Majd Alabas, 17, got down on all fours on the wrestling mat at the former Black Bear Tavern & Grille in St. Johnsbury and braced himself. Beside him Ayman Alsalloumi, 18, stood with his hands behind his back. He bent his knees, angled to lean his chest against Majd's side and scuttled across the room on the balls of his feet, pushing Majd with him. "Stay strong, MJ!" hollered St. Johnsbury Academy coach Michael Verge at Majd as he watched him struggle to resist his sparring partner. Majd dropped to the floor, and Ayman fell on top of him. "What are you doing, MJ?" Verge asked. The boys popped up to repeat the sprawling drill. Ayman walked to Majd's other side, tugged at his sweatshirt and ran a hand through his floppy hair before assuming his position. Wrestling is in Ayman's blood; his paternal grandfather participated in tournaments in Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan. Since he joined the team last fall, he's lost about 20 pounds, a change he hopes will surprise his family in West Haven, Conn., when he returns home for winter break. "Stay stronger, MJ," said Verge with a chuckle, as Majd struggled to match his sinewy frame to Ayman's. But the younger boy couldn't overcome the difference of five weight classes between them. "He's too much for me," Majd said, turning to Verge with his hands spread in surrender. On the mat, these two St. Johnsbury Academy students may be fierce sparring partners, but off of it, they share a bond they compare to brotherhood. Both recent refugees from the conflict in Syria, they're attending the Northeast Kingdom boarding and day school on a scholarship designed specifically for young people in their position. Ayman and his younger sister Ghena were the first students to come to the academy on that scholarship in 2016. The program is the brainchild of headmaster Tom Lovett. Moved by the stories of Syrian refugees trying to escape to Europe by sea, he wanted to help. But using private sponsorships to bring Syrian families to St. Johnsbury, as locals did when they resettled Laotian refugee families there in the 1980s, wasn't feasible under current U.S. immigration policy. And obtaining the necessary visas to admit students directly from Syria was too difficult. So Lovett turned to a St. Johnsbury resident with connections: Alison Barkley, a retired Foreign Service officer and wife of…
Majd Alabas, 17, got down on all fours on the wrestling mat at the former Black Bear Tavern & Grille in St. Johnsbury and braced himself. Beside him Ayman Alsalloumi, 18, stood with his hands behind his back. He bent his knees, angled to lean his chest against Majd's side and scuttled across the room on the balls of his feet, pushing Majd with him. "Stay strong, MJ!" hollered St. Johnsbury Academy coach Michael Verge at Majd as he watched him struggle to resist his sparring partner. Majd dropped to the floor, and Ayman fell on top of him. "What are you doing, MJ?" Verge asked. The boys popped up to repeat the sprawling drill. Ayman walked to Majd's other side, tugged at his sweatshirt and ran a hand through his floppy hair before assuming his position. Wrestling is in Ayman's blood; his paternal grandfather participated in tournaments in Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan. Since he joined the team last fall, he's lost about 20 pounds, a change he hopes will surprise his family in West Haven, Conn., when he returns home for winter break. "Stay stronger, MJ," said Verge with a chuckle, as Majd struggled to match his sinewy frame to Ayman's. But the younger boy couldn't overcome the difference of five weight classes between them. "He's too much for me," Majd said, turning to Verge with his hands spread in surrender. On the mat, these two St. Johnsbury Academy students may be fierce sparring partners, but off of it, they share a bond they compare to brotherhood. Both recent refugees from the conflict in Syria, they're attending the Northeast Kingdom boarding and day school on a scholarship designed specifically for young people in their position. Ayman and his younger sister Ghena were the first students to come to the academy on that scholarship in 2016. The program is the brainchild of headmaster Tom Lovett. Moved by the stories of Syrian refugees trying to escape to Europe by sea, he wanted to help. But using private sponsorships to bring Syrian families to St. Johnsbury, as locals did when they resettled Laotian refugee families there in the 1980s, wasn't feasible under current U.S. immigration policy. And obtaining the necessary visas to admit students directly from Syria was too difficult. So Lovett turned to a St. Johnsbury resident with connections: Alison Barkley, a retired Foreign Service officer and wife of…