Scotties’ wrestling team small on numbers, big on effort
ALVERTON – Jon Banko’s wrestlers gave him an early birthday present this past week, which really made it a happy occasion for him, and he would be even happier if they were to give him a belated offering as well. When his Southmoreland wrestlers walloped Steel Valley 54-12 it was not only their first victory of the year, it was also the 60th one for Banko in his tenure as their head coach, now moving into his ninth season.
Banko enjoyed the win, not only for his record, but to see his Scotties get a win they worked hard to achieve. Right at the moment, Banko feels a little bit like the guy that directed McNamara’s Band – few in numbers, but striving to be the best in the land.
“I have high expectations for this team,” Banko said, adding “I told them at the beginning of the season that I expect nothing but a complete effort from them, and the keynote to that effort is hard work. I’ll be happy with what they can accomplish, but I’ll be happier yet if they wrestle like they are capable of doing.
“We don’t have a lot of numbers on our roster, in fact we have to forfeit three bouts in the lower weights (130, 140, 145) which puts us behind 18-0 before we ever step on the mat. We just don’t have anybody to put in there. But the ones we do have out there, I expect a complete effort from them.”
There might be times when the Scotty routines would make a Spartan sob. For instance, they do a lot of running, and they don’t do it all indoors. Occasionally, the weather might be a little bit bad, but they are out there running, for as Banko added “the elements can be a very great motivator.”
There are eight returning lettermen – seniors Justin Mitrisin (125), Ryan Negri (135), Shane Datz (189), and Justin Poole (215); juniors Dan Fosbrink (152) and Stephen Zubach (275), and sophomores Justin Klepsky (112) and Chris Skovira (119).
Rounding out the roster are junior Steve Younkin (171), sophomores Mike Sowinski (160) and Justin Price (275), and freshmen Zack Berch (103) and Lewis Cook (171).
Datz comes into his senior year as two-time defending WPIAL champion, plus two section championships, two Southmoreland Tournament titles, and three times as a state qualifier. Poole is also a defending WPIAL champion, winning the 275 title as a 190-pounder and going to the state tourney, while Zubach qualified for the Regionals and finished fourth in the WPIAL.
Banko called them “a good nucleus, a good group you can count on for team leadership.”
A year ago, the Scotties finished 4-9 overall, 3-6 section, and lost only two members of that squad to graduation, Don Powell (152), now attending Bible College in Iowa, and Sean Billheimer (160), enrolled in art school.
Banko is being assisted in grooming the Scotties by Sean Holmberg, who wrestled for Yough High, and a brother of Rob Holmberg who wrestled at Mount Pleasant and played eight years in the NFL. Zack Cavalier and Evan Crissman direct the junior high program, which has 23 prospects, including two girls, an overall total that Banko smiles “is the highest number of junior high prospects since I have been here. And they are all seventh and eight graders. We have no ninth graders on the junior high team, but those who are there will be wrestling against freshmen.”
Banko will tell you very proudly that in determination, as well as dedication to the program, “Negri and Poole have never missed a practice session in four years, and along with them Mitrisin, Skovira, Datz, and Zubach did not miss a session all last year.
Banko cited his team’s “good work ethic. They come in and concentrate on what has to be done. But if you take out our seniors, especially the three top weights, you delete a lot of experience. Depth is still a problem with us, but that hits everybody. We just don’t have the experience in the lower weights, and from 103 through 152, we have only two with any real experience.”
Southmoreland will again be hosting its Holiday Tournament this year, on Monday and Tuesday, December 29-30, with 25 teams competing.
Last year’s champion, Forest Hills, has chosen to go to the Manheim Tournament this year. Their place will be taken by the first ever champion of the Scotty tournament, Soddy-Daisy from Tennessee, which Banko calls “a very highly rated team in their state.”
In the Section 1-AA race, Banko sees “Mount Pleasant and Burrell really tough. They are rated among the top 10 teams in the state, and unless something happens, they should be the two teams battling for the WPIAL championship.
“Our own hopes in the section, for the entire season as well, rest on our staying away from injuries. As a team, we have to be competitive, we just can’t go out on the mat and then go into the tank against the top teams. We have to make them realize that even though they might beat us, they had to work for that win, we just didn’t hand it to them. We have to beat the teams we match up with and be competitive with the strong teams.”
Which should make for a belated birthday present sometime next February.
The schedule (all duals are section meets):
Dec. 3, Mount Pleasant 60, Southmoreland 18; Dec, 12, Southmoreland 54, Steel Valley 12; Dec. 10, Burrell 60, Southmoreland 19; Dec. 12-13, at Penn-Cambria Tournament; Dec. 17, Elderton; Dec. 20, at Yough; Dec. 29-30, Southmoreland Holiday Classic.
Jan. 7, at Derry; Jan. 14, at Riverview; Jan. 16-17, Westmoreland County Coaches Assn. Tournament; Jan. 20, Shady Side Academy; Jan. 21, Jeannette; Jan. 23-24, at Burgettstown Tournament.
Feb. 7, at Yough Tournament; Feb. 14, Section 1-AA Tournament; Feb. 20-21, WPIAL Tournament; Feb. 28-29, Southwest Regional Tournament.
March 5-7, PIAA (State) Tournament at Hershey.