OCHS Teams of the 90's
Pat Lynch top Raider wrestler of the 90s!
By TOM WILLIAMS
Gazette Staff Writer
The 1990s started off with a 17-win season for Ocean City High School wrestling, one of the highest win
totals in school history. And the decade concluded with five straight winning seasons.
Selecting an All-90s wrestling team is a little tricky because, over the course of their careers, these
athletes change weight classes. So, our original intention of using a wrestler’s weight as a senior would
not necessarily reflect the best of the ten-year period.
Instead, we gave ourselves the flexibility to move a wrestler to any weight where he had success during the
90s. As a result, nine of the 14 wrestlers on this team won district titles in the weight class we’ve used.
For instance, Greg Austin wrestled at 135 pounds as a senior and 125 as a junior, but he also won a
district title at 103. Vito Constantine, a district champ at 119, won another at 135, where we have placed
him.
The other decision was to eliminate 215 pounds, a weight class that was created in the mid-90s. The only
successful wrestler OC had at the weight was Brendan Gheen, who was even more successful as a
heavyweight. And, since two of the three Raiders to win Region championships (Pat Lynch and Walt Dull)
were at 189, this gave us a chance to include both.
The choice of a Wrestler of the Decade was pretty easy. Sure, Austin was very successful, winning three
district titles and a region championship in three 30-win seasons, the type of numbers that win these type
of salutes.
But Lynch, whose career was split between two decades, had two 35-win seasons as a junior and senior,
a state championship, region championship and two district titles. His only two losses in the decade came
to the same guy – NFL linebacker Damien Covington.
And, besides, Lynch was a legend – a wrestler that fans talked about from one end of the state to the
other.
OCHS Wrestling in the 90s
Season.....Record.....Coach............Most Wins
1989-90.....17-7-0......Bill Nickles.....Pat Lynch 35
1990-91.....11-13-0....Bill Nickles.....Pat Lynch 35
1991-92.....7-14-0......Bill Nickles.....Dan Law 22
1992-93.....6-13-0......Bill Nickles.....two tied 20
1993-94.....6-9-1........Bill Nickles.....Joe Bauer 19
1994-95.....11-8-1......Bill Nickles.....Jess Compagnola 22
1995-96.....11-4-1......Bill Nickles.....Jess Compagnola 24
1996-97.....12-5-1......Bill Nickles.....Greg Austin 30
1997-98.....11-9-0......Bill Nickles.....Greg Austin 30
1998-99.....13-8-0......Bill Nickles.....Greg Austin 33
The All-90s Raider Wrestling Team
103.....Greg Austin
112.....Brandon Yourchisin
119.....Ross Compagnola
125.....Steve Zoltek
130.....Mike Sandberg
135.....Vito Constantine
140.....John Watts
145.....Mike Yourchisin
152.....Jess Compagnola
160.....Dan Law
171.....Drew Muzslay
189.....Pat Lynch
189.....Walt Dull
Hwt.....Brendan Gheen