Silvius, Vasser receive awards from Nebraska USA Wrestling – Nebraska City News Press – Nebraska City News Press
Kirt Manion, CherryRoad Media
A pair of Nebraska Citians will be honored at the Nebraska USA Wrestling Yearly Awards at the organization’s Annual Conference and Banquet on July 30 at the Cornhusker Hotel in Lincoln.
Makayla Vasser, a soon-to-be eighth grade wrestler at Nebraska City Middle School, was named the Wrestler of the Year for girls in the kids’ division.
Phil Silvius was named as a Director of the Year for Nebraska USA Wrestling.
Vasser enjoys a national ranking which is thanks to her hard work and achievements at tournaments, not only in the state of Nebraska, but at multiple locations all across the country. She was wrestled up in weight class and against high school wrestlers, all while enjoying great success.
Silvius, a 20-year resident of Nebraska City, has been involved with youth wrestling here for about 15 years.
Silvius became involved in youth wrestling and youth softball in Nebraska City mainly because his kids were involved in those sports.
“I just support my kids and everything they do, so that drives what I get involved in,” Silvius said.
Silvius’ involvement in wrestling in Nebraska City has a lot to do with the technology interface of the sport, TrackWrestling. As an engineer by trade, Silvius can work with the software that makes TrackWrestling operate.
“It’s pretty key to doing an event,” Silvius said of TrackWrestling.
Silvius said he responded to a call to help with Nebraska USA Wrestling and was later asked to take a position as a Director for the organization.
Running events can be a time-consuming job. Silvius said there are four Nebraska USA Wrestling state events per year. The set up and running of tournaments can lead to long days at the job, with 12–16-hour days of work common while working on these tournaments. It can be tough to find people to do the work and to find the mix of people who are willing to put in the hours and who have some familiarity with the necessary computer software.
Silvius said he was taken by surprise when he heard that he had received the Director of the Year Award.
“I had no idea that I had won an award, quite honestly,” Silvius said, adding that there are many people who work hard for Nebraska USA Wrestling who also deserve recognition.
Silvius is employed at American Meter where he has worked since coming to Nebraska City. He has two children, a son (24) and a daughter (19).
