multiple tournaments, but this time he wasn’t just competing, he was winning. He won the NHSCA National Duals in the freshman division and suddenly his confidence started to rise. “I felt like I couldn’t be beaten,” he said. After a sophomore season in which Enriquez (33-5) won the District 11 title, a region silver medal and PIAA 6th place medal at 113 pounds, Enriquez is the Pocono Record’s Wrestler of the Year. He lost just once during the regular season this year. He was quicker, stronger and the mental edge was unmistakable. Every time Enriquez stepped on the mat, he expected to win. At the District 11 Class AAA tournament, he defeated Nazareth’s Sean Pierson 7-4, a huge victory for the Stroudsburg wrestler. Enriquez would go on to win the district title with a technical fall in the final against Pottsville senior Ryan Green. “The mental aspect is so huge,” Enriquez’s coach, Sean Richmond, said. “You have to be confident in what you are doing every day and adhering to the plan.” The confidence, which had begun to grow months earlier over the summer, was hitting its stride at the right time for Enriquez. A week later, Enriquez lost for just the second time this year, falling to Pierson on a last-second reversal in the region championship match. He would settle for silver, but his season was far from over. At the state championships in Hershey, Enriquez won two close matches to start the tournament – the second victory a 3-1 overtime decision against Southcentral Region champion JJ Wilson of Cedar Cliff, lifting the Stroudsburg wrestler into the state semifinal. And that’s when Enriquez said five very telling words that summed up his thoughts. “I believe I can win,” he said.

ENRIQUEZ’S CONFIDENCE RISING

Photo Credit: Stroudsburg High School (P

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