Elyria senior wrestler picks Tiffin

Elyria wrestling’s storied senior class has its final college commitment.

Bryce Allison, a senior state qualifier at 120 pounds, committed to Tiffin on May 11, the fourth and final Pioneer to commit to wrestling in college.

“I was the only senior that hadn’t committed, so it feels great to know where I’m going to go,” Allison said.

Allison’s commitment hasn’t gone as he planned. After qualifying for the state tournament at the beginning of March, he made the decision to wait until after the state tournament to focus on his recruiting.

When the state tournament was postponed, so was Allison’s recruitment process, as he pushed the process off to train for the possibility of a tournament reinstatement. When he found out the state tournament was officially canceled, Allison opened his recruiting back up.

The recruiting process Allison went through time, however, was completely different than the one he

had been through last fall. With the novel coronavirus pandemic shutting down schools across the nation, Allison had to trade in campus visits for texts and phone calls with coaches.

“It was kind of hard since I couldn’t go on any visits,”

he said. “It was hard making a decision without being able to be on campus.”

After spending two weeks talking to coaches, he narrowed his list down to three schools — Lake Erie, Tiffin and Edinboro. He visited Lake Erie and

Edinboro in November.

After going back and forth between schools, Allison’s decision came down to where he felt most comfortable. After talking to Tiffin coach Joey Simcoe and former Elyria wrestler and Tiffin freshman Matt Zuckerman, Allison

made his decision.

“I just really liked the atmosphere,” Allison said. “When I visited their wrestling room, it felt like home.”

Allison, who finished the season 24-7 and was a state qualifier at 120 pounds, is planning on starting his

collegiate career at 125 pounds.

In addition to Allison, Elyria seniors Mick Burnett (Pittsburgh), Dylan Shawver (Rutgers) and Ben Doehr (Lake Erie) are all committed to wrestle in college.

JENNIFER FORBUS — FOR THE MORNING JOURNAL Elyria’s Bryce Allison competes against St. Edward’s Richard Delsanter in the 120-pound weight class for a district title.