Revere wrestler shows grit but little girth

by Sheldon Ocker

Mason Massouh is a typical high school wrestler. Then again, he’s not.

He’s a senior at Revere High School, and has been wrestling for much of his life, so he knows the moves, he knows the strategy, he knows how to win and how to get over a loss.

But he wrestles at 106 pounds. Seniors don’t wrestle at 106 pounds.  At least, very few do. Most wrestlers who start at that weight outgrow it after their freshman year, or as a sophomore for sure.

“That’s a lot of dedication on his part,” said Revere wrestling coach Dan Mosher. “He had a pretty tough weight-cut season, and not many people could have done what he did.”

Mosher said that Massouh is 5-foot-7 or 5-foot-8. If he weren’t a wrestler he probably would carry at least 130 pounds. But losing weight is as much a part of most wrestlers’ lives as batting practice is for baseball players. Except it’s a lot harder.

Massouh has persevered, however. As a junior, he was one match short of qualifying for the state tournament. This year he made it, having finished fourth in his district.

How many seniors has Mosher seen at the 106-pound level?

“Not many,” he said. “I think there was one other senior in his bracket at the state tournament, from Lorain.”

Massouh lost both of his matches at the state tourney, but he didn’t have an easy draw.

“He lost his first match to the eventual state runner-up,” Mosher said. “In the district, of the three [wrestlers] ahead of him, one was the state champion, another was third in the state and the other finished sixth.”

Mosher said Massouh doesn’t plan to wrestle in college.

“Right now he’s going to Cincinnati to major in aerospace engineering,” the coach said. “That tells you how smart he is.”

So there is more to Massouh than wrestling.“He’s just an all-around great kid,” Mosher said. “He’s hard working, the kind of kid you root for. He does all the right things in the classroom and on the wrestling mat. He’s a fantastic young man.” 
Photo caption: Revere wrestler Mason Massouh placed fourth at the Perrysburg District tournament. Photo by Bruce Hulme.