Ishmael Williams '19 Recruiting Profile

Many strengths such as being ambitious, dedicated and team player can be considered to be the attributes of a great leader. I believe that I display these strengths. When I am wrestling, I fight until the end and I am dedicated in every aspect of the sport. To the same extent, when I have a tough project or assignment ahead of me, I aim to complete them to the best of my abilities. I found myself struggling with the move from Connecticut to North Carolina this year and wrestling helped to get me through the school year. Attending a new school in a new state for my junior year was more challenging than I thought it would be. Leaving my home and my friends was not easy. My grades this year were impacted as I struggled to find my place in an new environment. I realized that I needed to give my school work that same focus that I gave during my wrestling matches. I began seeing a tutor and worked hard to pull my grades up.

As a captain, I had to constantly lead by example. I led my team by being consistent and relentless every single match. Overall, I pushed my teammates to leave everything on the mat and regret nothing when the match is over. I set a great example at the New England tournament when, I had to win my next match to qualify for Nationals. I had a true challenge ahead of me. I went out on the mat and ended up pinning my opponent in the first period. I placed 7th at New Englands and this gave me an opportunity to wrestle at Nationals in 2017. At Nationals, I went 1-2 after winning my first match at the start of the day. This was an incredible learning experience for me.

My ultimate goal is to become a collegiate wrestler. My wrestling career started in sixth grade and I have been improving every year since. For the past few years I have been attending wrestling camps and pushing myself to learn better techniques. I deeply care about wrestling and I also care about my academics which is why I would use this opportunity to enhance my knowledge. With my determination, I would be a great addition to any school’s wrestling program and I would also be the best student that I could be. It would be a great accomplishment for me, if any coach thought that I would be a valuable wrestler on their team.