Powerade through the years
CANONSBURG — The Powerade Wrestling tournament finished its 48th edition Tuesday night at Canon-McMillan High School.
In nearly half a century of competition, the once Cal State tournament has grown from a local event to a spectacular tournament that features wrestlers from the entire United States.
Tournament director Frank Vulcanco Jr. works nearly 12 months to bring some of the finest teams in the country to Canon-McMillan each year around Christmas time. The 2014 version of Powerade featured 48 teams and numerous nationally ranked grapplers. The tournament has been ranked the toughest in Pennsylvania and No. 3 in the United States. Another common occurence at the Powerade is a wrestler winning his 100th career match. It is almost a given every year.
My participation in the Powerade is limited to covering the event as a sports reporter. I never had the privilege to compete in the prestigious event, but it has produced many memorable moments.
The first Powerade I witnessed live was in 2007. I walked into the gym and watched a Connellsville kid wrestle. Connellsville has competed in the tournament since its inception and is tied with Chartiers-Houston for the most team titles with seven.
However, in this match, the Falcon grappler was defeated. This is no knock on Connellsville, but it made me realize that this tournament was the real deal.
Watching Albert Gallatin’s Lance Bryson storm through the competition on his way to the 171-pound championship still remains one of my favorite memories of the tournament. I also had the opportunity to watch Jeremiah Karpency during his days as a grappler for the Colonials before moving into the boxing ring. Jeremiah’s brother and fellow pro boxer, Dan, competed in the same event.
The aforementioned Falcons may have lost the first match I witnessed at the Powerade, but they came back strong and had several place winners and a high team score. Connellsville is in third place with 35 individual champions behind Chartiers-Houston (42) and Waynesburg Central (39).
If I leave any out, please forgive me, they have a lot, but several Falcons have used the Powerade on their way to championship seasons.
Some names that come to mind are Ashtin Primus, who won the 140-pound title in 2005 en route to state championships in ’05 and ’06, and Jarrod King.
Primus and I competed my senior year in high school as I was wrestling for Uniontown. It lasted 11 seconds. Primus was a three-time finalist. King won gold in ’01 and ’03 on his way to PIAA championships in ’03 and ’04 before earning an NCAA Division I championship at Edinboro in 2009.
Connellsville coach Tom Dolde competed for his father, Tom, at the Powerade before getting into coaching. Primus is on Dolde’s staff as an assistant along with Kyle Martin. Martin won the championship in 2002 at 140.
The Raiders’ success in the Powerade starts at the top as coach Joe Throckmorton wrestled in the tournament before winning the state title in 1980. Throckmorton won the 126-pound title in 1979.
Coleman Scott won the championship for Waynesburg three times (’01, ’02, ’03) before winning the Olympic bronze medal in freestyle for the United States in 2012. Scott won the state championship in ’02, ’03 and ’04, and a NCAA title in ’08 for Oklahoma State. Scott currently works at North Carolina as an assistant coach.
The Raiders’ Drew Headlee won two titles (’00, ’01) before heading to Pitt to wrestle. Headlee, who won a state title in 2002, is now an assistant at his alma mater. Waynesburg’s Pat O’Donnell won three titles in ’96, ’97 and ’98.
MMA aficionados know the name of Josh Koscheck. Before knocking out victims in the UFC, Koscheck competed in the Powerade. The Waynesburg graduate won an NCAA Division I title in 2001 for Edinboro. The most intriguing part of Koscheck’s success is that he never won the Powerade gold. That in itself makes the tournament stand out even more.
Staying on the subject of MMA, the UFC’s Charlie Breeneman also competed in the top-tier tournament wrestling for Hollidaysburg.
On the path to his four PIAA titles, an undefeated high school career and two NCAA Division I titles for Lock Haven, Cary Kolat won two gold medals for Jefferson-Morgan 1988 and 1991. If the Rockets would have competed in the tournament his sophomore and junior years, the current UNC head coach most likely would have added to the small list of four-time champions. There are five champions that have won the tournament four times.
Jim Howard (’90, ’91), Bill White (’88, ’91) and Brandon Teasdale (’91, ’93) won multiple titles for the Rockets. J-M has 13 individual champions.
It still pains me to type this, but Uniontown does not have a wrestling program anymore. However, the Red Raiders featured solid teams in the ’80s and have won four individual titles. Two of those champions were my former colleagues in Mark Jenkins and Jeff Spinetti. Both won their titles in 1984. Spinetti capped off the year with a state title in 1985. Jenkins has a third-place finish in the state tournament to his credit. Both coached for Uniontown Area High School before the program folded.
They are some of the best wrestlers this area has seen and worked very hard to keep the program alive. Spinetti holds a victory over Kurt Angle in his career. Take that, WWE. Spinetti still works out at the YMCA and looks as strong as ever.
The Red Raiders’ cross-town rival, Laurel Highlands, has four individual champions. Howard Stock won two titles in the first two years of the tournament (’67, ’68).
As of Monday, Belle Vernon is still in search of its first championship. I saw Donnie Tasser get close in 2007 with a silver medal. The Leopards are on the right track, however, as former Connellsville graduate Mike Doppelheuer leads BVA into the tournament with a strong team. Belle Vernon is the defending Section 2-AAA champion and beat defending state champion Franklin Regional in a dual meet earlier this season.
Beth-Center has eight individual champions, West Greene seven and Southmoreland two.
The action has also been covered by Flo Wrestling, which is a national wrestling publication that scouts the best action in the country. The team from Flo Wrestling is now streaming live action, and the finals are on the Pennsylvania Cable Network.