At four years old, Lucas Szymborski (12) was introduced to the world of wrestling by his father, beginning his passion for the sport. Around age 8, Szymborski’s uncle got him into football and he has been playing both sports since. 

“My dad at first only wanted me to wrestle and finally when I was like eight or nine, he let me play football,” Szymborski said. “My uncle used to wrestle when he was in high school and also played football so that was a big part of my starting the sport.”

Though from Crown Point, Szymborski lived in Tennessee for his freshman and sophomore year and was able to win state for wrestling.

 “The move wasn’t bad because I know people from here,” Szymborski said. “It was different going up in weight because I was wrestling 170 and now I’m wrestling heavyweight this year”

This success didn’t come without challenges as Szymborski has had to stick to a specific diet and routine to achieve his goals.

“A challenge I would say was keeping my weight under control, because we gotta make weight every week,” Szymborski said. “It was just staying on my diet and listening to my coaches. I just had to push myself every day, keep my diet, and keep doing the right things every single day.” 

Despite the challenges, Szymborski has decided to keep persevering as he goes to Ball State to pursue a career in football. 

“I chose football over wrestling because I love it more and Ball State football was good for me,” Szymborski said. 

Since he was introduced to wrestling at four years old and football years later, Szymborski has been working to improve his abilities and now hopes to go pro and go to the NFL.