Wrestling
By Mary Jane Souder
Francesco Fabozzi insists he didn’t display star qualities on the mat when he was a youngster, but the senior standout will leave Central Bucks East as the standard bearer of the school’s wrestling program.
Fabozzi, who will be taking his talents to Princeton University, etched his name in the record books as the all-time leader in career wins with 147.
“He’s about as complete a package as you can wish for as a coach,” East coach Dave Scarpill said. “He said before he even started his career that he was going to break the all-time win record, and he went and did it.
“Not only was he the winningest, he’s the only two-time region champ, he’s the only two-time state medalist. The complete picture of his career is definitely one for the ages. I don’t know if that record will ever be broken.”
It’s certainly not an outcome his coaches saw coming when he was a youngster wrestling with the Central Bucks Raiders.
“Before the postseason this year, one of my (youth) coaches said I was one of the Raiders that worked the hardest, and it was amazing how much I’d progressed,” Fabozzi said. “He said I couldn’t wrestle my way out of a paper bag when I was with the Raiders.”
Fabozzi, a bit of a late bloomer, began to give glimpses of his potential in middle school, and it didn’t take long for Scarpill to realize he was inheriting a special athlete.
“I have been coaching at East for 20 years, and I’ve never coached a kid who was as driven and focused and hard working,” the Patriots’ coach said. “It’s the old saying – nothing beats hard work.
“He outworks everybody. He would show up as an eighth grader, and he’s outworking seniors at the time. The clear difference between him and the others is the work involved.
“I’ve had kids that have had possibly more talent than him and have wasted the talent because they wouldn’t put in the work. You combine his natural talent with his hard work, and that’s why he ended up with so much success. He was just destined for success.”
Although success has followed Fabozzi through a record-setting high school career, he had a decidedly modest start in the sport when he was four-and-a-half years old.
“My mom got me into wrestling,” he said. “Her brother wrestled, so she was really into it. She loved the sport and wanted me to get into it.”
Fabozzi didn’t initially share her enthusiasm.
“I remember crying before my first practice and not wanting to go in,” he said. “You get used to it, but you’re always real nervous before your matches because it’s just you out there. It’s a new feeling to experience when you’re four years old.”
Fabozzi also played baseball and football but chose wrestling over both when he arrived in high school.
“In baseball, I always felt I was better than some of the kids who were starting ahead of me,” he said. “It kind of irked me that I wasn’t the one playing, and they were, but in wrestling, there’s no bias – I’ll wrestle you for a spot, and whoever wins gets it.”
It was Fabozzi who won the spot, and he experienced immediate success, finishing fifth in districts and advancing to the region tournament as a freshman. As a sophomore, he was third in districts and fifth in regions, and one year later finished first in both districts and regions and earned a fifth place medal at states.
During the season just completed, he broke Devon Passman’s record of 141 career wins.
“It means a lot,” Fabozzi said of the record. “I kind of left my mark on the program. I think it shows the underclassmen if they work hard and do the right thing they can do whatever they want.”
Fabozzi suffered his first loss of the season this year in the SOL Continental Conference championships when he was pinned by CB West’s Riley Barth. He found a way to turn that into a positive.
“It wasn’t that upsetting because it’s not like I got beat in points,” he said. “I got caught, and it kind of took a lot of pressure off – not going into postseason undefeated.
“It’s funny because that week (Olympic gold medalist) Jordan Burroughs actually lost his first international match after 69 straight wins. He tweeted something like - ‘Thank you to everyone who supported me through my 69 consecutive wins. It’s time for a new chapter, and I’ll come back even better.’ I retweeted that and said - a true champion knows how to lose and bounce back from it even better.
“Once I lost, I immediately knew this was time to take my own advice and come back the next few weeks even stronger. It kind of kicked me into gear.”
Fabozzi went on to finish first in districts and regions for the second consecutive year. He earned a sixth place medal at states.
“This season didn’t end up the way I wanted, but it’s not going to be a low point for me,” Fabozzi said. “It’s going to be something that slingshots me to my college career and that’s going to make me want to do better and show that this season wasn’t really what I could have done. I could have done better.”
Wrestling for Princeton will be the culmination of a dream for Fabozzi.
“I have always wanted to go to Princeton,” he said. “Growing up, I always had a Princeton shirt on, and I always went to the campus with my family.
“My dad said, ‘One day maybe you’ll get in here.’ Not realizing how hard it would be, I always dreamed of going to Princeton. When I got to seventh or eighth grade, I realized – ‘Wow, I might have to set my standards a little lower.’ Again, I wasn’t the best wrestler, so I didn’t realize how else I could get in.”
Wrestling turned out to be Fabozzi’s ticket into the prestigious Ivy League school where top recruits are offered a slot and then must meet the school’s rigorous academic standards.
“I remember I had a home visit with the coaches,” he said. “We were talking for about 20 minutes, and I was so nervous. I wanted to get a slot. I was so scared.
“He said, ‘Francesco, we would like to offer you a slot.’ He knew I would come if he said that, he knew I was all about Princeton. I was like, ‘Of course,’ and my parents were crying.
“With Ivy League schools, you can be offered a slot, but you still have to get a letter that says you’re in.”
Fabozzi received his acceptance letter in October.
“It was a real happy day,” he said.
Academics have always been a priority to Fabozzi, who also excels in the classroom and plans to major in economics with an interest in pursuing a career in asset management.
“When you’re doing well in your academics and you’re doing well in wrestling, they coincide,” he said. “My dad has always pushed good grades. He’s been tough on that, and it stuck with me. He doesn’t need to say anything to me anymore.”
According to Scarpill, Fabozzi brings the same traits to the classroom that he brought to the mat.
“I had him in AP statistics, and he was a stellar student,” the Patriots’ coach said. “I would say he works as hard in the classroom as he does in the wrestling room. He’s just the complete package.”
Fabozzi has a special spot in his heart for a young man with Downs Syndrome that he and his father (Frank Fabozzi) have befriended.
“Most everyone in his life is paid to be there for him,” Fabozzi said. “We take him out to eat, show him a good time and consider him a friend.”
When reflecting on his stellar high school wrestling career just completed, Fabozzi has a ready explanation for his success.
“It’s mainly hard work,” he said. “I just want to be the best in the room. I just want to beat everyone, and I don’t really want to settle for anything less.
“That comes from hard work. It’s not that I was talented when I was younger. It’s because I worked hard, harder than anybody else in the room I think.”
It’s a trait that promises to serve Fabozzi well in the future.
