Brothers in Arms

Richie and Robbie Rosen Helped Pali High Wrestling Rise to the Top of the City Ranks

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor         

It is fortunate that brothers Richie and Robbie Rosen have such a strong relationship, because both of them hate losing with a passion and in a sport like wrestling, only one person’s arm is raised.

Richie, who has been a key contributor for the Palisades High wrestling program since he was in ninth grade, is making a sacrifice to slim down to 126 pounds this season after competing at 106 as a freshman, 113 as a sophomore and 132 last winter.

“It’s been a grind for sure, but I’m getting more comfortable at this weight,” he says after another grueling session inside Randy’s Room. “The more matches I have, the better I can be.”

Richie started wrestling under Coach Adam Hunter at Paul Revere Middle School and took a liking to it right away. He has refined his skills under Dolphins coach Mike Lawlor and now as a senior his role is to set an example for his younger teammates, including his sibling Robbie, now a junior. “We have a mat at our house and we go at it—I gotta put him in his place,” Richie jokes. “Our parents brought us up well and we have a really good bond. Even after practice is over we’ll be in the car talking about things we’ve learned. He’s a couple weight classes above me but it’s a style thing and I teach him some rolls and some moves. He sees how it’s done and catches on quick. At first he joined the team because I was doing it and the first year was rough for him, but he’s got the fire now!”      

Richie has intelligence and poise that come with experence.

“Mentally, when I was a freshman it was hard to get past the mindset of a quick pin but now I enjoy the battle out on the mat,” the 18-year-old says. “I don’t like it when it’s too easy.”

Richie and Robbie live in Brentwood and have a younger sibling Will, an eighth-grader on the golf team at Harvard-Westlake.

Robbie, 16, wrestles at 138 and likes a good scrap, especially with his older brother. There is mutual admiration and he feels he is lucky to have a mentor on the mat.

“Having Richie here has helped me stay on the team,” Robbie says. “He’s super encouraging and being able to train with him I’ve been able to improve my single leg takedowns. We both want to win, but we also know it’s about Pali and scoring points for the team. I’ve been at this since my freshman year and I’ve grown to like the sport a lot. At the beginning I guess maybe you could say I joined because of Richie, but now I genuinely love it. You only get out of it what you put in.”     

Asked what he admires most about his older brother, Robbie does not hesitate to cite Richie’s leadership and humility.

“Sometimes the best thing to do is to walk the walk, instead of talk the talk,” Robbie says. “He’s not a big talker and he’s taught me that it’s how you perform that counts.”

Lawlor believes this could be the year the Dolphins finally break through and win their first City championship. They took a major step by beating reigning champion Birmingham in a dual meet two weeks ago to earn the top seed for the City Duals, which begin with the semifinals tonight against Cleveland. Regionals are Feb. 12 and the City finals are Feb. 19 outdoors at Birmingham.      

“Richie is such a good kid and he’s been the core of our program  since I got here,” Lawlor says. “He’s a two-time City placer and it would be three except City finals were canceled last year because  of COVID-19. He’s a great student, he takes academics seriously and when it’s time to work he’s there—no excuses. He’s hard on himself and even in practice he doesn’t want to give up points or get taken down. He’s definitely in the mix in his division, but he’s definitely doing it for the team getting down to this weight because it’s where we need him. He’s a quiet leader but he doesn’t need to say much. Everyone on the team respects him.”      

As for Robbie, Lawlor believes his best results are yet to come.   

“He didn’t wrestle at all at Revere so he was behind some of the other kids initially but he was Ryan Woods’ drill partner that first year and during the quarantine he improved a ton,” Lawlor says. “He and Richie go back and forth now where it used to be Richie always had the upper hand. Robbie won a couple matches at Blackwatch earlier this year and in our first dual meet he pinned a more seasoned kid from Harvard-Westlake, which surprised everyone on their team. Just like his brother, Robbie’s very competitive and he’ll be one of our key guys next year.”           

If Palisades accomplishes its ultimate goal, the Rosen brothers will be walking around campus with medals around their necks.