Perseverance

Congratulations to Silas Allred, Joseph Walker and Alec Viduya on becoming USA Wrestling Magazine Scholastic All-Americans. Exercising as much effort in the classroom as you do in a particular sport opens up so many more doors of opportunity. In a sport like like wrestling, where scholarship dollars are highly coveted and extremely limited, the ability to offset the investment of athletic money with academic money is a huge advantage for would-be recruits. It should also be recognized that consistency of effort in the classroom and into growing your character, demonstrates well rounded d

I hear you brother. And for clarity....my comments aren’t meant to be argumentative at all. Just additional perspective from individuals whose weathered the challenges of 1A wrestling, and relentlessly found a way to excel. But I will say....that above mindset should be worked to be ingrained in the minds of athletes at all levels. Because in my opinion, where your from, how much money you have, etc...should never be an excuse to not recklessly pursue your passions. And being fully transparent.....we’ve never had tons of money. In fact, driving different locations for partners

Actually.....kind of, yes. But not in that articulated way. You simply help them develop a mindset that breaks the “small town mentality” of “It can never happen to me”. You encourage them to set their goals ridiculously high....then spill their guts every day to accomplish them. Urge them to never make excuses, work as hard in life & the classroom as they do in the sport. Teach them that wins & losses don’t define them....their response does. Build them up in the reality that they can accomplish anything. And at the end of the day......when/if they fall short of thos

In all fairness....I think Silas has solidified himself as a pretty special talent regardless of school size. So with all do respect, I genuinely feel to draw a question about why aren’t more 1A or 2A wrestlers like him, is a bit unfair. Almost as unfair as if I asked why aren’t more 4A wrestlers like him. Admittedly....I certainly don’t have the answers regarding pros/cons of class wrestling. I think there’s evidence of beneficial dynamics on both sides. The class question is always intriguing to me because comparisons are frequently made to other power states whose classed (PA

On behalf of Silas, myself and the rest of our family....we want to bring awareness to how accommodating the IHSAA was for us this weekend. All of us (including myself) at times get so caught up in what we feel they do wrong as it pertains to wrestling, we can easily become blinded to the multitude of right they do. Mr. Faulkens seen to it we had All-Access passes, and we’re allowed in our regular seats at our convenience. That type of gesture deserves a lot of credit. Because in what is always an extremely exhausting weekend.....factoring my health, my wife having to carry my breathing mac

Yes, he’s competing. He will be representing one of the PA teams at 182lbs.

This may be a recycled idea....so forgive me if already presented in the past. But what about seeding Regional placements to ensure no ridiculous match-ups take place. Using a separation criteria of sorts, without changing the actual placement match-ups based on Regional results. I would think one of our rankings guys, or someone knowledgeable and unbiased....could assist the IHSAA with this type of dynamic for Semi-State & State. This could at least help prevent certain matchups (won’t stop entirely of course), also appease the purists who don’t want change, as well as create a mu

Genuinely appreciate each of your encouraging words. I equally appreciate all who read the article, and just choose to pray and encourage personally. Collectively means a lot to us as a family. With full transparency....I can say that I fell in love with the sport of wrestling for reasons other than just my son. He was just the vehicle God used to lead me to it. In fact, in the beginning Silas was average at best. He was a chubby kid who had some natural gifts, but threw a nasty “lefty” headlock that resembled a Joe Frazier headshot. So yes....I was the “know nothing” over zeal

That’s a real statement brother. Painful lesson.....but a valuable one. An early cradle and extremely intelligent wrestling of backing up and down blocking, allowed a very strong...physically mature and battle tested Mazero to squeek past 14 yr old Silas by 1 point. Admittedly....it was one of the best things to happen to Silas. It initiated an even deeper sense of drive towards strength training, positioning, and becoming a well rounded wrestler. Not just a dynamic athlete on his feet. I’m hopeful every wrestler who reads this....whether freshman or upper classmen, fully realizes...

His selflessness is admirable. Truly mean that. But the “opinions” that do matter can have some say over scholarship dollars. Certain opinions on this matter go far beyond this website. And wrestling aside....knowing recruiting as I do, unless Evan is being courted as a potential heavyweight in college...it’s not a good look. Most recruiters would ask why not just let his friend wrestle 220? Having the opportunity to wrestle #2 in the country whose already signed a 100% for 5yrs is an UNREAL opportunity to bolster recruiting. That’s the part that’s hard to understand. It’s a ma

I’ve avoided dialogue regarding Silas vs Bates all year. For obvious reasons on one hand as Silas’ father, but also due to privileged information regarding weight changes, and the initial facilitation of this “should have been” match up. I could allow pride to take over and list countless examples of top 10 Nationally ranked young men from 182-220 that Silas has pinned or tech’d. Including some Bates was unfortunately on the losing end to. And I say “unfortunately” GENUINELY. Because despite how I know this match up would go.....we genuinely root for Evan on the National scene. We wa

In a Regional that traditionally lacks depth in regards to numbers of highly ranked wrestlers.....there is always a handful of young men that represent on the big stage. I think it’s fair to say that despite numbers, this Regional is consistently a “sleeper” regarding man for man talent. However....this particular comment of mine has nothing to do with Silas, former elites like Parris......or even current studs like Bryer Hall & Gabe Phillips. I’m most intrigued about the 220lbs class. Not just this weekend, but moving forward. I’ve not seen 2-4th place of the opposing Secti

I honestly don’t know man. I crossed referenced the NWCA Website for any info on such an event, but found nothing. NHSCA popped up on a quick google search, but that’s obviously in VA. Kinda similar but don’t require Champion or Runner-Up status. I’m sorry I can’t be more help. I’ll have to defer your question to someone reading who has much more extensive knowledge of National level tourney history. Admittedly.....prior to about 6 yrs ago, my tournament knowledge consisted of ISWA and Wrestlemania. I’m still a greenhorn compared to most on this site I’m sure. I’ll only a

Thanks Matt. Good hearing from you man. My good friend Coach Slivka has shared with me a lot of positives about Carson. Genuinely looking forward to following your sons continued development as well. And yeah brother....Amos being from WV, just a quick trip over the bridge . That’s undoubtedly great looks for both young men. Amos’ physicality will force Carson to have to create angles with adequate set-ups to finish on a heavy hipped cat like him. And on the other side....CB’s speed, elusiveness, and dynamic offense on his feet....force Amos to have to continue improving his leg defen