New success for Clearview senior

Spotlight on: Clearview senior George Skibinski

George Skibinski has moved into new territory.

So has his team.

Skibinski, a senior 152-pounder for Clearview, was one of South Jersey's few remaining undefeated wrestlers, at 23-0, through Thursday.

That was something new for a wrestler who was 22-10 as a junior.

Meanwhile, Clearview was in the South Jersey finals on Friday night for the first time in the history of the program. The Pioneers traveled to face state power Southern Regional, the No. 1 seed in South Jersey Group 4.

"We thought we would have a good team, but to make the South Jersey finals, that's big," Skibinski said. "It shows how hard we all worked."

Few wrestlers have made as much improvement as Skibinski. He was a district champion at 145 pounds as a junior but lost his first two matches at Region 8.

This year, he has been a mainstay for a Clearview team that has proved to be among the best in South Jersey.

"I just worked hard in the offseason, and the coaches really helped me improve," Skibinski said.

Although he has put together a sensational senior season, Skibinski said his main sport is soccer. He plans to play soccer at Rowan University.

So these likely are the final days of his wrestling career.

"It's definitely on my mind that this is probably the last time I'm going to be wrestling," Skibinski said. "I want to try to do as well as I can."