Sarrami follows in grandfather’s footsteps

Editor's note: After this story was written, the student profiled transferred to another school.

 

Araad Sarrami was struck speechless — with victory, that is. It was League semifinals for the 170-pound weight class last season, and he, only a sophomore back then, had beaten a Palo Alto senior by the name of Erik Anderson. 

This victory was a culmination of a long struggle. 

After losing to Anderson the year before, Sarami had to work twice as hard to prepare for their next meeting. 

He walked into the match confident of victory and determined to avenge his losses.

“[I knew I was going to win] from the beginning,” Sarrami said. “I knew there was no way he was going to beat me again. I wasn’t going to let that happen.”

The bitter memory of his previous defeats at the hands of Anderson only made this victory sweeter.

“That was a big match because I lost to him earlier — badly — and then I beat him pretty badly,” Sarrami said. “I was wordless, honestly.”

Sarrami’s passion for wrestling seems to be encoded in his genes — a big reason he decided to take up the sport in sixth grade. He signed up for wrestling after learning that his grandfather in Iran had wrestled for that country’s international team. 

“He died when I was little, so I don’t remember [specifics] about him,” Sarrami said. “He was very respected in the community he lived in. Anytime he was walking down the street, people would say ‘Hi’ to him and ‘How are you doing?’”

Sarrami enjoys both the individual aspect and the challenging physical demands of wrestling. 

“What I like about it is that it builds character,” Sarrami said. “It’s a tough sport. It’s an individual sport. You can’t really blame other people if you lose—it’s all on you.”

Currently, Sarrami trains two to four hours almost every day, for the entire year. 

“I learned a lot of stuff,” Sarrami said. “Like work hard, being tough I think. Those were the biggest things. Like you [have to] be tough no matter what, like you can't give in to anything.”

Sarrami has high expectations for his team, especially since the Falcons took eighth in CCS and placed in the top five in the league last season.

“We’re hoping for big things [since], I think we have three guys who are going to win CCS [in the individual categories],” he said “We’re just hoping to do well.”

Sarrami said that his teammates motivate him to work harder as well, especially his workout partner junior Christian Murabito. 

“He's a worker, but never fails to bring comedy to practice,” Murabito said. 

For now, Sarrami has big plans for his own future: He wants to win state. 

“Last year, I took fourth at CCS and I won League,” he said. “I’m going to win state, hopefully at some point. And I’ll just keep pushing myself.”