Penns Valley’s Malachi DuVall talks commitment to coach Cary Kolat and Navy wrestling
Penns Valley wrestler Malachi DuVall and his dad had a dream school in mind for college. They’d done their research on academics and athletics and decided that Navy was the place DuVall wanted to be. That was before he made his run to third place in the PIAA State Championships at 152 pounds in March.
Once DuVall made that run, more phone calls from colleges started to roll in and the contact picked up. About two weeks after his junior season came to an end, he received a FaceTime request. The number calling him was that of Navy’s new wrestling coach Cary Kolat — a four-time Pennsylvania state champ, two-time NCAA champ and World medalist.
“Cary got the coaching job and we thought it would be an even better opportunity,” DuVall told the Centre Daily Times. “Then a few weeks after my run at states, he FaceTimes me. That was really, really amazing.”
Fast forward four months and DuVall has shut down his recruitment and committed to Kolat and the academy’s wrestling team. He announced his decision July 7 with a post on the Penns Valley wrestling Facebook page.
The decision came down to Navy and a few other schools, including another service academy — Army West Point. The service academies were attractive to DuVall because of the structure, the opportunity to serve his country and the life and career he could have following his graduation.
“They have a very concrete style of learning,” he said. “I really attract to that. That’s how I’ve grown up learning. I think I’d hit my stride there. ... Five years after, I get to tour the world for jobs. I just think that sounds like the most exciting and fun life ever.”
Beyond that, he wanted a school that felt united in its purpose and a coaching staff that made him feel like he was a part of something bigger. That led DuVall to Annapolis, Maryland, and the United States Naval Academy, where he’ll be coached by Kolat and carry out his aspirations to serve.
The decision came just a few months following his junior season ended, a timeline DuVall didn’t necessarily expect. He never felt the pressure from Kolat to commit early, but he knew chances for visits before the year was out were diminished by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
That gave DuVall the nudge he needed to make the call for Navy.
“I will never get pressured into a decision,” he said. “That’s just not my style. Coaches were trying to pressure me into a decision, I’m not going to say names, but Navy came back and said they weren’t going to pressure me into this. They just laid out the facts about potentially not having a visit until after Christmas. I told them I’d love a tour. So Cary Kolat, that day, went and drove to Annapolis and recorded a 20-minute tour around campus for me and my family.”
With his college choice behind him, DuVall is ready to make waves in his final year of high school wrestling — if it happens. He’s concerned — like most rising high school seniors — that his final season won’t happen because of the pandemic. He’s hopeful that it will but struggled to fathom the pain he’d feel if he missed out on his last opportunity.
“That would be devastating,” he said. “This is my year to win it. Everybody graduated, I’m big for my weight for once and strong for my weight now. It would be devastating for that to happen the year everything lines up perfectly.”
Part of his apprehension stems from the idea that he won’t get that shot at a state title, not just because of the accomplishment, but because of the people who have put their time and effort into making him a state medalist.
“It would be great to bring a state title home to Penns Valley,” he said. “For all the work they’ve put into me, I want to give back to them. I just want to thank my family, my friends, my coaches and the Penns Valley community. I’m just thankful for everybody that got me here.”
With or without a senior year, DuVall has plenty of wrestling ahead of him. He’s going to wrestle in Annapolis for Kolat — who wrestled two years at Penn State before transferring to Lock Haven, where he won his two NCAA titles — and continue developing into the wrestler he wants to become.
That was part of the allure of the Navy program. DuVall firmly believes he hasn’t come close to his potential, and the Penns Valley Ram thinks Kolat and his staff are the right people to help him reach his destination.
“I just think I can go up from here,” he said. “That’s what I was excited about. I know that they know my potential and can help me get there.”
