The only way you could have missed Malcolm Allen (130 kg, Minnesota Storm) this past year is if you had your head firmly stuck in the sand.
Virtually out of nowhere, Allen debuted on the Senior Greco-Roman scene at the 2016 US Nationals last year in Las Vegas. Once a state champ in his native New York, Allen later completed his collegiate career at Minnesota State, going out with a runner-up finish at the Division II Nationals. He may have been a name in that walk of life, but not here, not now. Allen entered the field in Vegas as an unknown commodity, just one of many new faces at an event the more experienced lot tend to crush back into anonymity.
A pin in his opening match didn’t gain a ton of notice, and a technical-fall loss next time out to 2011 Junior World bronze medalist and multiple-time National Team member Toby Erickson (Army/WCAP) figured to be par for the course. Until…
Until Allen came out like a ball of fire for his first bout in the consolation bracket, where he quickly dispatched fellow prospect Zack Wilcox (MWC). That win earned him a shot at a bronze medal, and he seized it in full. Allen defeated Marine Corps upstart Eric Fader in the consolation finals, good for third-place in his first Senior event. Just in case anyone thought that Open performance was a fluke, Allen quieted any remaining doubters six weeks later when he brushed past two foreign opponents en-route to a tournament victory at the Dave Schultz Memorial. Quite a way to introduce yourself to a sport which not too long before, had hardly appeared on your radar. Continue reading at www.fivepointmove.com