![Adding a tray of canned corn to the pile, junior Michael Collop assists in transporting donations for the Holiday Food Drive. The event, hosted schoolwide from Dec. 10-17, raised over 5,000 food items to deliver to the Parkway Food Pantry, helping several families in need. [The drive] is a great thing for us to do because you're giving to those who are less fortunate, and it helps provide for people who can't provide for themselves. [The] competition is always fun, too. It was fun to be in [social studies teacher Jess] Chazen’s class, because he always gets worked up over [the competition]. He made it exciting, and was always convincing us to turn in cans for the drive,” Collop said.](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/feature-photo-unsung-2.png)
![NEW CHALLENGE, NEW TEAM MEMBERS: Every season, VEX creates a new game that robotics team members are faced with and have to build a robot to compete in. This year’s game forces students to create a robot that is able to stack rings onto mobile goals in order to score points. The change in games each season is something that robotics teacher Audrea Moyers appreciates.
“One of the things that I like about VEX is that they have a new problem to solve every year,” she said. ¨Even though the equipment’s the same, they have to analyze the game, and they have to come up with solutions that are unique that year. They are using their knowledge from prior years, but they have to kind of redesign a problem.”
As returning teams were faced a new game, some new teams and members had to adapt to a uncommon playing field and game.
“Three of our four teams were competing for the first time this year, and they had very different experiences match to match, so I think they learned a lot,¨ she said. ¨It’s hard just watching a video online to know how it’s actually going to be in person, so they all learned a lot about what gameplay is like, how to work with an alliance partner [and] how to adapt during the day to changes.”](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/IMG_9283-1-1200x800.jpg)
A sharp whistle blows. From the mat in the center of the gym, a referee raises an exhausted wrestler’s hand, declaring them the match winner. The crowd erupts into cheers.
Meanwhile, on the sidelines, boys wrestling head coach Zeke Allison quietly achieves a major landmark: 100 career wins.
“I wanted to keep it a little hush and not make a big deal about it. When it did happen, I didn’t know the team had posters. They kind of surprised me. I didn’t think they knew about it, so I was going to keep it that way, but it was nice to see them and their support [in] giving back to me,” Allison said.
Although he only came to West in 2015, wrestling has always been a part of Allison’s life.
“I was born into wrestling. My dad was a coach at Parkway South for about 18 years, and he got me started young. That’s kind of how I fell in love with the sport,” Allison said. “I started in second grade and wrestled throughout high school. After I graduated [college], the assistant coaching job [at West] became open. I applied for it and, luckily, I got it.”
After serving as an assistant coach for a year, Allison was promoted to the position of head coach. This season marks his eighth year holding that title.
“You’ve got easy coaches who like to teach the technique, and then we have hard coaches who will just drill us. [Allison] is a nice middle ground between the two,” wrestler and senior Nicholas Herman said.
Under Allison’s leadership, the wrestling program has reached several goals. In 2021, wrestler and alumna Paige Wehrmeister became the first woman in district history to win a wrestling state title — a feat she repeated in 2022. Furthermore, from 2017-2020, the wrestling team won their conference for three consecutive years.
“[During those years], we had a great group of kids that just kept coming back each year. We had the same kids in the starting lineup for three or four years [who] grew together,” Allison said. “A lot of people came through the practice room and just made it fun, but [there] was a lot of competition as well.”
Members of the team, which has a 13-4 record this season, credit much of their success to Allison’s leadership.
“[Allison] is really good at organizing us. He studies other teams to let us know what we’re up against and does a really good job analyzing what we need to work on and focus on more,” wrestler and senior Maurice Beers said.
Meanwhile, on an individual level, Allison was recognized as Conference Coach of the Year in 2018 and 2019. Part of his coaching philosophy is to help his athletes develop a community around wrestling.
“[I] always come in here [at the] start of the season and try to get everybody to learn all the basics and try to build camaraderie between the team each year. You start each year a little bit [after] the seniors graduate,” Allison said. “Students, they come in and out of here, and [I] just try to get them to fall in love with the sport. It’s done so much for me over the years.”
This story was originally published on Pathfinder on February 5, 2024.