LONG BEACH, Long Island (WABC) — A local high school wrestling phenom just won a national championship and is heading to college on a scholarship, but that’s a far cry from how his life started off thousands of miles away, where he endured a life-changing attack that’s hard to fathom.<\/p>\n
Dunia Sibomana-Rodriguez has always had guts and grit, so it’s no surprise how well he took to wrestling.<\/p>\n
He’s been grappling with life since he was 6 years old, but he would not let life’s challenges pin him down.<\/p>\n
“I don’t think I would have ever thought I’d be here, coming from my country and ending up being a good wrestler,” Sibomana-Rodriguez said.<\/p>\n
He was just a little boy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, when a swarm of chimpanzees attacked, killing Sibomana-Rodriguez’s cousin, injuring his brother and leaving him with no easy life, trying to fit in. But then Sibomana-Rodriguez found wrestling.<\/p>\n
“Once I started getting better at it, people started accepting me and I accepted them,” he said.<\/p>\n
Sibomana-Rodriguez came to the United States for reconstructive surgeries.<\/p>\n
He had never wrestled a day in his life. Five Nassau County titles, three state championships and a national title later; the 18-year-old has committed to the University of North Carolina. As for how he got his start, he was taken in by a wrestling coach at Long Beach who would adopt him when he was in middle school.<\/p>\n
“It meant everything because without him pushing me so hard I wouldn’t be where I am today,” Sibomana-Rodriguez said.<\/p>\n
For teammate Ethan Andreuli, a sophomore, Sibomana-Rodriguez is more than a mentor. He’s an inspiration.<\/p>\n
“He always kept like a smile on his face, kept ignoring like the bad stuff, and he always kept working hard and doing the right thing,” Andreuli said.<\/p>\n
The high school wrestler needed more than a dozen surgeries. He lost a finger, part of an ear, and part of his face, but he never lost his indomitable spirit.<\/p>\n
“His dedication, his hard work made other boys work,” XX said.<\/p>\n
Sibomana-Rodriguez made others realize their own potential.<\/p>\n
“Don’t let people determine who you are, and you should make your own story,” Sibomana-Rodriguez said.<\/p>\n
———-<\/p>\n
* More Long Island news<\/a><\/p>\n * Send us a news tip<\/a><\/p>\n * Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts<\/a> <\/p>\n * Download our connected TV app<\/a> <\/p>\n
Submit a tip or story idea to Eyewitness News<\/p>\n