Senior Wissam Bousheh stares his competitor dead in his eyes. He glances over his shoulder at the electronic clock on the wall, which tells him that there are only 20 more seconds left in the period. The sweat drips from his hair and onto the mat, making the ground under him slippery. He looks back at his competition and tells himself this is what he had been training for the whole season. His competitor inches closer and gives him the opportunity of a lifetime; Bousheh acts swift, shooting the ankle-pick and pinning him, securing the dub.

Ever since trying out and making the wrestling team freshman year, Bousheh fell in love with the sport. He started to dedicate most of his time to get better, both physically and mentally. His weeks consisted of cutting, running, and lifting, while on the weekends, he would practice keeping his cool during a match.

“Working out almost every day of the week was probably the toughest thing I’ve ever done,” Bousheh said. “Along with practice, I had school, which really didn’t help out with my sleeping schedule. I also had to find a balance between school, wrestling, and social life, which took me a while to do, but ever since I found that balance, life has been easier.”

Fellow teammate and senior Ben Dym applaud Bousheh for all his hard work, as it didn’t go unnoticed.

“I remember during junior year, Bousheh cut from 144 pounds to 125 pounds in a week. Cutting is basically losing a bunch of weight in a short period of time; it is one of the hardest things wrestlers do. Wissam’s cut was for sure the best cut of the season,” Dym said. “Along with his outstanding cut, I witnessed him work as I’ve never seen him before. I witnessed him grow mentally and physically, and saw him turn into the wrestler he wanted to be.”

Bousheh credits wrestling for shaping him to be the man he is today. He claims that without wrestling, his life would be very different.

“Wrestling taught me a lot of things, and it really pushed me to my limits and out of my comfort zone. The most important thing that wrestling taught me is that staying in your comfort zone all the time will not foster change,” Bousheh said. “It also gave me a wrestler mentality, which basically means that I will never give up on myself and my work.”

A friend and senior Samir Ozaki noticed how much Bousheh changed over his high school career.

“Starting high school, Wissam and I weren’t that good of friends, and to be frank, we never talked to each other,” Ozaki said. “It wasn’t until sophomore year that I noticed he was friendlier and more inviting, so we began to talk. Now, I’m happy to say that I’m friends with Wissam, as his great personality and character make him a great friend.”

If you ever see Bousheh in the hallways or in the wrestling gym, don’t be scared to say hi or introduce yourself- your welcoming attitude will match his.