Wrestling standout joins Eagles

Moving to a new school is hard. Doing it your senior year is even harder. Just ask Dustin Zahorsky, a new senior at Silver Lake High School. A parent's job change forced him to leave his home and friends he has had since sixth grade.

"The hardest part (about moving) was meeting new people. In Phillipsburg, everyone knew me and I knew everyone," said Zahorsky.

All Silver Lake students weren't strangers to Zahorsky, though. Wrestling at Phillipsburg introduced him to his future classmates.

"I knew a few people from wrestling: Brett LaMar, Tyler Roth, and Collin Hase," said Zahorsky.

Wrestling is definitely the promising senior's sport. He has placed at state all three years, winning his junior year in the 135-pound weight class, and he has extremely high hopes for this year.

"My goal is to win state, be undefeated, and beat the three point near fall record," said Zahorsky.

His wrestling ambitions don't stop there. He has been wrestling since first grade and doesn't plan to stop anytime soon. Zahorsky loves the sport and hopes to continue in college.

"My favorite part of wrestling is that it's an individual sport. In a match, you have to know what to do on your own, and if you mess up, it's solely on you," said Zahorsky.

Although wrestling is Zahorsky's main sport, he is also playing football for the Eagles. He plays defensive tackle and corner.

Outside of athletics, Zahorsky is taking classes that most seniors aren't. One of those classes is speech with Gail Naylor. A speech class wasn't a requirement at Philipsburg, so he's a lone senior in a class dominated by freshmen and sophomores.

Zahorsky is used to feeling like a fish out of water. Since the summer after fourth grade until his summer before high school, he traveled roughly 12,000 miles to see his Dad, who was stationed at Camp Zama in Japan. Needless to say, the experience was, well, different.

"In Japan, you had to take off your shoes whenever you went in the house. They ate at short tables and sat on cushions during meals. Also the steering wheel is on the opposite side in the car, and they drive on the opposite side of the road," said Zahorsky.

In addition to his father, another role model for Zahorsky is his older brother.

"I look up to my brother because he's athletic and a good role model. I grew up with him, and I know he always has my back," he said.