Reed Abbas becomes state AAU wrestling champion

Clarion-Goldfield-Dows eighth-grader Reed Abbas has been involved in wrestling since kindergarten, and now all of that experience has paid off with a State AAU wrestling championship. At that event, held February 25-26, Abbas (representing Team Valley) started the tournament with a pin in just under a minute. That set the stage for a technical fall win 21-6, followed by a 10-4 decision. In the semifinals, he won again 8-4 and sealed the deal with a nice 10-1 major decision to leave little doubt as to who the best wrestler was in his weight class for this tournament. Earlier that same month, he totally dominated his bracket at the district qualifier with four out of his five matches won by fall.

“Even though I really enjoy playing football, and have played baseball and am pretty good at track, I would say that wrestling is my favorite sport,” said Abbas. “I love the feeling of winning, and then standing on the top of the podium. Working hard, knowing that everything will pay off in the end, is what I like the best.”

Abbas stated that his goal coming into this past season was to dominate districts and then to perform his best at the state event. “I had my doubts in the semifinal match (at state),” said Abbas. “I was not performing like I should. Then I got a reversal in the last 45 seconds in that match, and then it all worked out in the end.” He then enjoyed the moment of having his hand raised as a state champion. “There’s not another feeling like it, it was great,” said the young wrestler. “It’s knowing I strived for my goals and then reached them.”

 

For the full story, see the March 30 edition of the Monitor.

Wright County Monitor

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