Matox Allen was a Virginia High School League Group 6A state runner-up at 150 pounds his junior and senior seasons at Grassfield High School in Chesapeake, Va.
Incoming recruits Allen, Bowers to strengthen men’s wrestling middleweight ranks
7/9/2024 5:47:00 PM | Men's Wrestling
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Matox Allen, a third recruit in recent seasons from Grassfield High School in Chesapeake, and Drake Bowers, the Memphis (Tenn.) All-Metro Wrestler of the Year, will join the Flames this fall.
Liberty University's men's wrestling team has tapped into a pipeline of recruits from Grassfield High School in recent seasons, with Matox Allen, a two-time regional champion and VHSL state runner-up at 150 pounds, the third from the Group 6A program in Chesapeake, Va., to commit to the Flames.
Grassfield is coached by Patrick Shuler, son of former Flames NCAA Division I and Division II Head Coach Don Shuler (1987-93), who current Head Coach Jesse Castro assisted before returning to take the helm of the program in 2005.
Drake Bowers earned Prep National All-America honors with a seventh-place finish at 175 pounds.
Additionally, Drake Bowers, a two-time Tennessee state champion who won close to 160 matches throughout his four-year career at Christian Brothers High School in Nashville, Tenn., will launch his collegiate career at Liberty.
Allen and Bowers, who was named the Memphis All-Metro High School Wrestler of the Year after earning All-America status this spring by placing seventh at 175 pounds at the National Prep Wrestling Championships, could platoon at the 165-pound spot for the Flames this fall.
"Matox and Drake are going to add great depth at the middleweight classes or may even step in and fill the gap," Castro said. "Hopefully, they're both ready to go, and if not, then it's our job to get them ready to step it up a notch as far as their intensity, while they prepare to face college-level competition."
Allen started wrestling in sixth grade with inspiration from his older brother, Camden, his "best friend and biggest mentor," who's now based in Washington, D.C., with the U.S. Marine Corps. He said Patrick Shuler took his wrestling to the next level.
"I fell in love with the sport and really enjoyed it when I was younger, and when I got into high school, Coach Shuler asked if I wanted to be serious about it," Allen said. "He said if I would start showing up and putting in the hard work, with dedication, I could actually be good in wrestling."
Shuler showed him how to maneuver his way out of uncomfortable positions to end up on top.
"He taught me to work through those situations and hard circumstances when you think you can't or are too tired," Allen said, noting that Shuler instills both positive work ethic and excellent character in his wrestlers, encouraging them to build each other up. "Whether it's in wrestling or doing homework, you definitely can push past through what you think you can't do any more."
Allen developed his work ethic at Grassfield High under Head Coach Patrick Shuler.
Allen follows the 2023 signings of lowerweight wrestlers Jakob Brown and Jahleel Armstrong from Grassfield, both national qualifiers this past season who helped the Flames repeat as NCWA Grand National runner-up.
"I talked with both of them multiple times, and they helped guide me toward Liberty and showed me that it was a good school academics-wise as well as athletics-wise," said Allen, who visited over the weekend of March 3 when Liberty won its 12th consecutive Mid-Atlantic Conference tournament championship.
Allen will pursue a B.S. in Exercise Science at Liberty with plans to become a nutritionist or dietitian in the future.
"That's a path I've learned from wrestling," he said. "When cutting weight, you have to watch your diet and nutritional intake. In the sport of wrestling, exercise science and nutrition go hand-in-hand."
He credits his mother, Aimee, a dog groomer, and his father, Wayne, a narcotics detective, for teaching him everything they know and supporting him every step of the way throughout his wrestling career.
"They have sacrificed a lot for me," Allen said. "My mom showed me how to be kind and compassionate, and my dad showed me how to be a man, and wrestling instilled that in me and defined even more what I need to do."
Bowers brings an extensive wrestling resumé to Liberty from a career that started at the age of 4.
"I have been doing this for a long time, and all the training I've done my whole life has molded me to become a tougher wrestler," Bowers said.
Since he turned 12, he has represented Tennessee at the Boys National Duals in Indiana, Cadet National Duals in North Dakota, or Junior National Duals in Tulsa, Okla., nearly every summer.
He plans to study to become a pilot while pursuing a B.S. in Aviation Administration: Flight through Liberty's School of Aeronautics.
Bowers first dreamed of a career in aviation after flying to visit his grandparents in California as a kid, occasionally meeting the pilots in the cockpit.
"I thought that was awesome, and it inspired me," he said, noting that wrestling has helped him strive to accomplish those dreams. "The goals I have set for myself have definitely taught me discipline and helped me to understand the value of hard work and how if I am persistent, I will find what I'm looking for."
Beyond the flight program and the Christian culture evident on campus, the opportunity to compete for the wrestling team is what attracted him to Liberty.
"I am very excited about wrestling at Liberty and am hoping that I will find a new family of Christians to help me build my values," Bowers said.
Castro expects to return approximately 20 wrestlers from last season's NCWA National Duals and Grand National runner-up team and to keep around 30 on the roster after tryouts in late August.
Other middleweight to upperweight recruits in the class include Nick Bittner, from Florida, and Zack Cummings, from Christiansburg, Va., who both will likely contend at 157 pounds; Ronald Black, from nearby Heritage High School in Lynchburg, Va., who will vie for a spot at 174 pounds; and heavyweights Paul Moore from Spring, Texas, and Reagan Burgess, from Liberty Christian Academy.
