Athletor

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Alli St. John is building Iowa State women's wrestling from scratch, and when the administration talked about a top 3 finish, she told them winning is the only option. The two-time World silver medalist talks with Mike about going from a basement wrestling room at King to cryo chambers in Ames, what she learned working under Kevin Dresser, the red flags she looks for in recruits, and why the race comes down to Iowa State and Iowa. 🔗 Recruitable: Your step-by-step playbook for today's recruiting process, from first contact to signing day: https://www.athletorlive.com/product/recruitable Free resources: 📊 Find out your recruiting tier: https://recruitable.athletorlive.com/quiz 🏟️ Find a college to wrestle at: https://recruitable.athletorlive.com/database ⏱️ CHAPTERS 0:00 - From King's wrestling room to Iowa State's resources 7:49 - Why winning is the only option 11:11 - Coaching athletes who aren't wired like you 16:18 - Nutrition, weight and the freshman 15 22:41 - Doing everything elite and lessons from Kevin Dresser 28:29 - Recruiting red flags and the 300 Division I spots 38:21 - Closing the gap on Iowa 43:12 - Rapid fire: best shoe, book, Mount Rushmore, magic wand 📋 ABOUT THIS EPISODE Alli St. John, a two-time World silver medalist and the first head coach of Iowa State women's wrestling, joins Mike Mal ahead of the program's first season in 2027-28. She explains how she coaches athletes who aren't wired like her, how nutrition and buy-in change freshman year, and what Coach Dresser taught her about running a program like a CEO. She also breaks down why the 300 Division I spots depend on weight class, how most of her first roster found her through Instagram DMs, and her plan to be ready by March 2028. 🎙️ ABOUT ATHLETOR PODCAST The Athletor Podcast brings you conversations with the coaches, athletes, and minds shaping wrestling. Subscribe for new episodes weekly. 🔗 CONNECT YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXjsj-4x50ZVLOvSjaUEM9A Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/athletor.live/ X: https://x.com/athletor Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/athletor.live/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@athletor

Ep. 0195

2x World Medalist Alli St. John on Building Iowa State Women's Wrestling

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