Thayne Lawrence Opens Eyes With Upset at Super 32

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Thayne Lawrence didn’t realize who he had beaten Saturday afternoon at the Super 32 tournament.

That’s OK, plenty of the fans, coaches and wrestlers at the Greensboro Coliseum did.

Lawrence, a sophomore at Frazier, notched one of the biggest upsets of the day by beating Minnesota’s Alex Lloyd 5-4. A South Dakota State recruit, Lloyd is ranked third nationally at 145 pounds by FloWrestling.

“I didn’t even know who I was wrestling,” Lawrence said. “I just look at the bracket numbers and see when I’m up.”

The win came about because Lawrence finished out each of the first two periods strong, scoring a reversal at the end of the first and a takedown at the end of the second, then held off Lloyd’s attacks in the third for a victory that had the arena buzzing.

Lawrence pinned his other three opponents on Saturday.

“I thought it was a pretty big day,” he said. “I thought there were a lot of accomplishments I could make with the wins I got. I’ll go back out tomorrow and see if I can win it all.”

He will face Washington’s Mason Phillips, who is ranked seventh nationally, in the quarterfinals. A victory there could bring a match with super freshman Alex Facundo of Michigan (No. 11), and a finals appearance likely would pit him against No. 5 Brock Mauller of Missouri. Not that Lawrence knows any of that.

“When I was littler, I used to worry real bad about who I was wrestling,” he said. “Now I go out there and not worry about it and try to score some points.”

Lawrence hadn’t previously drawn a lot of national attention, in part because few people know about the Frazier wrestling team. Last year was the first time Commodores fielded a varsity team, and there were only two other wrestlers on the squad aside from Lawrence.

While he could have looked at joining a high-profile program, Lawrence was excited to help build something at his Fayette County school.

“I decided to stay there because the guys that were there last year are the ones that started the program,” he said. “This year, we could have a chance to win our section.”

In addition to his high school practices, Lawrence also attends Quest and All-American sessions. While he was pleased with a third-place finish in last season’s state bracket, which included studs Max Murin and Cole Matthews, Lawrence has been working to improve for his sophomore season.

“I’m just trying to be a well-rounded wrestler all together, but I think I’ve gotten better on my feet,” he said. “Last year, I struggled with it a little bit.”

It hasn’t been a problem so far, and Lawrence will look to use his newfound skills in search of a Super 32 belt on Sunday.

“It would be great,” he said of winning a title. “I think it would be a good accomplishment. People can see who I am, and they can watch out for me when I go to states.”