Lars Stegner has learned a lot about himself in the past 12 months.
The Pemberton Township resident has plenty of time to think about wrestling on his 45-minute commute to Camden Catholic High School each morning. Plus, Stegner spent a lot of it mentally preparing himself to be ready when his team needed him.
Last year, Stegner felt that he let his team down when he lost his weight class in the Non-Public B state championship. The Irish still managed to take home the title in a two-point victory over Pope John XXIII, but it was a nail-biter. This year, Stegner wanted to do his part to make sure it wasn’t such a close contest.
“It fueled me,” Stegner, now a junior, said of the loss. “It’s what I was thinking about all week long: [that] I don’t care what’s happening this week, I’m just going to go out there and wrestle.”
The Irish once again earned a meeting with Pope John XXIII in the state championship on Feb. 22 at Rutgers University. Stegner – decided by random draw – had the honors of leading off the match against the Lions’ Michael Morelli at heavyweight.
Stegner kept his word: He went out there and wrestled, securing an 8-0 major decision to set the Irish on pace to successfully defend their crown in a 53-19 victory. It was the third state title in the last four years for Camden Catholic and the 20th in school history.
The Irish finished the year undefeated (17-0) and have won their last 34 dual meets. The most recent one was almost stress-free. Almost.
“Last year was tight, the year before that was tight, the year before that was tight,” said Camden Catholic coach Bill Heverly. “We were hoping for a little more of a stress-free day today, not that it’s ever stress-free. Just walking around this place can be stressful.”
After Stegner spotted the Irish its first four points, the Irish won eight of the next nine weight classes, including pins by Chase Martino, Sammy Spaulding, EJ Bonnette, Michael Craft and Kage Jones.
Like most of the season, the Irish never took their foot off the gas and secured a dominant victory.
“We go out there and beat them and we get back into the practice room and go even harder,” said Jones, a senior. “We’re always making sure we are on top of our game.”
Despite the team competition portion of the season coming to an end, the individual competition continues for three weeks. It’s a chance for the Irish to make even more history and an opportunity for the Class of 2026 to be mentioned among the best teams in Camden Catholic’s history.
“They got jobs to do,” Heverly said. “I think they’re ready. They’ve wrestled really well down the stretch.”
The Irish have quite a few wrestlers that are looking to return to the state championship podium at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City on March 12-14. The seniors will carry the experience of three team state championships with them.
“They are the heart of this team,” Stegner said. “We [the underclassmen] are the support … and I’m glad I helped them get the last one and send them off with a bang.”
Stegner said he knows any type of championship should never be taken for granted.
“On my mind the whole time is, we might not make it back here next year,” Stegner said. “If we do, I want to win again. But you don’t know, so I just wanted to get the win out here today.”
at the bottom and then tap “Add to Home Screen”
