McKean County family enters national mullet championship to support veterans and highlight community

• Sydney Roach/WPSU
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Shawn Halladay, from Gifford in McKean County, is in the national mullet race again — but this time he has back-up.

Hallady is entering the 2024 U.S.A. Mullet Championships with his 12-year-old step-son, Trystian Dalhke. Voting is now open.

“Some people don’t like the mullet. Which I don’t know why. How can you not like a mullet?” Trystian said. “And some people are very happy.”

Halladay and Trystian hope to become the first first father-son winners in the championship. The competition is split into three age groups: children, teenagers and adults.

Halladay finished in 11th place out of 257 contestants in last year’s national mullet championship. The winner for best mullet hairstyle is decided based on a combination of judge scores, fan votes and donations.

“I raised the second most money in the whole competition for the Wounded Warriors, which that means more to me than anything, as long as I can give back [and] hopefully do something right,” Halladay said.

All of the donations go to Jared Allen’s Homes for Wounded Warriors, a nonprofit that builds mortgage-free and accessible homes to critically wounded combat veterans. Last year the mullet competition raised more than $220,000.

The pair is also promoting northern Pennsylvania pride. Halladay has named his mullet the “Kinzua Flo,” while Trystian is naming his the “Mini Flo.”

Round 1 of voting for the U.S.A. Mullet Championships is open until July 17. There are 669 contestants so far.