District distinction

Penns Grove’s Bobo channels his inner Rocky, wins district title, MOW award; 17 Salem County wrestlers qualify for Region 8

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

SEWELL – Don’t know if Penns Grove’s Clinton Bobo is a big fan of the Rocky movies, but the way he took it to his opponent in his district title match Saturday it reminded a lot of people of the way America’s favorite underdog took down the massive Ivan Drago in Rocky IV.

Giving up six inches to Paulsboro’s Evan Holloway, he pinned the Red Raiders senior 39 seconds into the second period to win the District 32 175 title – and the admiration of the coaches who voted him Most Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament.

“It was just so beautiful,” Bobo said. “One of my coaches kept telling me you don’t understand how much of a chance you have at winning first place in districts. I missed it last year so we’ll have to see. It was just really awesome.

“Then (up on the podium) they said ‘Penns Grove’ and I was like, “Is that really me?’ It was such a great experience. I’ll definitely remember it forever.”

The turning point of the match came in the first period after Holloway dropped Bobo once and let him up just to drop him again, this time with an elbow to the eye that required injury time. It enraged the Red Devils senior and he went on the attack.

Starting the second period from a neutral position down 6-2, Bobo flipped his taller opponent over his left hip – a move he said he and teammate Tre Brown had been working on the last two weeks – got control of him in the middle of the mat and finished off the pin.

Any similarity to person or persons dead or alive may be just a coincidence in the movies, but it wasn’t lost on Penns Grove athletics director Anwar Golden.

“That’s exactly what happened in Rocky IV when he (Rocky) made the Russian bleed,” Golden said. “When he saw that drop of blood from the Russian, that was it. It was like that. He’s not a machine.”

“It’s almost like something hit him and he woke up,” Penns Grove coach Chuck Weigle said. “It was like he came to life and … boom.”

Bobo called the comparison to the Rocky film “a perfect representation.”

“After he took me down the second time he went up to the crowd and showed a ‘T’ with his hands saying he was going to try to tech fall me,” Bobo said. “I ended up pinning him and so many people started just yelling ‘tech fall where,’ ‘tech fall how.’ It was crazy.”

Bobo won all three of his matches by pin – in 12 seconds (fastest of the tournament), 4:45 and 2:39. He’s the first Penns Grove wrestler to win a MOW in the postseason since Tyreke Brown won it in the 2019 region tournament and the first to win it a district tournament as far as any of the coaches can remember.

Amazingly, he has only been wrestling two years. A full-time student at Salem Vo-Tech, which doesn’t offer wrestling, he joined the team from his home district school at the urging of another Vo-Tech student established on the team, heavyweight Wayne Scott. He didn’t have anything planned after Vo-Tech’s soccer season so he accepted the challenge.

He took to it right away, posting 20 wins in his debut season and finishing second in the district tournament. The only reason he wasn’t the No. 1 seed in his weight class this weekend was he lost the top seed (who Holloway beat in the semifinals) 7-6 in a dual match earlier this year.
 
“No. 1, he is strong as an ox and has got a chiseled frame,” Weigle said. “He’s a student of the sport and he’s always asking questions.”

Last year Bobo was the only Penns Grove wrestler to reach the regions, which made the experience a little uncomfortable. This year he is one of three Red Devils advancing to next week’s Region 8 tournament at Williamstown, along with 285 runner-up Scott and 150 third-place finisher Tre Brown.

Salem County’s other 14 region qualifiers all came out of the District 30 meet at Delsea. 

Pennsville’s Brett Land (106), Schalick’s undefeated Ricky Watt (165) and Woodstown’s Travis Balback (132) and Mateo Vinciguerra (285) won district titles. Vinciguerra’s win for the 285 district title was the 99th of his high school career.

Woodstown and Schalick finished 2-3 in the District 30 team standings. Schalick coach Joe Frassenei was recognized as the District 30 Coach of the Year.

District 30

TEAM SCORES: Delsea 295.5; WOODSTOWN 148.5; SCHALICK 113; Millville 103.5; Cumberland 97.5; PENNSVILLE 92.5; Gateway/Woodbury 38.5; Cedar Creek 33, Buena 32, Vineland 24

REGION QUALIFIERS
106: Brett Land, Pennsville; Hunter Allen, Woodstown; Reid Lightfoot, Delsea
113: DeAnthony Harden, Cumberland; Christian Snyder, Gateway/Woodbury; Chase Bordley, Vineland
120: Amari Vann, Delsea; Carson Bradway, Woodstown; Ruben Cruz, Millville
126: Gage Summers, Delsea; Luke Silva, Schalick; Aidan Barbato, Gateway Reg/ Woodbury
132: Travis Balback, Woodstown; Ryan Miller, Schalick; Jamison Devlin, Delsea
138: Zavier Stokes, Delsea; Patrick Tull, Millville; Gabe Supernavage, Pennsville
144: Cameron Pote, Delsea; Daniel Lloyd, Cumberland; Lucas Gellura, Buena
150: Jamar Dixon, Delsea; Ayden Jenkins, Schalick; Michael Carastro, Cumberland
157: Riley Boos, Delsea; Brett Rowand, Woodstown; Colin Prokson, Millville
165: Ricky Watt, Schalick; Mar`Quis Allen, Millville; Charles Six, Delsea
175: Joel Anderson, Delsea; Greyson Hyland, Woodstown; Sebron Hall-Jones, Cumberland
190: Greg Sawyer, Delsea; Connor Ayars, Pennsville; Braden Cattlet, Millville
215: Salvatore Marchese, Delsea; Walter Carter, Woodstown; Jayden Jones, Millville
285: Mateo Vinciguerra, Woodstown; Alex Grippo, Delsea; Slayton D`Amico, Cedar Creek

CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHES
106: Brett Land (Pennsville) tech fall over Hunter Allen (Woodstown), 15-0 (2:16)
113: DeAnthony Harden (Cumberland) maj. dec. Christian Snyder (Gateway/Woodbury), 15-4
120: Amari Vann (Delsea) pinned Carson Bradway (Woodstown), 2:26
126: Gage Summers (Delsea) tech fall over Luke Silva (Schalick), 20-3 (2:28)
132: Travis Balback (Woodstown) tech fall over Ryan Miller (Schalick), 18-1 (1:27
138: Zavier Stokes (Delsea) pinned Patrick Tull (Millville), 1:01
144: Cameron Pote (Delsea) pinned Daniel Lloyd (Cumberland), 3:12
150: Jamar Dixon (Delsea) tech fall over Ayden Jenkins (Schalick), 18-3 (1:36)
157: Riley Boos (Delsea) pinned Brett Rowand (Woodstown), 1:13
165: Ricky Watt (Schalick) dec. MarQuis Allen (Millville), 10-6
175: Joel Anderson (Delsea) pinned Greyson Hyland (Woodstown), 3:38
190: Greg Sawyer (Delsea) tech fall over Connor Ayars (Pennsville), 15-0 (3:31)
215: Salvatore Marchese (Delsea) pinned Walter Carter (Woodstown), 2:55
285: Mateo Vinciguerra (Woodstown) dec. Alex Grippo (Delsea), 6-1

THIRD-PLACE MATCHES
106: Reid Lightfoot (Delsea) pinned Sincere Wilcox (Cedar Creek), 1:05
113: Chase Bordley (Vineland) pinned Luke Senn (Cedar Creek), 0:40
120: Ruben Cruz (Millville) dec. Kolton Sheppard (Cumberland), 12-10
126: Aidan Barbato (Gateway/Woodbury) pinned Zach Cohen (Buena), 1:23
132: Jamison Devlin (Delsea) pinned Chad Sciore (Vineland), 1:50
138: Gabe Supernavage (Pennsville) dec. Gionni Sharkey (Buena), 11-5
144: Lucas Gellura (Buena) pinned Travis Hagan (Pennsville), 0:17
150: Michael Carastro (Cumberland) pinned Ryan Tepper (Millville), 0:46
157: Colin Prokson (Millville) maj. dec. Riley Papiano (Schalick), 12-1
165: Charles Six (Delsea) pinned Gabriel Rodriguez (Cumberland), 1:55
175: Sebron Hall-Jones (Cumberland) pinned Joseph Halstread (Pennsville), 0:41
190: Braden Cattlet (Millville) pinned Evan Elliott (Schalick), 1:46
215: Jayden Jones (Millville) pinned Gerardo Felipe (Schalick), 2:57
285: Slayton D’Amico (Cedar Creek) pinned Trevor Waddington (Pennsville), 1:55

District 32

TEAM SCORES: St. Augustine 277.5, Paulsboro 217, Clearview 133.5, Deptford 80, PENNS GROVE 77, Clayton/Glassboro 71, Pitman 50, Lindenwold 45.5; SALEM 8

SALEM COUNTY REGION QUALIFIERS
150: 3. Tre Brown, Penns Grove
175: 1. Clinton Bobo, Penns Grove
285: 2. Wayne Scott, Penns Grove

CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHES
106: Will Cruz (Paulsboro) dec. Chase Sudano (St. Augustine), 2-0
113: J.D. Christmann (St. Augustine) dec. Antonio Chila (Paulsboro), 14-7
120: Aundre Hill (Paulsboro) maj. dec. Richie Wootten (St. Augustine), 14-6
(Third place: Deny Ramos (Lindenwold) tech fall over Devine Arce (Penns Grove), 18-3)
126: Carter Pack (St. Augustine) tech fall over Hayden Holmes (Paulsboro), 19-2 (5:52)
132: Jean Paul Bonnette (St. Augustine) pinned Anthony Morales (Clearview), 1:41
138: Jaylen Huertas (Deptford) pinned Adrian Arbelo (St. Augustine), 1:21
144: Anthony DePaul (St. Augustine) pinned Brandon Caro (Lindenwold), 0:57
150: Johnny Chirico (St. Augustine) maj. dec. Kyare Harvey (Paulsboro), 13-2
(Third place: Tre Brown (Penns Grove) dec. Steven Benkert (Clayton/Glassboro), 11-4)
157: Kole Reiss (Clearview) pinned Xavier Harvey (St. Augustine), 4:53
165: Tyler Trovato (Clearview) pinned Luke Ward (St. Augustine), 4:16
175: Clinton Bobo (Penns Grove) pinned Evan Holloway (Paulsboro), 2:39
190: Ron Kraus (St. Augustine) tech fall over Aaron Veytsman (Clearview), 17-1 (4:24) 
(Third place: Dante Scott (Paulsboro) pinned Julian Espino (Penns Grove), 3:43)
215: Aiden Milward (Pitman) dec. Frank Damminger (Paulsboro), TB-1 5-2
(Third place: Jeffrey Smith (Clayton/Glassboro) dec. Abdur Jenkins (Salem), 8-2)
285: Nate Mason (Clearview) tech fall over Wayne Scott (Penns Grove), 16-0 (4:45)