Perseverance

Levitz & Fielden are strong selections as possibles. I personally feel a healthy Mason Winner has a realistic shot. Walker being a heavy favorite, and not counting out any other top 182’s, but I think Winner wants to prove something. Another intriguing kid is Cale Gray at 220. His strength, athleticism, yet ability to wrestle small.....will prove formidable against anyone in that weight class. I feel this kid is a little slept on despite his strong state ranking.

Silas Allred will pursue his 4th consecutive Spartan Classic title this weekend. Due to my relative infancy regarding following the sport...I’m hoping others on the site can provide me with a possible list of other 4x winners, and/or the most recent. Thanks in advance for any info or clarity provided. It will be used by our school, local newspapers, program, and a proud dad’s ego stroking. 😏

Iowa Wesleyan is an upstart D3 program that will begin competing in 2020-21 academic school year. Not only will they be launching the men’s wrestling program, but will be the first D3 in Iowa to offer women’s wrestling as well. Coach Powell is actively seeking recruits and is very interested in Indiana’s deep talent pool. Listed below is his contact information. This is not only a great added resource/contact for the many coaches with wrestlers who fit the D3 mold......but also an excellent opportunity to continue helping grow the sport. Feel free to contact Coach Powell with any questions, or to share the contact info of young men & women in Indiana who are deserving of his recruiting interest. Robert V. Watson-Powell Head Wrestling Coach Iowa Wesleyan University 601 North Main Street Mount Pleasant, IA 52641 (o):319-385-6494 (c):440-227-6381 Twitter: @iw_wrestle Instagram: @iw_wrestle Facebook: @iwwrestle

Allred & Mendez advance to Cadet Freestyle Semi’s. Both in great position to secure the weight with Team USA for Pan Am’s. Lee, Lohrey, Dickens and Walker all advance to Junior Freestyle Semi’s. Quite a few hammers still wrestling back in consi’s at both levels. Including Seltzer, Parkinson, Erb & Boarman. Semi-Finals begin tomorrow morning at 9 a.m.

Unfortunately both young men fell a little short.....and each finish Runner-Up. Freestyle begins tomorrow morning. They’ll bounce back strong 💪🏼

Silas & Jesse both victorious and into the Finals.

Some additional info....... #10 Mendez knocks off #3 Franco to advance to Semi’s. Will have #20 at 126 Ramos next. #2 Allred pins #20 Paulus to advance to semis. Will have #8 at 195 Franklin next.

Some additional info regarding the tournament. Aside from a dominating performance by IN Gold.......the Blue team competed extremely well and captured 3rd place. Excluding the stand out performances......a couple others from the Gold team that deserve acknowledged, begins with Deters. The young man lost 1 match all weekend and really wrestled at a high level. Chundi did awesome filling in for Cottey. He arguably got one of the biggest wins in the final by knocking off Illinois 106 (1-0), in at that point....a tied dual. He was an octopus in the top position all 3rd period. Irrick showed incredible heart finishing his final bout. With about 30 seconds left in the match. He appeared to completely blow out his knee. The young man literally hopped back to the center, and painfully finished the match to ensure we only gave up 3, having to then be carried to the training table. Trainers on hand speculated complete tears of his ACL and MCL. Dorian Keys also suffered a likely ligament injury in his knee the day before. Landon Boe had a pretty major ankle break as well. Genuine prayers are appreciated for these warriors. On a final note......Kentucky’s top team is MUCH improved. They were pretty Fresh/Soph heavy as well. Not sure if the KY kids are traveling more or what, but they were hard nosed from top to bottom. And had a couple kids who are right there on that “elite” level. Was surprised, and very impressed by their upward trajectory as a state.

Definitely have. There’s a lot of mixed emotions about it......but it aligns with our goals in an awesome way! They’ve also adopted the UWW weight classes/age divisions. So that makes Silas a Cadet for both events. They’ll be some very tough kids to contend with, but we like Silas’ chances in having the opportunity to represent the US at Pan Am & UWW. Its almost redemption of sorts.....and on a grander scale so to speak. Silas likely would’ve won Cadet National Triple Crown last summer if not for the knee surgery after his Folkstyle Nats title. Very discouraging falling short of those goals due to circumstances outside of our control. So the opportunity he’s presented to compete within his age group at the World level this year.......genuinely feels like God’s reward for a certain level of “perseverance”. 😏 Looking forward to the possibilities this summer will bring.

Inbox me your info plz. I’ll have Coach Eppert or Gill touch base with you. They’ll have no problems bringing the young man into the fold for the weekend and helping coach. 👍

Some CIA wrestlers that I know are making the trip include......Silas, Seltzer, Noehre and likely Viduya & Lohrey.