James Buss is a Winner

By Tony Brooks

De La Salle Meteor James Buss is a winner in the All-Everything category. In 2011, the senior nose tackle wearing #67 had 48 tackles and was named the Chicago Catholic League White Defensive Player of The Year. Additionally, Buss was honored as a Class 6A All-Stater, First Team All-Conference Player and voted MVP of the Meteors varsity football team. Football season is over now and Buss was not content to dwell in historic accolades which have been embellished and sealed in the IHSA record books. Buss rumbled and rolled right into the next winter sport, varsity wrestling.
Like Donald Trump building skyscrapers, over the last four years, Buss’ wrestling skills have been steadily building a name for him. De La Salle wrestling coach Dale Burke, first noticed him freshman year while Buss was playing football. Coach Burke noted that Buss had good size, was tough and had natural athletic ability. It’s hard not to be noticed when you are a 5’7” freshman weighing 350 pounds. Buss began to wrestle at the freshman level, and with no previous experience, he quickly caught on to the concepts of the sport, was able to grasp the moves and had an opportunity to work out with a De La Salle former heavy weight state champion – Curtis Blaydes. Buss went undefeated his freshman year of high school wrestling with a record of 35-0. He also wrestled that year at the junior varsity level where he went 14-1.
Buss returned his sophomore year progressively better and wrestled on the varsity team and qualified for state competition with a record of 34-6. By his junior year, Buss was dominating his competition with a Catholic League championship record of 39-1 where he was undefeated until he reached the semifinals of the state championship. At Nationals he went 17-0. After watching Buss’ development, Coach Burke encouraged Buss that he would not lose another high school match. So far – So Right. At 5’11”and 285 pounds, Buss has started out his senior year 12-0 wrestling folk style in the heavyweight division.
At the Disney Duels last summer, Buss suffered a meniscus tear in his second match, but still managed to compete through the pain and discomfort to win eight more matches. Buss went 10-0 and claimed Gold Medal All-American status.
Buss is a super athlete in duel sports, but his love of the game leans more towards wrestling where he gets to determine his own destiny on the mat. ” I love being a team player, but when it comes down to it, I want to be the one that controls everything,” says Buss. Buss however, is not just sports focused. His ambition is to be a secondary educator in English or History, with a bit more emphasis on English. “I want to be able to inspire kids to write poetry and read books,” reflected Buss.
Even with all of the attention Buss gives to sports, he is even more focused in the classroom. With a G.P.A. rising to 3.2 he knows that a solid academic performance will get him into the college of his choice. For Buss, an academic scholarship is more important than an athletic scholarship. Once admitted to the college of his choice, the athletics will take care of itself while he journeys toward his goal of being a national wrestling champion.