Before the wrestling season started last fall, Sulayman Bah CC’27 called his shot. He knew the NCAA championships would be held in Cleveland in the spring, so before he had even qualified, he got in touch with one of his high school teachers who lived there to see if she wanted to watch him compete.
“She was like, ‘Awesome, send me the dates!’” Bah says. “And so I had to make it into the tournament. It was almost a way to manifest it.”
Bah, a lightweight wrestler raised in the Bronx, earned an at-large bid to the 2026 tournament after a breakout season with the Lions, racking up a 24–41 record and a third-place finish in the Ivy League championships. After a few tough losses in the first half of the season, he attributes his later success to a shift in his pre-match mindset.
“When I focus on winning, I get really nervous because I care about the result,” Bah says. “But when I focus on performing and putting on a good show, I’m more locked in for those individual moments, like thinking about getting the next takedown rather than the score at the end of the match.”
Looking ahead to his senior year, the computer science major is hoping to build on his breakthroughs. One of Bah’s ultimate goals is to become an All-American, and he’s spent the summer working to make that happen. Here, he shares more about how he’s feeling before the semester and season ramp up.
You had a big breakthrough last season. What changed?
We wrestled Rider and Clarion right before winter break and I lost both my matches — I was upset because those were matches I could have won. After we came back from break I remember thinking, “I am so tired of losing matches I can win and getting so nervous beforehand.” In practice, I told myself that I would wrestle as hard as I could and see how long I could go; I made it through the entire practice and realized I had more than enough left in the tank. Before facing Long Island University, I told myself I would do the same thing and that it didn’t matter because I did what I could. And then when I got on the mat, I dominated. After that we beat Cornell, too, and that really felt like a turning point. I just rode that high.
What was summer training like?
I trained with one of our coaches, Sebastian Rivera. He’s an Olympic bronze medalist and five-time All-American, and he’s a very tough partner to wrestle with. It’s not fun — he’s two weight classes above me — but I’ve never said no when he wants me to train with him. I want to have the best chances of winning against All-Americans this season, and get as good as I can. I feel like it’s going to be a huge advantage going into matches. The mental side is also key. Last year I was going in to do extra work at night just because it was something no one else was doing. So I’ve carried that with me — there is no one outworking me right now. I’m going to make sure I have the mental edge.
You started out wrestling with Beat the Streets and now volunteer with the organization. What has that been like?
I drop by practices to coach the kids, and do whatever they need me to do. My little brother also started wrestling with them, so I’ll stop by tournaments to coach him. I really enjoy coaching; I feel like it’s such a great way for me to not only give back to my community, but also to improve my own wrestling. I have to think through positions and the skills I’m teaching rather than just doing it on the mat. I like helping the kids figure out their own wrestling style, since it’s not one dimensional. What works for one person won’t work for another. Whenever I can get back to help out, I always will.
What do you like to do with teammates outside of practice?
A lot of our adventures involve food. After we won the Ivy League championship we wanted to celebrate, so everyone got a tub of ice cream and we hung out in our Ivy League hats playing Jackbox Games on the TV. It was so fun. We also play a lot of games during the season, like Mafia and Avalon, especially on the bus rides to tournaments. It helps us bond and we have such a good time. We also love hacky sack –– I think we play it almost every day before practice.
What has been your favorite class at Columbia?
My first semester of Contemporary Civilization. My professor was Roosevelt Montás CC’95, GSAS’04. He was just amazing. He allowed us to think a lot on our own about what we were reading; I also liked writing in that class because I felt like I was able to be expressive. My creative juices really flowed and I had the ability to make connections with the texts. I got good feedback on the last paper I wrote, and it gave me such a boost.
How have you taken advantage of being in NYC for college?
I was at boarding school in Pennsylvania before Columbia, and I didn’t have much access to transportation. But now that I’m back in the city, I have access to do whatever I want. It also feels good to be closer to home so I can see my family as often as I want. I’ve loved getting to run, and I’ve discovered routes around campus and by the river. I’m also hoping to bike more in the coming months. I really fell in love with it this summer.
