Clearview finally takes down Paulsboro

John Seybold is a sophomore. Zack Firestone is a freshman.

They haven't been around the Clearview wrestling program for a long time, but they know history when they make it.

With victories in the final two bouts of the match, Seybold and Firestone sparked visiting Clearview to a 30-29 victory over Paulsboro on Wednesday night in a nonleague battle of two of South Jersey's best teams.

Seybold won a 4-2 decision at 106 pounds and Firestone earned a 13-6 decision at 113 as Clearview beat Paulsboro for the first time in the history of the program.

"Ever since we were in midgets, 6-7 years old, we've been talking about coming into Paulsboro and taking them down in their own house," Seybold said.

Clearview won eight of the final 10 bouts after falling behind by 17-0 before a near-capacity crowd in Paulsboro's famous old gymnasium.

The Pioneers received pins from Ed Lenkowski at 160 pounds and Sief Holland at 220 to spark the run.

Paulsboro took leads of 23-18 on a pin by Jim Sutton at 195 and 29-24 on a pin by heavyweight Devontae Randall. The Red Raiders (9-2) also received bonus points early in the match from Sam Morina at 132 and Ron Gentile at 138.

"Our kids wrestled tough," Paulsboro coach Paul Morina said. "We're young. It's going to be this way for us. But I was proud at how hard our kids wrestled."

Clearview (12-4) had suffered a pair of close losses in the last couple of weeks to Delsea, but Pioneers coach Keith Mourlam thought those matches prepared his team to compete on Paulsboro's home mat.

'Our kids weren't afraid coming in here," Mourlam said.

Seybold's victory in what Mourlam called a "swing bout" pulled Clearview to within 29-27 and set the stage for Firestone, who entered the circle with a 14-1 record.

"My heart was beating," Firestone said. "I know I'm just a little freshman in the locker room, but I wanted to do it for my teammates because I know how much it means to beat Paulsboro."

The results

CLEARVIEW 30, PAULSBORO 29

120: John Gentile, P, dec. Mike Van Brill, 2-0; 126: Mickey Croce, P, dec. Ron Mestichelli, 3-0; 132: Sam Morina, P, tech. fall Rob Wittman, 21-6 (5:38); 138: Ron Gentile, P, win by forfeit; 145: John Van Brill, C, dec. Juan Rivera, 8-3; 152: Joe Sindoni, C, dec. Tom Paulsen, 3-2; 160: Ed Lenkowski, C, pin Anthony King, 1:06; 170: Vince Testa, C, dec. Lee Koller, 3-1; 182: Connor Donahue, C, dec. Niko Savaiinaea, 3-0; 195: Jim Sutton, P, pin Zack Stecher, 1:56; 220: Sief Holland, C, pin Tyler Biernachi, 1:30; Hwt.: Devontae Randall, P, pin Nick Cornew, 0:56; 106: John Seybold, C, Nick Duca, 4-2; 113: Zack Firestone, C, dec. Tim Robinson, 13-6.