Former Delsea wrestler on national title mission

Don Fisch has moved on in his goal to become a NCAA wrestling champion.

But it's safe to say he'll always wonder what might have been.

Fisch, a Delsea Regional High School graduate and senior-to-be at Rider, reached the national semifinals in March and finished with a fifth-place finish earning All-American status.

But his 3-2 loss to Northwestern's Ryan Lang in the 141-pound semifinal came on a last-second disputed takedown and cost Fisch a chance to wrestle for a national title. Twenty seconds earlier, Fisch seemingly had a clinching takedown but wasn't awarded the points.

"The match was over, I thought I won," recalled Fisch. "Then I saw (the referee) gave him two. I could see them giving him two if they give me two. I held him down, he had me a split second.

"But it's my fault, I guess. I let him get in. I need to get in better condition for next year."

Added Rider coach Gary Taylor: "Don said he shouldn't have stayed in that situation anyhow. But I put the responsibility where it was. I've never heard that many fans boo a call since I've been coaching. It wasn't as close to a takedown as the one Donnie had 20 seconds before that. You need more than one leg to have a takedown."

Both Fisch and Taylor thought Fisch matched up better with the eventual national champion, UC-Davis' Derek Moore who rolled over Lang, 17-2 than Lang did.

"I wouldn't have rolled around on the mat with him, I'd keep it on my feet," said Fisch. "He wouldn't have turned me like he turned Lang."

The laid-back Fisch is as good as anybody at overcoming a slight. And he's focused on achieving his ultimate goal of a national title in his final season.

The good that came out of the run to the national semifinal is he knows he can compete on that level.

"Everybody wants to win it, so that's what my goal is," said Fisch. "There's definitely some added pressure this being last year. I really want to do my best.

"I've just been hitting the weights. I haven't been wrestling much this summer, but I'm going to start real soon, working back at high school. I'm happy with what I've done so far in college. I was happy with fifth, I guess, and hopefully I'll do better this year."

According to Taylor, Fisch's goals shouldn't be set any lower than ascending the top step of the podium in St. Louis next March. The coach has always felt Fisch had the ability.

"At the beginning of the past year, I said Donnie Fisch can win a national championship, and I don't say that lightly," said Taylor. "He was on the verge of doing that this year and absolutely he should be looking for a national title, no question.

"He made an immediate impact in our program, and each year he has gotten better, stronger and more focused. He's an exceptional wrestler that is very, very gifted and very talented. And he's driven now. He's as good or better than anybody in the country. On his feet, he's second to none."

Fisch was a two-time state champion at Delsea ironically he won the title his junior year when his opponent, Pineland's Mike Molosky, thought he had a winning takedown at the buzzer and was undefeated his last two years.

Fisch, the Crusaders' all-time winningest wrestler, had immediate success at Rider, going 30-5 as a true freshman. He is 88-26 in three seasons, redshirting in 2005-2006 when he was suffering from a neck injury.

"Going into school, you never know how it's going to be," said Fisch. "Then freshman year I had 30 wins. I don't know if I was surprised. I was always ranked high in the country (in high school)."

As Fisch prepares for a final run at a national title, he knows nothing is guaranteed beyond the hard work he'll put in to achieve his goal. Rider opens the season wrestling two of the top three teams in the country, so Fisch should be tested early.

"This isn't like high school," said Fisch. "You can be No. 1 in the country and go two and out (at nationals). But in the back of my head, from what I did last year, it just confirmed I'm one of the best in my weight class.

"(Our schedule) means I have to be in really good shape those first couple matches. I can't take it easy in the beginning and then pick it up, so I'm going to push myself to get in shape."