Teens of Bay Area

For Lynbrook High School freshman Dustin Hong, he discovered his passion for wrestling by willing to try new things. Motivated by his dad, he began wrestling and eventually found his love for this sport, and continues to do what he loves. 

Dustin’s wrestling journey began during his first year of middle school, when he was new to everything.

“I started in sixth grade,” Dustin said. “So I used to do jujitsu, and then my dad really wanted me to do wrestling, like, just try it out, and so I did.” 

Dustin credits his parents and his sister for supporting him, whether it’s driving him to tournaments, cheering him on during his matches, or just attending all of his wrestling matches. 

“My sister drives me to the dual meets and the tournaments, and goes to all of them.” 

Dustin’s favorite part about wrestling? Going to tournaments to compete. 

“I like the tournaments, because you get to compete, and that’s basically what you train for,” Dustin said. “And then I meet a lot of new people there, too. It’s fun wrestling people who are better than you because you learn a lot.” 

Not only does he love to compete, but he also enjoys learning from other wrestlers during tournaments. He also enjoys going to competitions because that’s where he gets to meet new people and make new friends. But during his wrestling journey, one major challenge has been dealing with injuries. 

“So at the beginning of the season, I went to this tournament called Webber Lawson, and because I had to wrestle up a weight class and some people were cutting down, I wrestled this guy who was like 13 pounds heavier than me,” Dustin said, “and I got a back injury.” 

But despite the challenges, Dustin won at the county level as an eighth grader, and he also received a few medals from other tournaments.

To those who are interested or new to wrestling, Dustin says, “sometimes it gets hard, like you start losing or you can lose a bunch of matches, right? But if you’re able to continue wrestling after that, you’ll start getting better, and it’ll just be more worth it.”