Ni-za ‘liek Morris won the Class A wrestling title in February.
Ni-za ‘liek Morris is a student in the Albany City School District and attends Questar III’s Rensselaer Academy. He is a standout student, very well-spoken, and has a great attitude. So what else makes him unique?
He wrestles on the Albany High School varsity wrestling team, and on February 6, he won the Class A title.
Naz, as he’s known at school, says he was on a pretty rough path, and people around him realized something needed to happen.
“I was on a bad road, getting in trouble a lot, so everyone was saying I should get into a sport, and someone suggested wrestling, so I decided to try it for like a week or so and I ended up liking it,” Naz says.
When he started wrestling, he was in the 182 lb. class. Now, he’s skipped two weight classes and wrestles in the 285 lb. class. He says there were a bunch of guys on his team wrestling at 220 lbs., which meant less opportunities for everyone to wrestle since only one person from each class can wrestle in a match. He says by bumping up to the 285 lb. class, he was able to challenge himself, even though it meant he might lose more matches.
“I didn’t care if I was winning or losing, because last year, my record was a losing record, but I won some. So it wasn’t like I was going to be upset if I was losing because I was used to losing. I take chances.”
He says when he does lose, it only makes him work harder for next week’s match.
That’s a great attitude for a teen who admits he sometimes can have trouble keeping his anger in check.
“I used to be angry all the time. I mean angry. When I got angry at school, I was angry,” he says. “Wrestling helps me get a lot of anger out.”
Coordinator of Behavioral Interventions Danielle Remillard says she’s seen a change in Naz’s behavior since he started wrestling. Since he leaves his wrestling gear in her office, she says it’s a great opportunity to see how he’s doing.
“It’s just kind of a check in, how are you, how was your match, how was practice,” Remillard says.
Naz says she has helped him a lot in getting his anger under control. He also knows that if he doesn’t keep his feelings in check, and gets in trouble, it can prevent him from wrestling.
His teacher, Nora Horan, says wrestling has helped Naz stay focused in the classroom as well. His grades are well above average, and he knows if he doesn’t keep his grades up, it can take him off the wrestling mat.
“I get distracted very easily. I can be talking about one thing and then two seconds later I’m onto something else,” Naz says with a chuckle.
Horan agrees that he is easily distracted, but says she’s seen a marked improvement in his focus since Naz started wrestling.
“He had some difficult times in the fall, but wrestling has really helped him focus because he had that goal,” Horan says.
“Last year I had the goal to get to the Glens Falls Civic Center [for state championship qualifiers] and I did. This year I had the goal to get first place in the Class A tournament and I did. Next year I have the goal to make it to the state championships at the Times Union Center.”
After winning the Class A title, Naz went onto the Sectional Finals in Glens Falls, but lost two matches and got injured, which ended his season. Now, he’s looking into an off-season training program through NY Titans Wrestling to help him improve and stay in shape during the off season.
He also hopes to wrestle in college in a few years, which is impressive, considering his first impressions of the sport.
“When I first started wrestling I didn’t think I’d like it, but it’s actually a pretty fun sport,” Naz says. Being able to travel for matches and making friends on his team are a big piece of why he likes to participate.
What keeps him interested?
“Winning,” he says with a smile.
