“I really believe in the tradition of the Academy. You get a great education, you have an opportunity to serve your country, and the opportunities after you graduate are hard to beat,” stated Travis Mallo over the phone on Sunday night. “It is a prestigious place; an amazing opportunity; and I am really excited about making the most of the experience. It really is a place that I feel I can succeed on the wrestling mat and it will best prepare me for life after school.”
A senior at Mason City High School, Mallo is a two-time state place winner for the Mohawks, an accomplished freestyle wrestler, and a recruit on the rise with an off-season of national and international success.
Travis Mallo“Wrestling is a tough sport that takes a lot to be good, and even more to be great. You work your butt off in the room so you want to get out on the mat at compete,” offered Travis when asked about wrestling year round. “I love the sport and I like to have fun when I wrestle; by traveling you can see how you can do against the best, you see what works, and what needs work.”
Freestyle has enabled Mallo the opportunity to travel throughout the country and internationally to Brazil. After jumping onto the national stage in 2009 with a third place finish at 171 pounds in Fargo at Cadet Nationals, that success carried over into 2010 with a third place finish in April at the 2010 FILA Cadet Nationals in Akron. Instead of going to Fargo with Team Iowa in July, Mallo made the Cadet National Team and won a Gold medal at the Pan-American Game in Manaus, Brazil. He has also competed for Team Iowa at the 2009 and 2010 Cadet Duals.
With a 3.5 GPA in the classroom and a wrestling resume that improved every year; Mallo chose Army over Missouri and Northern Illinois amongst several others that were recruiting him. Having a good idea of where he wanted to go before he took his official visits, the trip to West Point solidified his decision while giving him a glimpse of his future.
“The visit was an eye opener but it gave me a preview of what it would be like at the Academy. I stayed in the barracks and got to see life as a cadet. I got up with them in the morning, went to class, ate with them, and was there for Taps. There was a lot to it but I really just got a chance to walk in their shoes,” responded Mallo when asked about this visit.
As the service academies are able to contact recruits during their junior year because of the extensive application process Mallo had considered wrestling for the Black Knights for some time. Assistant coaches Ryan Wilman and Rafael Vega reached out to Mallo under former coach Chuck Barbee and his recruitment continued when Joe Heskett became head coach in July and into the fall.
With the change in head coaches Travis saw the transition from Barbee to Heskett as a great opportunity that became even more enticing.
“I was considering Army before Coach Heskett took over but he really put them over the top. Wrestling at Iowa State and accomplishing all that he has done has earned him a great reputation. Getting to know him and the other coaches made me confident in my decision,” offered Mallo.
With his college decision made Travis can now turn his attention to his last season of high school football and his last year of wrestling in Iowa.
“I really wanted to make a choice before wrestling season started because I didn’t want any distractions. I had been thinking about it for awhile and after I took my official visit to West Point last weekend, and I knew that was where I wanted to go,” said Travis who will be back at 171 pounds. “The goal this year is to win the state championship; I have been working for it for a long time and this is my last chance to get it done. I’ll probably keep wrestling after that but that is what I focusing on right now.”
At the same time Mallo was just as excited about his future at Army.
“With the team they have, the coaching staff with Joe Heskett, the recruits that are coming in, and the energy that is there; I think that Army wrestling is going to improve every year and we can accomplish a lot while I am there,” said Mallo.
Travis Mallo joins Conor Youtsey in head coach Joe Heskett’s first recruiting class at West Point. Both wrestlers are expected to attend the United States Military Prep School their first year on campus and each is expected to compete for a spot in the starting lineup the following year. Mallo projects as a 174 for the Black Knights while Youtsey, the 55th ranked recruit in the InterMat Top 100, expects to be at 125 for most of his career.
InterMat was granted permission to republish this article from BuckeyeWrestling.com.
http://www.buckeyewrestling.com/index.php?q=node/37588
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