Cruise control: Easton heavyweight taking his analytical mind to Penn
Matt Cruise was fortunate to have a familiar face show him around unfamiliar surroundings when he took his official visit to the University of Pennsylvania.
More importantly, Northampton graduate Mikey Kistler gave Cruise insight into life as an engineering major at an Ivy League school.
“He said it’s very challenging but rewarding,” Cruise said. “It’s a lot to balance wrestling and academics, but it’s doable. That was encouraging.”
Cruise recently announced his commitment to Penn with the intention of doing what Kistler, a junior, is doing at the Philadelphia campus.
Columbia, Brown, Bucknell and Binghamton were other schools on Cruise’s radar.
“The education and wrestling spoke to me there,” Cruise said of Penn. “Their engineering is ranked like eighth in the country. The coaches, when they talked about their vision for the program and me as an individual, I felt good about.”
The Red Rovers senior is a two-time state medalist, including a fifth-place finisher last season.
He was 14-5 a year ago, with all five losses coming to the state’s top three finishers: Selinsgrove’s four-time state medalist Nate Schon, Nazareth’s freshman sensation Sean Kinney and Hempfield’s four-time state qualifier Isaiah Vance.
Cruise is working to overcome his perceived shortcomings to make his way up the state podium in 2022.
“The biggest thing I need to improve is my speed,” he said. “I’ve been described as robotic, that I’m maybe not so quick to pull the trigger. I think too much instead of doing it and you can never have enough conditioning and strength training.”
Cruise will be among the state’s top 285-pounders this season along with Kinney, Greensburg Salem’s William McChesney and Upper Darby’s Julien Laventure. Schon and Vance graduated.
The son of Lanie and John Cruise credits the Easton coaching staff and fellow senior Michael Hynes for helping him evolve with his technique and mental approach.
Cruise, who turns 18 this week, is looking for that progress to continue this season.
“I’m a pretty analytical guy in life, in general,” he said. “I think a lot about not making the wrong decision. On the mat, that can definitely make a difference, turn a match.
“The coaches have taught me to be more fluid, less robotic and not less analytical but quicker in making the decisions. And Hynes is a really strong, agile guy,” he said.
Cruise began wrestling in first grade, but started taking the sport seriously as a seventh grader.
“I definitely need to give it my all this season, leave nothing behind,” he said. “I want to end on a good note before I start my new journey.”
In addition to Kistler, Pocono Mountain West’s Greg Bensley is a senior at Penn. Two Stroudsburg residents and Blair Academy graduates Ryan Miller and Willy Kaiser are on the roster.
Former Penn State three-time NCAA finalist Mark Hall is a volunteer assistant with head coach Roger Reina’s Quakers.