Israel SilvaFRESNO, Calif. -- The building of a staff has started to take shape for Fresno State wrestling as head coach Troy Steiner announced the hiring of Israel Silva as an assistant coach on Friday.
"I am very excited about adding Israel to our staff here at Fresno State," Steiner said. "He has been an assistant at this level for a number of years and has experience coaching and competing at a high level. His ability to connect with the student-athlete, alumni and fans is very evident and I know I will be able to trust him in helping build the Bulldog wrestling program."
Israel joins the Red Wave after spending the last two seasons at George Mason, first serving as an interim assistant coach and then last season as the top assistant coach for head coach Joe Russell. In his time at GMU, the Patriots qualified three wrestlers for the NCAA Championships.
"Fresno State is in a unique situation in building a program and I am thrilled to be given an opportunity to be a part of the building process," Silva said. "I would like to thank Coach Russell at George Mason for his mentorship the past two years and I am very appreciative of my time as a Patriot.
"I have known Coach Steiner for a long time as he was my personal coach when I was training at the Northwest Wrestling Regional Training Center and there is no individual I trust more than him. He has a grand vision for this program to compete for trophies at the NCAA Championships and I know we will be willing to put in the work to make that a reality," said Silva.
Prior to his time with the Patriots, Silva spent two seasons at South Dakota State helping to elevate the Jackrabbit program with his enthusiasm, intensity and relentless work ethic.
In his first year as an assistant coach at SDSU, Silva helped lead the team to a 5-12 dual record, 1-4 Western Wrestling Conference record and a fifth-place finish in the conference standings. The team qualified one wrestler for the NCAA Championships via the West Regional.
Silva's second year on campus saw the Jacks go 6-8 overall, including a 3-2 Western Wrestling Conference dual mark and had three wrestlers qualify for the 2014 NCAA Wrestling Championships in Oklahoma City, Okla.
From 2009-2012, Silva served as an assistant coach at the Northwest Wrestling Regional Training Center in Corvallis, Ore., where he first connected with Steiner during Steiner's time as an assistant with the Oregon State program. The NWRTC is an Olympic-level regional training center that provides services for senior-level athletes to achieve national and international success. The majority of his time was spent with student-athletes at Oregon State.
Prior to his time at the NWRTC, Silva was a volunteer assistant under head coach Chris Bono at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga for three seasons. A two-year starter for the Mocs, Silva earned a degree in sociology. On the mat, he claimed the Southern Conference heavyweight title as a senior and was part of the Mocs' SoCon team championship in 2006.
Once his collegiate wrestling career wrapped up, Silva put together an impressive post-collegiate career on the international wrestling stage, as well. He is a four-time World Team Member for Mexico, three-time Freestyle Pan American medalist and was a 2012 Olympic alternate over his seven years of international experience.
Before wrestling at UTC, Silva was a two-time Junior College All-American at North Idaho College. He placed second at the national tournament his sophomore year and was third as a freshman. Silva led the team to the Junior College National Championship in 2002.
A native of Marysville, Wash., Silva was a four-time state qualifier at Pilchuck High School from 1998-2001. He captured the state title his junior season, finished as the state runner-up his senior year and placed sixth as a sophomore.
Silva File
2015-16 - Head Assistant Coach, George Mason
2014-15 - Interim Assistant Coach, George Mason
2012-14 - Assistant Coach, South Dakota State
2009-12 - Assistant Coach, Northwest Wrestling Regional Training Center, Corvallis, Ore.
2006-09 - Volunteer Assistant Coach, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now