Senior Tristan Collins has been wrestling for the Terra Linda Wrestling team since his freshman year, but he began his wrestling career in middle school. All of his hard work, dedication, training, and determination led him to be placed on the varsity team as a freshman. 

Collins has had a passion for wrestling since he was a kid, and his grandfather would always help him train “rain or shine” after matches were won or lost. “ I kinda took that work ethic, and I brought it to high school. It taught me to push myself to do better no matter if I win or lose, ” mentioned Collins. He also explained how when he was younger, he would struggle to stay motivated, but as he got older, his passion for wrestling grew, and he improved. He uses this experience to motivate his teammates.  “I keep reminding a lot of the younger athletes that things are gonna be tough, things are gonna challenge you, but the more you push through it, the better you’ll be every single practice.”  One of his favorite memories from this year was beating Redwood and Novato: “This year beating Novato and Redwood, which are two very strong teams…. made me very proud of my team.”

Olivia Zabrick describes how Collins is very spirited with the team: “He brings like the heart, honestly, like he’s very passionate about wrestling.” Zabriek explains how great of a teammate he is to her and the rest of their crew, “Whatever people wanna work on, he’s willing to help, and if people are upset after our match, he’s always there to comfort them.”  She’s sad to see their time wrestling together come to an end since it’s both of their last years here at TL. “ It’s just kind of sad seeing it all end, he’s grown so much as a person and in the sport.”

After high school, Collins hopes to go to college to study physical therapy and athletic training and to continue wrestling. Collins explains, “ I wanna do something to help people because so many people help me.”