Wrestling the best puts Bears ahead of MVC teams

by Mike Kuhns

Posted on January 11, 2008

BRODHEADSVILLE — Pleasant Valley has had a firm grasp on the Mountain Valley Conference wrestling title the last five years.

Why? They don't rest and they continue to schedule the best competition possible every year.

The Bears wrestle in the spring, summer and fall. And when they're not wrestling in the offseason, coach Mark Getz is looking for the next test to push his team during the season.

This year the Bears have already wrestled Nazareth (a 50-16 loss), Easton (a 47-24 defeat) and take on Northampton — maybe the best of the Lehigh Valley powers — Jan. 26 at the Koncrete Duals. The Bears have been beaten badly in two of those duals, and the expectations against the Kids aren't much better.

The philosophy of wrestling top competition has paid off huge dividends for Getz and the Bears. PV's individual results are proof of that.

Go back through the names of PV greats the last seven years: John Henry Zarzycki (two-time state medalist, 4th 2001, 2nd '02), Ian McGoldrick (state 7th, '03), Mike Ferrara (state 3rd, '03), state qualifiers Bryan Farley and Tim McGoldrick in 2004, and Chris Swan in '05,

Last year Getz took three wrestlers to the state tournament — Jordan Toledo, Kyle Cramer and Shane Everett. Arguably the team's best wrestler, senior Chris Servian, just missed qualifying.

This year Servian has no plans on missing the state tournament.

"I wrestled the No. 3 guy in the country and went 3-1 with him, so I know I can go with all these guys," Servian said. "It just builds confidence early. I just go through the whole season with confidence and build it more and more."

Getz smiles just thinking about Servian's future.

"I really have a lot of high expectations for Chris," said Getz, who hinted Servian may drop to 147 for the postseason. "I think he does too. His level has risen pretty high this year and that's because he's a believer in himself right now.

"I wouldn't be surprised to see him in the (state) final. I think he's the kind of kid, we might look up and see Chris Servian in the final. I think that can happen."

PV's best wrestlers, Servian, Toledo (maybe at 105 for districts) and Buddy Gouger (171) have each bought into the work ethic involved for success. That mentality has trickled down to the younger wrestlers like sophomores Mike Pokrinchak (125), Jake Chamberlain (130) and Cameron Kromelbien (160) and juniors Ethan Brewer (140) and Matt Yanovich (119).

The younger wrestlers may get even more out of being exposed to top-notch competition at tournaments like the Reno Tournament of Champions (PV was 15th out of 67 teams) and Powerade (33rd out of 42 teams).

Toledo, a sophomore, has six losses this season, but those defeats have come at the hands of some of the top wrestlers in the state. The key for him is what every wrestler aims to achieve, consistency.

"He's been up and down," Getz said. "You see some great things and some not so great. He's got to get that even keel and keep it at a high level every time."

And then there's Gouger, the senior who is one of the most improved wrestlers in the area. Gouger finished seventh in Reno and at Powerade at 171 pounds.

"He's broken through," Getz said of Gouger. "All those national tournaments he's been in before he's never placed. This time he's cracked into there. I think he realizes he belongs."

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