It all began with Treva Valliere bringing home a flyer
from school. Never participating in this type of wrestling before; Treva’s
mother decided to sign both Treva and his brother, Colby, up for the sport.
Treva, an eighth grader at Windham Middle School has reached goals he never
dreamed of in the sport of wrestling. Amber, Treva’s mother, stated, “Treva had
a lot of energy when he was little so wrestling has taught him a lot of
discipline and a lot of self-control.” Treva has been wrestling now for eight
years; he started when he was in second grade with Kratos, coached by Thom
Johnson and George Lekousi.
Treva really enjoys watching college wrestling and has
met Logan Stieber from Ohio State who is a four-time NCAA Champion. This was an
extremely exciting moment he will always remember.
The Valliere family has been going to the New England
Qualifier for about five or six years now. The very first time they went Treva
placed second. This year was different for him though. Treva has put a lot of
time and energy into his training. He has taken all practices very seriously.
It has been hard for Treva to wrestle kids his own age because he is so much
bigger than most of them, so a lot of the time he has wrestled his two coaches
Nate Johnson and Jason Dryburgh.
Treva also has the support of his older brother Colby who
has practiced with him along with some other kids from high school who have
taken time out of their schedules to help him. As his parents, Amber said,
“we have always told him leave it all on the mat while he’s out there.” And
this year, Treva did just that, every time he stepped onto the mat.
Treva has been lifting every night with his dad and
brother in preparation for this tournament. He really proved to himself that
hard work pays off in the end. Treva ended up winning first place in the New
England Qualifier and had the chance to move on to compete in the Nationals in
Ohio which was hosted on April 18th.
This was a huge opportunity for Treva to compete against
others that are just as serious about wrestling as he is. He had to maintain
his weight of 171 pounds. Treva could not go below or above by even an ounce
for his weight division, that was a challenge in itself. Treva continued to
lift with his dad and brother and the coaches were wonderful in helping him
prepare for this tournament. The coaches set up special practices for him, and
with their help and the help of the high school wrestlers he really was able to
concentrate on making himself the best that he could be.
As the time drew closer to the event, Treva’s excitement
also grew. Amber stated, “ We drove down as a family so we were in the car for
about 15 hours straight. Treva used that time to clear his mind and prepare
himself for what was going to happen.” Treva puts himself in competition mode
by listening to music.
When the Valliere family arrived at the Nationals, they
couldn’t believe their eyes, the place was huge. They had about forty mats
going all at once. Treva was able to meet some of the other kids he was about
to face on the mat because they all had to stay together to wait for their turns.
“This was a different type of wrestling that Treva was
not used to. We usually go three rounds 1- minute long. Here they went three
minutes with no stopping.” Amber said. “Treva happened to be one of the first
to go in his weight class and when he stepped out on that mat and put
everything he has worked so hard for into it, we were so proud.”
Unfortunately, Treva lost his first match by only points.
He was understandably upset but he cleared his mind and got ready for his next
match. He did exactly what he told himself he was going to do; leave it all on
the mat again. Again, Treva unfortunately lost that one as well by points.
Overall, Treva did very well and though he may not have won the competitions in
Ohio, he won a place in the hearts of his community.
“His dad and I are very proud of him. He is looking
forward to next year and hopefully being able to compete again in Nationals. He
has already started talking about his training for it. He is a great kid with a
lot of talent and he is going places. I can't wait to watch him grow and become
the best student athlete that he can be,” Amber said.
As far as wrestling next year as a freshman with Coach
Dryburgh, he will definitely be there. He is looking forward to wrestling at a
different level. Not forgetting where he came from, Treva said “Coach Johnson
was an amazing coach. He never gave up on me when I had a bad moment and he is
the reason I feel that I won first place.”
The Valliere Family would like to extend a ‘heartfelt thank you’ to the Windham
wrestling community. Amber stated, “It means a lot to all of us. We would not
have been able to go to Nationals if it wasn't for the whole wrestling
community. The parents and students helped raise the money we needed to get
Treva there – these people made it happen for him.”
The defense was outstanding
the first half of the game for the Eagles, not allowing Bonny Eagle close to
their goal. Windham’s offense kept the ball on the Scots end of the field most
of the first half. Jenna Soucy, Hannah Skavorak, Holly Spencer and Luisa
Sbardella’s combination of goals led the game in points in the first five
minutes of the game. Senior Luisa Sbardella led the team with four goals.
The second half of the game the Scots were
able to step up and put some points on the board with Carly Biegel contributing
four goals and Brady Autumn adding three; however, it wasn’t enough in the end
with Windham scoring 12 and Bonny Eagle 10.
