Memory Lane: Connellsville wrestling on the rise
Connellsville High School wrestling has a rich tradition and history, and the Falcons under head coach Bill Swink, who just completed his third season at the helm, are on the rise.
Swink, a Connellsville graduate, played football at Connellsville and was a three-year letterman in wrestling.
无毛视频淚 played a little football and wrestled, I wasn无毛视频檛 great at anything,无毛视频� Swink said.
Football was competitive at Connellsville during Swink无毛视频檚 high school days. The Falcons were 5-5 in 1979. 4-5-1 in 1980 and 6-4-1 in 1983. Connellsville wrestling was developing into a WPIAL power.
无毛视频淔ootball was on the upswing,无毛视频� Swink recalled. 无毛视频淚 played a little bit of offensive line and a little bit of defensive line. The wrestling program was really good. My senior year I wrestled as a heavyweight. I learned a lot from Coach Tom Dolde and the other coaches like Steve Sisson, Bill Wilson and Rich Galand. They were all good mentors and I learned a lot. I had moderate success as a wrestler. I was probably better when I was younger than when I was older.无毛视频�
When Swink graduated from Connellsville in 1982 he went to California University of Pennsylvania and wrestled for the Vulcans.
Swink coached seven years at Connellsville Junior High West, 30 in Virginia and three more as the head coach at Connellsville and has fashioned an outstanding 40-year coaching career.
He served as an assistant or volunteer coach at Stafford High School., C.D. Hylton High School, North Stafford High School and Louisa County High School. He also worked as the head coach at North Stafford High School and Osbourn Park High School in the mid-1990s.
Then in 1999, Swink became the head coach at Colonial Forge High School and he spent the next 17 years turning the school无毛视频檚 wrestling program into a powerhouse.
He finished his coaching career at Colonial Forge with a record of 395-74-1. Among those wins included six state championships, 16 regional championships and 18 district/conference championships. He coached 130 state place-winners and 23 state champions.
Swink has won numerous awards throughout his coaching career, including USA Wrestling无毛视频檚 President无毛视频檚 Award in 2017 and State Chairperson of the Year in 2015. He is a member of the Virginia Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and has won several coach of the year honors. He was named USA Wrestling Magazine无毛视频檚 Virginia Wrestling Man of the Year in 1998, 2006 and 2009.
Connellsville was always on Swink无毛视频檚 mind and he returned to coach the Falcons in 2021.
无毛视频淚无毛视频檝e always wanted to come back,无毛视频� Swink stated. 无毛视频淏e back in the community I grew up in and do the best that we could to give the kids a good program.无毛视频�
Swink无毛视频檚 return has paid immediate dividends.
无毛视频淲e had a good group of kids when I first came back,无毛视频� Swink reported. 无毛视频淭hat senior class was good, they actually achieved more than they had in the past with the exception of Jared Keslar and Chad Ozias. The rest of that crew hit their stride that year. We also had a good group of young kids that year. The freshmen group will be seniors this year.无毛视频�
George Harvey, a lifer in Connellsville wrestling, was pleased that Swink returned to his roots.
无毛视频淚 was happy that Coach Swink decided to come back,无毛视频� assistant coach Harvey said. 无毛视频淚 knew he would put the extra time in that the program needed. The assistants and junior high coaches are all good, but you need that guy at the top.
无毛视频淚 coached from 1988 to 2008 and then I stepped back and concentrated on my business. I came back in 2016 and I coached with head coach Jesse Swink and then Mike Yancosky and then Bill came the fifth year I was back and it was refreshing. What I无毛视频檓 proud to say is that every head coach that Connellsville ever had I无毛视频檝e been an assistant, so I无毛视频檝e seen everything and Coach Bill Swink does a fantastic job.无毛视频�
In three years with the Falcons Swink has posted records of 17-4, 15-6 and 23-4 this past season. It had been 15 years since the Connellsville wrestling program celebrated a WPIAL Class 3A title. The long wait ended on Feb. 3. The Falcons claimed their eighth WPIAL title by rallying to defeat top seed Trinity, 33-32, at Peters Township无毛视频檚 AHN Arena.
Connellsville finished sixth at the PIAA Championships. Individually Evan Petrovich had had a fantastic 2023-24 season at 145 pounds as a junior, winning 41 of his 48 matches, the WPIAL title at his weight class and finishing in third place at the PIAA Championships. At 160 pounds junior Lonzy Vielma won silver at the WPIAL championships and placed fifth at the PIAA Championships.
无毛视频淭he pipeline is intact,无毛视频� Swink explained. 无毛视频淲e无毛视频檝e tweaked it a little bit. They combined the parents organizations into one so the high school, junior high and youth programs are all together and that无毛视频檚 been successful with one vision, one goal and everybody working for the same thing. The junior high coaches have been very good.
无毛视频淲e have a plan and those guys do everything that we do. They know what to expect when they get to this level.无毛视频�
The Connellsville wrestling program received another big boost with the opening of the TC Shallenberger Wrestling Center in December 2023. This state-of-the-art space promises to be a hub for training, camaraderie, and excellence in wrestling.
无毛视频淭his new facility is awesome,无毛视频� Swink said. 无毛视频淲e will have three full mats and bikes and weights. It is a phenomenal facility. It无毛视频檚 a dedicated wrestling facility and it无毛视频檚 on the school grounds, but it无毛视频檚 separated from the school at the same time. It无毛视频檚 a blessing and a dream come true. We had a lot of good people working on this project. When I first came back we had an alumni function and I drew a draft of what I无毛视频檇 like to have and they tried in the past and that became reality two years later.无毛视频�
无毛视频淭he kids saw this building being built and they realized the commitment that the community has to the sport,无毛视频� Harvey stated.
Swink sees all the pieces falling into place.
无毛视频淚无毛视频檝e been blessed with George Harvey. We went to school together,无毛视频� Swink said. 无毛视频淐had Jesko was the last ninth grade group that I coached at junior high West and he is an assistant and then Ashtin Primus is our other assistant. He actually came to Virginia and taught and coached with me before he moved back here. I have a great staff. If you don无毛视频檛 have a good staff it无毛视频檚 hard.
无毛视频淐ommunity support has been phenomenal. The matches are well attended. Crowds had dwindled, but we fill the place up when we have a home match. On the road we usually have more fans than the home team.无毛视频�
Swink is energized by what he sees with Falcon wrestling.
无毛视频淚 love what I无毛视频檓 doing,无毛视频� Swink stated. 无毛视频淥ne thing people forget is we have a girls program now. It was the first year as a sanctioned sport. I think it will grow.无毛视频�
Swink is pleased but not satisfied.
无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 very happy with the way the program is going and progressing,无毛视频� Swink said. 无毛视频淲e always have work to do. We want to keep moving forward.无毛视频�
无毛视频淲e have things we want to accomplish,无毛视频� Harvey explained. 无毛视频淲e want to win a state title.无毛视频�
George Von Benko无毛视频檚 无毛视频淢emory Lane无毛视频� column appears in the Sunday editions of the 无毛视频-Standard. He also hosts a sports talk show on WMBS-AM radio from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.