Bozovich overcomes obstacles to shine on mat
Accomplishments: Carter Bozovich is battle tested.
The Tokay High wrestler, a senior, captured the 170-pound class title at the Tri-City Athletic League Tournament at The Jungle on Feb. 10. He earned the title with a second round pin over Lincoln’s Miguel Raya. Bozovich held an 110 lead before he caught Raya off-guard with a choke slam for the pin.
“I was just going in there with the mentality of whatever happens,” Bozovich said.
This was the second meeting between Bozovich and Raya; Bozovich won the first meeting by pin in the first round when Tokay beat Lincoln inside the Trojans’ gym in a TCAL dual meet toward the end of last month. Prior to the title
bout, Bozovich won his semifinal match by pin. He had a first round bye.
Bozovich is ranked 25th in the state in his weight class, according to The California Wrestler’s Website. His record for the season is 34-6.
Tokay also pinned down its second consecutive league title. Bozovich is one of many seniors on team who led to keeping the trophy at the school. Fellow Tiger wrestlers in Seth Chaney (120) Trenton Edalgo (132), Matthew Cooper (182) and James McClain (285), all of whom won championships in their respective weight classes at the league tournament.
“We’ve bonded over the last couple of years,” Bozovich said. “We’re just doing our last hurrah. Just trying to savor every moment, day by day. Luckily, we’ve done well at the end of the (regular) season. (The post-season) should be exciting.”
Starting Friday, Bozovich will be one of 13 Tiger wrestlers making the trip to Folsom High, site of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I-AA Tournament. Earning another firstround bye, his first match will be the winner of Erick Lopez of Atwater versus Gabriel Guzman from Oak Ridge of El Dorado Hills.
Preparing for the post-season with this weekend’s divisional tournament is different than workouts during the regular season, Bozovich noted. That includes making sure that wrestlers’ moves on the mat, from the start to trying to pin their opponent, is on target to maintaining their weight.
“At the end of the season, we just try to clean things up,” Bozovich said. “More conditioning, a lot of running; just fast-pace stuff. Even if practices isn’t long, we do a lot of conditioning. That’s what we’re trying to focus on right now. Just trying to not beat up our bodies.”
This winter, Bozovich took first place at the second annual Rod Gaines Invitational, which was held at The Jungle last month. Before that invitational, he took two third place finishes at the Pat Lovell Classic in Aptos and the Lou Bronzan Tournament at Liberty High of Bakersfield. He also took fifth place at the Five Counties Tournament in Southern California, and went 3-2 at the Mid-Cals at Gilroy High. Those tournaments, Bozovich notes, have made him stronger.
What has also made Bozovich hungrier to achieve more success on the mat was recently overcoming the flu after he won the Ron Gaines Invitational. He started to feel flu-like symptoms toward the end of the day. The flu was so bad that he missed two days of school.
“It was an obstacle I kind of had to overcome,” Bozovich said. “It showed what I really can do.”
As a freshman at Tokay, Bozovich injured his knee that required two surgeries. He opted to focus on wrestling after the surgeries.
Prior to the start of the season, Bozovich spent many hours in the weight room. He also competed in Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestling meets. He also attended wrestling camps to horn down his skills on the mat, which included ones here in California and another in Wisconsin.
“Just to get my reps,” Bozovich said. “That kind of helped me see where I’m at, what I need to work on for the rest of the season.”
After he graduates from Tokay High this spring, Bozovich will be furthering his education and wrestling lives. He will be attending Menlo College in Atherton on a scholarship, majoring in business management. He will also be wrestling on the Oaks’ wrestling team, which competes during the fall season.