Like father, like son
John Ptak is rewriting the wrestling record book at Albert Gallatin YORK RUN – This is one time that you can truthfully say “like Father, like Son,” and this family will be happy with the comparison.
Back in the mid-70’s, Dan Ptak was a middleweight wrestler for Albert Gallatin, and in three years of competition, he held a then school record 51 career wins when he graduated in 1975.
Now, fast forward to 2003, and the name Ptak is once again in the Albert Gallatin record book. John Ptak is nearing the end of four years as a Colonial wrestler, and with his 93-23 record he now holds the all-time school record for career wins. The old high was 85 wins, held by Gary Barber, and Ptak broke that last Dec. 18 against Belle Vernon, pinning Scott in 1:53 in a Section 2-AAA match for his 86th win.
John said, “My Dad never pushed me into any sport; he left it up to me if I wanted to compete, and he has encouraged me ever since.
“My first wrestling experience came when I was in the fourth grade. I was playing basketball, and my Dad asked if I wanted to give wrestling a try. So, I gave it a try and began wrestling.”
That “Try” has been a record of winning ever since.
In the fifth grade, John won the Junior Olympics 75-pound state championship and followed that with second- and fourth-place finishes the next two years.
As a freshman, he earned a starting role on the varsity team at 140 and earned a 19-6 record when he broke his collarbone in practice. To that he said, “That was the end of the year for me.”
John came right back as a sophomore, now grown to 152 pounds and earned a 28-7 mark, which was then a school record for wins in a single season. He also earned a section championship, which advanced him to the WPIAL, where a fourth place finish qualified him for the state competition at Hershey.
Last year he was still at 152 and finished 29-7, breaking his own record for wins in a single season. He also earned a second section title, making him the first Colonial wrestler to win two section crowns, and he went on to the WPIALs.
In the WPIAL semis, he was paired with Mickey Moran of Shaler, then ranked the No. 1 wrestler in his class. Ptak beat him to reach the finals, where he finished second.
That qualified him for the PIAA meet at Hershey, where he won his first bout. He subsequently lost to the state runner-up that year but battled back through the consolations to finish fourth in the state.
Ptak said that at Hershey, “I was very nervous in my first bout, and I fell behind 5-0 in the first period, but I was able to come back in the next two and get a 9-6 win.”
Along with wrestling, Ptak has run track and cross-country two years, adding, “other sports can help a wrestler get ready for, and stay in shape for other sports, and vice-versa.
“Wrestling helps me stay focused on other goals, and it has helped me earn high honors ranking in the classroom. You have to stay focused at all times in wrestling, and that in turn helps you stay focused in the classroom.”
Coach Duane Dupont, who was an outstanding wrestler at German Twp., and who has brought the Colonial program along to high ranking, called Ptak “a very hard worker, one of the best wrestlers ever to come through here. He has a lot of ability and a fine knowledge of the sport, and he could be a fine wrestling teacher some day.
“John has a fine work ethic that he tries to pass on to the others. He has set some goals for himself, and what he reaches can be goals for future wrestlers here. John is one of a good nucleus of wrestlers that we have, and they push each other.”
The goals that John has set for himself include “helping get a team title for the school. I want us to go as far as we can in the team wrestleoffs. We are very aggressive, and we have a good nucleus of six senior starters, five of whom are four-year wrestlers.
“I also want to become the first Albert Gallatin wrestler to reach 100 wins, and a third section title, which would also be another record, then I would like to earn WPIAL and state honors.”
At the moment, Ptak is ranked by state wrestling publications first in his division in the WPIAL and fifth in the state.
After graduation, the son of Dan and Brenda Ptak of Masontown plans to attend Slippery Rock and major in health and physical education, along with trying to continue wrestling at the collegiate level. Then he hopes to go from there to someday coaching wrestling.
John calls “my parents and coach my biggest fans. Coach Dupont constantly emphasizes to our team about being aggressive, and we try to do that. He wants us to be the best that we can be, and he keeps after us to do that.”
Dupont said, “John and the senior nucleus around him have been a big factor in our success, and while we are losing them, we also have some good wrestlers coming back and some good ones in the junior high. The future looks good here.”
Except that when John graduates, he will be the last of the Ptaks to wrestle…