Perseverance

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.

For the record......I had on the thong for luck in the stands! But its not leopard skin. It’s a chartreuse yellow, banana hammock. They’re going to include it in Silas’ section of the trophy case at Doah! Probably better wash it first huh? 😜

Couldn’t have went wrong with either selection. Jesse is a great kid with tons of awards, accolades and otherwise just waiting to be stockpiled with all his youth hardware! Silas spent less than 45 minutes on the mat this year. All falls and techs except for the major in the final. Appreciate the acknowledgement brother 😏

Have to admit......I entertained the idea with Silas. But ultimately.....had I done so, I would’ve outwardly been setting an example of athletics overriding academics. And that’s a major breach of the Allred’s household priority line. Being fully transparent.....Regardless of my sons success through relentless hard work, I still frequently think on the “what if’s”. He could legit be a sophomore right now and not such a young junior. Increased accolades in-state and Nationally would undoubtedly be attained. But ultimately....if athletics isn’t the back up plan to education/career, we’re setting our kids up for misaligned values. Make no mistake.....Silas plans to take the sport as far as his health, work ethic and God allows. But one reality we’ve embraced.....is that the events of tomorrow can never be fully predicted. And in retrospect......being young for his class and having to work harder to compensate for the age gap, has likely benefited his long term success and character much more than any medal could. And rest assured, as it pertains to the topic of age/success/recruiting......programs are very aware of an athletes age/projection. So in most instances.....being young and successful is even more appealing to recruiters. And that “success” I refer to here.....goes far beyond what an athlete accomplishes in their particular sport. Character & Classroom has to come first.

Muncie PAL......aka “Dodge City”! The locale where young hammers learn lefty headlocks from Tony Gonzalez that resemble left hooks from Joe Frazier!!! 😏

In speaking with my son Silas about the head but......he made a great point. Mind you, Silas knows Carson well and they’ve travelled together competing on the same squad numerous times. Silas’ perspective..... ”Dad.....Carson likes to establish head position. Even if he’s got wrist control or in the tie, he looks to position his head. If I’m trying to do the same thing.....and I head but a kid, the slow motion video will undoubtedly make it look intentional. It’s like in baseball, if a pitcher accidentally hits a batter. When they show it in slow motion, to the naked eye it could appear that he threw it right at the guy. When actually.....he just missed his spot.” I think Carson deserves a lot of credit for psychologically staying strong. Getting thrown Laplace on Fri after last years issue with Mahan.....put his mental toughness to the test immediately. And the young man passed with flying colors.

Really tough choice for you guys this year. Multiple guys are deserving. Being a 3 timer, it’s hard not to lock in Asa. However.....What Slivka has done the last 2 years is pretty special. Coming into the finals as the clear underdog, very few expecting him to win, facing higher touted nationally ranked foes.......and remaining cooler than polar bear toenails. The young man embodies consistency.