C.H. East's Lussier aims to be among top three

Cherry Hill East coach Mike Brown cannot forget the turning point in senior Brian Lussier's wrestling career.

Lussier, East's top grappler, failed to advance to the Region 7 tournament in his sophomore year. It was a huge disappointment.

"It made him work harder and improve," said Brown, an assistant coach at the time. "His junior year, he made the tournament and placed second."

Now, Lussier, a 189-pounder with a 26-1 record, is aiming a lot higher. The four-year varsity wrestler is seeking to finish in the top three in the state. His optimism is buoyed by his bouts against James Fox and Dawud Hicks, the No. 1- and No. 2-ranked wrestlers in the state at that weight, according to the Newark Star-Ledger.

Lussier's only loss this season was a 3-1 decision to Fox, of St. Peter's Prep, on Jan. 30. In the preseason, he beat Hicks, of Plainfield, in a close match.

"Fox got a takedown and an escape, and I got an escape," Lussier said. "I would definitely like to meet up with him again. The match boosted my confidence because I didn't think I'd do as well as I did. I can wrestle with the top kids in the state."

He and Brown point to Michael Lussier, 23, the wrestler's brother, as a big reason for the success this season.

"Michael pushes him hard," said Brown, a first-year head coach who brought the former East wrestler aboard as an assistant this season. "They wrestle each other in the wrestling room. They are the same weight."

A four-year varsity starter at East and a four-year wrestler at Elizabethtown College, Michael Lussier said he has been pushing his brother to be more aggressive, and he has responded well to the challenge.

"We go live quite a bit," Michael Lussier said. "From last year to this, the biggest change in him has been his outlook. He's more mature.

"Since the match he lost, he's worked at getting more shots in. Get that first takedown, and control the match. He is a very physical wrestler, heavy handed.

"In the [wrestling] room, I never let him win, being his older brother," Michael Lussier added. "He has come close a few times, but I always manage to squeak out."

A one-sport athlete, Brian Lussier said he enjoys wrestling because it is a team and individual sport that teaches discipline and determination. That's why he never got discouraged during the unsettling years of the recent past.

"I've had three different head coaches in the last four years," Lussier said. "That affected the team."

The Cougars were 3-11 at the playoffs' cutoff date on Jan. 29. But they finished the season with seven straight wins for a 10-11 record and the hope that next year they'll make the playoffs for the first time since 2006, the year Michael Lussier graduated.

One reason for the surge down the stretch was Brian Lussier.

"He is our leader," Brown said. "He set the tone for the rest of the room.

"Our goal is to place him in the top three in the state, but we feel that he can win a state championship."

He already has proven that he can wrestle with the top grapplers in the state. Now, he has to beat them.