BOBE REACHES GOAL OF 100 WINS

By KATRINA CHIN

Can you name someone who has won 100 wrestling matches?  I’m not talking about a professional wrestler, but a high school student. Washingtonville’s varsity wrestling captain, Brandon Bobe, has accomplished just that this past weekend at Minisink Valley High School.

Brandon Bobe has been wrestling on Washingtonville’s team for five years and has been a part of the varsity team for four years. Impressively, Brandon has also been the captain of the varsity team for three years. When  speaking with Bobe, he said, “My role as a captain is to motivate my team, create a family-like environment and encourage [my teammates] to believe in themselves.” He decided to start wrestling because he always loved hand to hand combat when he was younger.  His decision was a good one as he grew to love the sport.

KATRINA CHIN FOR WIZARD WEEKLY

Knowing that he was close to 100 wins at the end of last year’s season, Brandon made it one of his top goals going into the current season.  He fell a little bit short last year, which gave him a lot of motivation to go out and get it early in the season. Bobe said, “It was an amazing feeling.  I have been working toward that goal since I started wrestling.” When discussing obtaining his 100th win, he remembers Coach Lee telling him to stay hungry, keep moving forward, and that he was proud.

According to Brandon, his former wrestling coach, Coach Ferguson, has had the utmost influence on his wrestling career. Bobe acknowledged that when he first started wrestling, Coach Ferguson saw something in him and knew that he would be great some day. For the past five years, they have worked out together every single day, all year round. Coach Ferguson has always supported and believed in Bobe and has pushed him past his limits time and time again.

Bobe has been very successful throughout his wrestling career. He recalls one of his most memorable matches when he was a freshman at the Beacon Tournament.  “I was the 5th seed and made it to the semi-finals against the 1st seed who was a returning Section IX player and a senior. We went into overtime and I pinned him to advance to the finals and win the tournament.” He has also placed three times in the Section IX tournament and he made it to the section finals last year.  He recently just fell to 8th on the all-time wins chart.  His goals for his final season of high school wrestling are to get into the top three all-time wins, win a Section IX title, and place at the New York State tournament.

Wrestling has been a huge part of Bobe’s life and he claims that, without a doubt, it is the single greatest thing to ever happen to him. He added, “It has taught me numerous life lessons like being disciplined, time management, weight management, leadership, accountability, hard work and focus.  I can say honestly, that wrestling will be the single key aspect to any success I achieve later on in life.”  This isn’t the end of his wrestling career, but the start of a new journey as he plans on continuing wrestling in college.

Best of luck to Brandon Bobe and the rest of the wrestling team this season!