Joseph Sibomana and his family fled Tanzania when he was eight years old, settled in Atlanta for awhile and moved to Cedar Rapids to join other family members four years ago.

He did not know a thing about wrestling until he enrolled at Roosevelt Middle School as an eighth grader.

"There was a poster in the locker room that said, 'If you think you're tough, come join wrestling,'" he said Thursday night. "I thought I was tough, so I went out for it."

Sibomana was plenty tough for the third-ranked Jefferson High School wrestling team Thursday in a pair of Mississippi Valley Conference dual meets to begin the season.

Sibomana collected two pins at 120 pounds as the J-Hawks defeated Dubuque Wahlert, 50-27, and Cedar Falls, 48-25.

Sibomana, a junior, pinned CJ Lange of Wahlert in 2:59 and stuck Jacob Watters of Cedar Falls in 5:21.

Sibomana struggled in some of his matches last year for the J-Hawks as a sophomore, but he looked a lot more polished in his first two bouts of the season Thursday.

"He is raw, but he's improved a ton," said Jefferson Coach Dick Briggs. "He still has a long ways to go, but he's pretty athletic, isn't he?"

Sibomana left Tanzania, a country in East Africa, with his mother, four brothers and one sister to seek a better life in the United States. "It was really violent there," he said. "A lot of wars, fighting and everything.

"My family wasn't involved, but my grandparents were. They were killed in the wars."

Sibomana said all four of his grandparents died in the wars, before he was born.

Briggs said he's proud of Sibomana for what he's accomplished at Jefferson.

"He's a great role model for some of the kids in our school that come from that same situation," said Briggs. "I'm really happy to see him be kind of a leader for the kids that come from the African countries."

Sibomana said he likes living in Cedar Rapids and enjoys being a member of the wrestling team. "I've improved a lot," he said, smiling.

Kyle Briggs (132) and Matt Culver (145) also had two pins Thursday night for the J-Hawks. Tavian Rashed (152) collected a technical fall and a regular decision.

Brenden Baker, who placed third at the state tournament last season, did not wrestle for Jefferson due to a foot injury.

JEFFERSON 50, WAHLERT 27

152 - Tavian Rashed (J) tech fall Ike McDermott, 22-5

160 - Andrew Turner (W) dec Luke Sedlacek, 3-1 (ot)

170 - Nick Dreckman (J) def. Myles Wernimont, 12-5

182 - Kelly May (J) won by forfeit

195 - John Patrick (W) pinned Erik Hovey, 6:25 (ot)

220 - Dylan Olson (W) pinned Richard Moomey, 3:12

285 - Dalton Kuehl (J) pinned Drew Lenz, 0:33

106 - Zach Main (J) won by forfeit

113 - Tristan Birt (W) won by forfeit

120 - Joseph Sibomana (J) pinned CJ Lange, 2:59

126 - Matt Wiggington (W) pinned Tyler Unkel, 2:55

132 - Kyle Briggs (J) pinned Diondre Larose, 2:54

138 - Dylon Pappas (J) won by forfeit

145 - Matt Culver (J) pinned Boone McDermott, 0:52

JEFFERSON 48, CEDAR FALLS 25

160 - Luke Sedlacek (J) def. Bryce Pilcher, 8-4

170 - Nick Dreckman (J) won by forfeit

182 - Kelly May (J) pinned Trent Willison, 4:14

195 - Chase Koch (CF) dec. Erik Hovey, 7-3

220 - Jared Halterman (CF) pinned Richard Moomey, 0:52

285 - Dalton Kuehl (J) won by forfeit

106 - Zach Main (J) pinned Carter Russel, 0:47

113 - Gabe Penrith (CF) won by forfeit

120 - Joseph Sibomana (J) pinned Jacob Watters, 5:21

126 - Blake Halstead (CF) dec. Tyler Unkel, 13-5

132 - Kyle Briggs (J) pinned Clay Pilcher, 4:48

138 - Dan Kelly (CF) pinned Dylon Pappas, 0:14

145 - Matt Culver (J) pinned Sam Lindaman, 3:34

152 - Tavian Rashed (J) dec. Ali Al-Mabuk, 12-7