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Thayne Lawrence of Frazier is a four-time WPIAL champion.
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Post-Gazette Athletes of the Week: Thayne Lawrence and Samantha Alexander

Marc Billett/Tri-State Sports & News Service

Post-Gazette Athletes of the Week: Thayne Lawrence and Samantha Alexander

THAYNE LAWRENCE

Frazier

The past week: Lawrence defeated McGuffey’s Ethan Barr, 9-0, to win the WPIAL Class 2A wrestling championship Feb. 15.

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Check this out: The victory last weekend put Lawrence into elite status. He became only the 29th wrestler in WPIAL history to win four championships. Lawrence is a senior who also has two PIAA titles. He will be in the PIAA Class 2A Southwest Regional tournament this weekend. He has signed to wrestle next season at Lehigh University.

When did you start thinking about possibly winning four in a row? Really, to tell you the truth, I never really thought about it much until this year. I just did my best and whatever happened just happened. But I started thinking this year, ‘Man, I’ve got three. If I win another one, that could put me on a special level with some other people.’

Would anything less than a state title be disappointing? I don’t want to say that. It would be disappointing, but I’ve got what I wanted, getting a college scholarship. I feel like I have proven already what I had to.

Any other sport you tried? I used to play baseball. I played through eighth grade but had to quit because of wrestling.

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So, do you think if you’re a top wrestler, you can’t play anything else? I think I did the right thing. I focused on one sport and my one goal. ... I wanted to be the most successful that I could in wrestling and I felt I had to wrestle year round. I think wrestling is different than other sports. You really have to be dedicated. You have to watch what you eat, how you sleep and who you train with.

Do you miss eating anything during wrestling season? I try not to cheat too bad, but I do miss eating ice cream — and fast food, too.

So what’s your favorite fast food? I really do like McDonald’s for some reason.

Do many people know where Frazier is? Probably not, to tell you the truth.

People might be surprised to know you ...? Love being outside.

Doing anything particular? I really like to fish.

Biggest fish you ever caught? I caught a seven-pound large mouth bass once. It was in a local farm pond.

Any significance to your first name? Not really. My mom and dad found it in a baby book. That’s about it.

— By Mike White

SAMANTHA ALEXANDER

Pine-Richland

The past week: Alexander finished with a final score of 37.650 to become the first Rams athlete to win the WPIAL advanced division all-around gymnastics title.

Check this out: Alexander, a sophomore, did not compete in the WPIAL meet last year, but rebounded nicely to win the uneven parallel bars on her way to the overall title. She is the first Pine-Richland gymnast to win a title on any apparatus in six years.

How did you get into gymnastics? Both of my parents did college gymnastics, so they put me in it when I was young and I’ve been in it ever since.

What’s your favorite event? Probably the vault because I’m good at it.

What goes into your training in a week? We have between three-and-a-half and four hours a day of it five days a week. It’s a lot of routines and repetitions.

Gymnastics is very individual, so what’s it like competing on a team? It’s really nice because everybody supports each other. It’s nice to know that, if you ever get down, you’ll have your friends there at practice to talk to after school.

Why didn’t you compete last year? I was hurt and I was out for nine months.

What happened? I hurt my neck on the bars. I fell on my head and I hurt it real bad.

That had to be scary. It was bad.

What was your rehab like? I was in the hospital for 24 hours and then it was three months of nothing. Then nine months of running and conditioning and then gradually I just got back into it. I wasn’t back in the gym for like 10 months.

Does it still go through your mind when you get on the bars? Yeah it does. I think bars is scary. I’m not super scared, but I think, sometimes, if I’m tired, I’ll get nervous. Not super-nervous or anything before that (particular) skill.

What gets you ready for a competition? Just good practices. I get really nervous before practices and I just have to breathe and remember to stay calm. Usually before, on the drive to a meet, my mom will play music that tries to pump me up because she knows that I get really nervous.

Is there one song or piece that gets you going? Not any certain song in particular, just a mixture. Just pop music that’s really upbeat.

Do you have a training diet? I don’t eat super-healthy or anything. I try, but I don’t really. I don’t eat really bad.

You train four hours a day, so what do you do when you’re not practicing? I don’t really have time for anything else. I go to school and I go to gymnastics and that’s pretty much all I have. I do my homework and I get in bed by 12. But I love gymnastics, so it’s OK.

— By Keith Barnes

First Published: February 19, 2020, 10:30 a.m.

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Thayne Lawrence of Frazier is a four-time WPIAL champion.  (Marc Billett/Tri-State Sports & News Service)
Marc Billett/Tri-State Sports & News Service
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