EXCLUSIVE BREAKING NEWS: Salah is transferring

Bullis’ top-ranked sophomore Salah Tsarni, who finished the season ranked10th nationally at 165 pounds, will wrestle for Blair Academy next season, his father, Ruslan, informed Legacy Wrestling on Wednesday night.

Tsarni has earned a pair of Interstate Athletic Conference and Maryland Independent Schools State Tournament crowns, won his sophomore division of the National High School Coaches Association Tournament earlier this month with a 5-1 victory over Steel Meyers of Texas, and was named a private schools’ Upper Weight Wrestler Of The Year by Legacy Wrestling.

A private boarding school located in Blairstown, New Jersey, Blair Academy is a national wrestling powerhouse with a long history of winning National Prep championships, including a notable streak of 31 consecutive titles from 1981-2012. Blair Academy last won a National Prep title in 2022, and was a runner-up in February of this year to Florida's Lake Highland Prep.

“I do confirm that Salah was offered admission to Blair Academy, and he accepted it on March 7th,” said Ruslan Tsarni of Salah Tsarni, who is a 4.0 student. “Salah has set quite ambitious athletic goals for himself and to achieve them he will need more training and more competition.”

Ruslan Tsarni credited Salah’s progress under coach Drew Robertson, a 1999 DeMatha graduate who is a four-time Washington Catholic Athletic Conference champion, winner of three state titles in four final appearances, and two National Preps crowns after having placed fifth and third.

“While Bullis academically equal to Blair,” Ruslan said, “The wrestling program of Blair is stronger and better positioned to enable Salah’s to achieve his goals. That is the main reason for his decision.”

Tsarni’s two-year high school record of 78-8 includes 39 pins and 28 technical falls includes a mark of 37-3 this year with 20 pins and 13 technical falls, and an improvement on every finish at each of his freshman year tournament placements.

Tsarni was a runner-up at this year’s McDonogh’s Ray Oliver Tournament in December after having placed third as a freshman, finished second at The Beast Of the East after failing to place as a ninth grader, was also a National Preps runner-up after finishing seventh a season earlier.

Tsarni was a runner-up at the Journeyman Classic on the weekend of April 11, falling by a 7-1 decision to Manuel Wagin of Germany, an under-17 World Silver Medalist in 2024.

Tsarni finished second at December’s Beast Of The East, falling, 4-3, to Florida’s seventh-ranked Claudio Torres of Lake Highland Prep, a National Prep champion and a USA Wrestling Junior Nationals title winner.

Torres would go on to defeat Tsarni in this year’s National Prep Finals as well, 10-7. Tsarni had taken an early lead off a blast double before Torres used a third-period takedown for a 7-4 lead he would never relinquish.

Tsarni went 5-1 with a pin and two technical falls at National Preps this year, winning his quarterfinal bout, 8-2, over post-graduate Seth Digby of Northfield Mount Hermon of Maine, and his semifinal match, by 6-1 decision over Blair’s Barry Norman. Norman finished fourth, and Digby, seventh.

On Thursday, High School on SI released its latest national rankings ahead of the U.S. Open, where Tsarni is competing at 80 KGs (roughly 176 pounds). In the new report, Tsarni is ranked 6th at 175 pounds.

165 lbs

1st Claudio Torres (Lake Highland Prep) DEC Salah Tsarni (Bullis School), 10-7

3rd Liam Carlin (Greens Farms Academy) DEC Barry Norman (Blair Academy), 4-2

5th Jack Chamberlain (Wyoming Seminary) DEF Chancery Deane (Father Ryan), 0-0 0:50

7th Seth Digby (Northfield Mt Hermon) MD Luke Murray (Peninsula Catholic), 10-2