On behalf of The New Dealer, I would like to congratulate Senior Alijon Toshimov on being the Male Athlete of the Year.  Alijon is a member of the FDR Wrestling Team. He has been on the team since his freshman year, and we have seen him develop into the man he is today. As a freshman at FDR, he felt uncertain about himself. He lacked confidence and motivation. However, over the last four years, he learned skills from wrestling that helped him do better in school, become tougher, and gain leadership. According to Alijon, sports helped him develop character in a major way, “One of the things that is significant about wrestling is the fact that anyone with determination can be successful if they set their minds to it.” Alijon uses this motto and relates it to life. Just like in life, you learn from your losses in wrestling to become a better wrestler. When he gets the taste of victory over another wrestler, it gives him a thrilling feeling of accomplishment. Alijon meets every standard for receiving this award. He is a well-rounded and unselfish person. When I told him he was the Male Athlete of the year, he was very grateful and humble. He felt honored to be in this position, but he didn’t take all the credit. He felt like the award should be shared with the people who were determined to help him achieve his goals. I asked Alijon why he thought he was selected for this honor.  He responded, “I think I was selected because of my dedication, leadership and hard work on the wrestling team for four years- which led me to achieve new heights on my road to becoming the Captain of a great Wrestling team.” This is all true; however, one thing that separates Alijon from other athletes is his determination in the classroom. He is a senior with a 1 through 8 schedule. This is not because he failed classes or needs more credits. Alijon schedule is filled with rigorous courses such as AP Calculus, AP European History, English Honors, and Economics Honors. Along with wrestling, and this harsh schedule, Alijon maintains a 90.30 average.

Alijon’s greatest accomplishments as a wrestler were being a two time All-City Wrestler, being a Captain of the Wrestling team, and winning the majority of his matches with pin falls. Out of his 31 wins as a senior, 26 were won with pins during the first or second period of the match. That’s pretty quick!  During Alijon’s experiences at FDR, a lot of people have helped him achieve his goals. He is thankful for his friends, teachers, family, wrestling teammates, and especially his coach- Coach Stanco. Coach Stanco has been pushing Alijon to not only be a great wrestler, but to be a strong role model for others.  Coach Stanco’s dedication has helped Alijon achieve his goals. Wrestling is a sport that strengthens his mental abilities, which makes him never give up- no matter how bad the situation can get. In the end, hard work pays off.

Now that Alijon is graduating, he plans to move on to bigger and better things. What makes Alijon so proud of himself is that he is leaving high school with no regrets. The only thing that Alijon wished to change about his high school career was to take his freshman year more seriously as a wrestler. Unfortunately, Alijon will not wrestle in college, because his college doesn’t offer Wrestling as a sport. That doesn’t mean that he is done with wrestling. He intends to wrestle during Freestyle Wrestling season to achieve new goals as an athlete in the Brooklyn Wrestling Club.

Everyone at FDR would like to congratulate you on your acceptance to the College of Staten Island, and we hope you have a successful college career.

Alijon would like to leave a message for the younger athletes at FDR:

“As a beginner of any sport, you should learn from others that have more experience than you. Nothing in this world is easy to get. High School is a lesson for the future. You will never forget the experiences you learn here at FDR. If you want to become good at something, you have to work for it! Don’t wish for it to be easier, be better!”