Back to the mat

This isn’t Reza, rookies don’t get pictures.

Car accident leaves Cougars wrestler out of the game

Article: Brady Lang – Sports Writer

It’s been a long road back, but first-year Cougars wrestler Reza Mosallat is ecstatic to be back wrestling.

[dropcaps round=”no”]T[/dropcaps]here was a time in Mosallat’s life when he didn’t think he would be able to get back to the thing he loves to do the most, wrestling. A little over 17 months ago, Mosallat was involved in a very serious car crash that fractured seven of his bones while breaking another, seriously threatening his wrestling career.

“I was getting off of a fifteen-hour shift when I was involved in the accident,” said Mosallat. “My car flipped seven times, I hit two poles and of the 12 air bags in my car not a single one went off; I was lucky to be alive. I had seven of my bones fractured, with my collarbone being the only bone broken.”

“The minute the car started to lose control, all I was thinking is ‘this is not normal, the car is going to flip’ I put myself back in the seat, I had my shoes and a bunch of other stuff in the back of my car and everything was flying around my car and hitting the roof. I had my eyes barely open and was knocked out for several seconds. All I can remember is my car going side-to-side and back-to-back. It was the hardest impact I’ve had in my life, never been slammed quite like that.”

Mosallat, the product of Tehran, Iran, is just in his first-year of wrestling at the University of Regina and started wrestling seven years before he was involved in his accident. Mosallat said that the accident pushed him back into continuing on with his education.

“I was wrestling on the side for the past seven years with a few high school teams and club teams in Winnipeg,” said Mosallat. “I started working right after high school and [the accident] really pushed me back into getting an education and continue on with my wrestling career.

“The recovery [from the accident] was very long and a tough process,” Mosallat said regarding his recovery. “I’m still recovering from it today and even after I’ve had my two surgeries to help repair my collarbone, I still have yet to have my final surgery on my collarbone.”

Mosallat finished second in his weight class at the U of R Invitational on the weekend of Jan. 12. Even though Mosallat finished second in his first tournament in nearly two years, he was still not satisfied with the way he finished.

“My expectations were to finish on top in the tournament. Being a little bit older and mature, I was really expecting to come in first place,” he said. “Going in with that frame of mind wasn’t the best. It’s not a matter of thinking I can be at that level, that won’t get you first place. Training hard will get you first place.”

Mosallat’s wrestling isn’t the only thing he’s brought to the University. He is also the creator of Reza Entertainment, which has brought numerous events to the Owl such as Fright Night and the ABC Too Cool for School events.

“Reza Entertainment was something I created when I moved to Regina,” he said. “I was involved in many events in Manitoba, but decided to go on my own once I got to Regina. I started it for the students at the University, giving them some live entertainment. I’m getting help from a lot of the University students as well with things such as marketing and promoting around the University. So far we’ve had two pretty good events and there will be more to come.”

Mosallat’s work ethic and drive to be the best will make him a huge force to be reckoned with in the future at the University of Regina. He will just continue to improve as the season wears on and he is definitely an athlete to watch in Cougar Athletics.