The Herald, Sharon, Pa: The 1997 Fabulous 15

Published Sunday, April 6, 1997

Kevin Brown
Jamestown

Nevada Walker
Commodore Perry

Tom McMath
Sharpsville

Mike Dye
Lakeview

player photo

Wrestler of the Year: Josh Pearce
Commodore Perry

Area had plethora
of wrestling talent

By Ed Farrell
Herald Sports Writer

When picking postseason all-star teams, it's typical for the team-, player- and coach-of-the-year selections to be synonymous.

Not so during '96-97 Mercer County wrestling annals.

Such was the plethora of talent throughout the area, The Herald's wrestling selections, as part of its first Fabulous 15 awards, are somewhat fragmented.

Sure PIAA runner-up Commodore Perry reaps the lion's share of laurels, but the remainder of The Herald's coverage-area also is well represented, too.

Not surprisingly, Perry, led by state runners-up Nevada Walker and Josh Pearce, earns the nod as the area's team of the year. But Jim Miller's masterful job directing Greenville to an undefeated dual-match campaign enabled him to garner coach-of-the-year honors. And although the county did not produce a state champion for the first time in recent memory, Jamestown junior Kevin Brown (160) joined Walker (145) and Pearce (275) as state runners-up, while Sharpsville junior Tom McMath (125) ended third, and Lakeview senior Mike Dye (145) finished fifth. That quintet composes the inaugural Fab 5.

FAB 5

Josh Pearce, Commodore Perry (Wrestler of the Year) -- Ended as the PIAA 275-pound runner-up for the second straight season after compiling a 36-1 record (22 pins), and was taken down just once and reversed only once. He concluded his scholastic tenure with a 111-13 career ledger (44 pins) and stands second in victories and winning percentage (89.516) to former PIAA runner-up T.J. Musser ('82, 123 wins, 89.781 percentage).

Nevada Walker, Commodore Perry -- Concluded the campaign with a 34-1 ledger (15 pins, 4 technical falls) and stands 93-13 career-wise (40 pins, 125 takedowns). The latter figure is second in all-time CP annals to former PIAA champion Fred Scriven (137).

Pearce and Walker also rank 1-2 in CP mat history in points scored -- 239 1/2 and 229 1/2.

Mike Dye, Lakeview -- Finished with a 37-4 season, which enabled him to conclude his career with a 105-22 mark. He is considering Mount Union College on a football-wrestling scholarship.

Tom McMath, Sharpsville -- Etched his name into Sharpsville mat annals for single-season (39-3, including 102 takedowns) and career marks (83-14, besting former teammate Fred Sloan's 79 wins. Michael Germano, also surpassed that mark and has 81 career wins to his credit).

Kevin Brown, Jamestown -- In his third consecutive trip to state, earned his first medal, concluding a brilliant 37-1 season and reaching the coveted 100-victory plateau right on the button (100-9). Like Pearce, he, too, was taken down just once.

Fans, wrestlers and coaches of the Commodore Perry wrestling team celebrate moments after winning their first District 10 AA championship. (Jean Angelo/Herald)

TEAM OF THE YEAR

At the outset of the new year, the Panthersdropped a pulsating 28-26 decision to Greenville, costing Commodore Perry the Mercer County Athletic Conference crown. However, veteran mentor Bob Parker minimized the importance of dual matches and insisted the postseason was prime.

``It was definitely Commodore Perry's best season since I've been there,'' Parker, who has amassed 231 dual-match wins during a 2-plus-decade tenure, told The Herald. ``It didn't run as smooth as it could have; we didn't have our whole team until Sections. But, fortunately, they were able to get healthy and ready for Sections.''

Years ago, Parker sensed he had something special with this group.

``I told the kids back when they were freshmen coming up, `By the time Josh is a senior, I think we can win state.' That's what I told 'em and they just looked at me like I was nuts,'' he recalled. ``But I thought, with the quality we had, like Wes (Sindlinger), Nevada (Walker), Mark (Chess), Josh (Pearce) and Jess (Sullivan), we had a shot at it. And they proved me right; we certainly could've won it (state).

``I thought it was gonna be our best year. It proved to be, even though we had some freak injuries. ... If we could've kept them all healthy all year, it could've been an even better year,'' Parker mused.

``We finished 13-1 with all that adversity and then with Mark out a couple times. ... We never had 'em all in there, but they were a good enough team to be able to overcome those things. Somebody always seemed to stand up.

``It was a pretty good team effort all year. I'm not really disappointed with the effort we had,'' Parker continued. ``We had the `stars,' but we also had those workman-type wrestlers who would do what they could to help, whether it was dropping weight, or wrestling up in weight to fill out the lineup. We had to overcome those things, but I'm real proud of the year.

``It was just a unique situation we had. We got this weird combination of kids and they seemed to just jell and worked pretty well. ... This was not a close-knit group -- we had our personality conflicts. But like I said, they pulled it together when they had to. When you put 'em out on the mat, they were together, pulling for each other. I don't know if you can keep 18, 19 boys together for so long without some conflicts, but they just seemed to do what they needed to do.''

To illustrate, Parker cited the state championships. Chess, so distraught at realizing he could not win a crown, thought of prematurely leaving the tourney.

``But the guys rallied around him,'' Parker recalled. ``They got with him and encouraged him and helped him wrestle back for third and I know he's glad he did, for himself as well as the team. That kind of stuff showed up over and over again. This was a special group of kids.''

COACH OF THE YEAR

By virtue of victories over Perry and arch-rival Reynolds, Greenville (15-0) garnered its first outright county crown since '81-82 and first unbeaten season in a quarter-century ('71-72).

And just as he endured undue criticism for previously having never beaten Reynolds, head coach Jim Miller enjoyed this season's success with the same quiet dignity.

``Obviously, the two that stand out were against Commodore Perry and Reynolds. Those were just indescribable, as far as the climax and thrill of victory. It was a superb team effort on both occasions. We minimized the point opportunities they could score and we were making some things happen that had to happen in order to win,'' Miller recalled.

``You know, Commodore Perry ends up second in in the state, just missing the state title. But that night belonged to Greenville wrestlers. And Reynolds, what can you say about five overtime matches? How intense could it be? Coming down to the heavyweight match and Scotty (Kaltenbaugh) holding on for that last burst or two from the Reynolds heavyweight (Dan Svirbly) to get out.''

Completely cognizant of the team concept, Miller -- who assumed the reins of the Greenville grapplers beginning with the '85-86 season after a 1-year teaching-coaching stint at Sullivan County, near Wilkes-Barre -- believes it served as the impetus for the Trojans' triumphs.

``I would have to say, yes, and I would not exclude the postseason in that. When you have six boys down at the regional tournament, that is, again, a very strong performance by a team. Obviously, you'd like to do more than that, but it was just a superb season from the first practice all the way to the end.

``I think that, although it was a team effort, (the success) speaks very highly of our senior class. We have eight boys who will be graduating and they were very fine gentlemen and sportsmen and raised the level of their teammates.

``And I think our future is bright with three fellows returning who were at the regional tournament. There's some really good individuals coming back and, again, hopefully they'll raise the level of everybody around them.

``This was pretty special. I haven't had eight seniors before, and they did what I envisioned seniors would do: carry the team and make things happen.

``It's a program and I'm just fortunate to be in the driver's seat,'' Miller said, concluding, ``It takes a lot of things to make a car move, so I'll have to take the credit or blame.

``But it's just been a great thrill to have some of the experiences I've had so far. And I'm looking to some more down the road.''

Back to TOP // Fab 15 main page // Herald Sports // Herald Home page

Updated April 8, 1997
Questions/comments: herald@pgh.net
For info about advertising on our site or Web-page creation: advertising@sharon-herald.com