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Popple seeks Coughlin’s first state title
Coughlin 189-pound wrestler Josh Popple is wrestling in the PIAA Class 3A Championships this weekend in Hershey and will try to become the first state champion wrestler in school history.
Don Carey/THE TIMES LEADER
Most wrestlers pace back and forth while listening to their iPod while preparing for a match.
Not Josh Popple.
The Coughlin senior can be seen most of the time standing with his head coach Steve Stahl, assistant coach Rubin Prophete and his dad Mark chatting or joking with his mentors.
Heck, he’s even had to be awaken from a nap several times throughout his career right before a match.
Every wrestler and coach knows how much of a mind game the sport can be at times. So it’s that mental toughness that could lead the unbeaten Popple (41-0) to be the first wrestling state champion in school history this weekend during the PIAA Class 3A Championships at Hershey’s Giant Center.
“Mentally, he’s one of the toughest I’ve ever seen,” Stahl said. “He’s always relaxed.”
Popple, who is one of nine Wyoming Valley Conference wrestlers participating at the PIAA championships which get underway today, got his career started on the junior high level, but he entered high school without any district championships. He busted onto the scene his sophomore year when he qualified for the Northeast Regional Tournament and started to turn heads with his devastating tilt that he has perfected over the years and uses to rack up back points in his matches.
If his matches get that far.
Of the 189-pounder’s 41 wins this season, 30 are by fall. The rest of the victories consist of six decisions, two technical falls, two forfeits and one major decision. He’s had four decisions over Crestwood’s Mike Mirra, one against Berwick’s Roy Dennis and one over Pittston Area’s Jason Laboranti. The major decision was a victory over Dallas’ Adam Goeringer (189).
Mirra and Laboranti are joining Popple at the state tournament, while Dennis and Goeringer finished fourth in the region.
In addition to Popple, Mirra (189 pounds) and Laboranti (215), Pittston Area’s Michael Domarasky (112), Hazleton Area’s Tim Samec (152) and Chad Hoffman (171), and Crestwood’s Matt Ritz (140) will be shooting for a 3A championship starting today.
Meyers’ Vito Pasone and Lake-Lehman’s Austin Harry are competing in the 2A event at 112 and 119 pounds, respectively.
All of Popple’s non-pins this year are due to getting back points with the tilt. When most wrestlers have their choice after the first and second periods, they choose bottom position to try to score. Popple picks top to add up near fall points.
“All your skills are developed in the room and all the work you put into it in the room so it just depends on how much hard work you put into it,” Popple said. “I got a lot of coaches helping me. I got my dad and coach Stahl and coach Rubin. I also got a couple coaches that come down every once in a while like Bob Hawkins. Everybody’s working together, showing me moves all the time.”
Popple, who will wrestle at Harvard next season, is not a rookie in the state tournament. Last year, he won his first match. He dropped his second match to Central Dauphin’s Kenny Courts, who went on to win the gold medal.
But after that loss to Courts, Popple rebounded and didn’t lose again until the third-place match to Hazleton Area’s Jared Kay.
“Placing at states last year is a big plus because last year I went into the tournament really not expecting anything and I didn’t know what to expect,” Popple added. “So that gives me the experience I need to come back this year and compete at the highest level.”
In 2010, Popple was in the 171-pound bracket. As he bumped up so did Courts, who is ranked first in the state according to the Pennsylvania Power Rankings; Popple is fourth. The two are on opposite ends of the bracket so the only way they meet in the championship bracket would be for the state title.
Now those two and the other 14 athletes in the bracket are looking for a state championship, the biggest achievement every wrestler aspires for, but Popple and his coach aren’t looking ahead.
That’s what may have happened last year to Butler Area’s Cole Baxter, who Popple defeated in the preliminary round to move on to see Courts. Baxter was picked to advance and see Courts, but he was upset.
In 2007, when Stahl was an assistant for the Crusaders, Justin Accordino was expected to win the 145-pound bracket and become the first state titlist in wrestling for the school. Accordino, who also entered the PIAA Championships undefeated, won his first match then was knocked out with back-to-back losses and left Hershey without a medal.
“(A state title) would definitely be great. It’s a tough thing to do,” Stahl noted. “Years ago with Accordino, we thought we had a sure thing. It’s all how you are when you get down there. That’s an unneeded pressure. You wrestle for yourself and don’t worry about that stuff, especially at this stage in the game.”
Another unnecessary stress could be the fact that Popple enters without a loss.
After winning the regional title last week, Popple said that the unblemished mark is just a number. His coach agrees.
“I look at it whole career-wise, he’s been beat,” said Stahl, who’s in his fourth year as coach of the Crusaders. “We’re just very fortunate this year he’s undefeated. We may get through this weekend undefeated, then I’ll be very happy.”
Crestwood’s Mike Mirra is in the same bracket as Popple. The two have squared off four times this season. Mirra is in the same half as Courts (43-2) and Pittsburgh’ Central Catholic’s Perry Hills (45-6), who is accountable for one of Courts’ losses this season. Hills has six losses this year, but just one to a wrestler from Pennsylvania. That grappler is Kiski Area’s Matt McCutcheon (38-2), who Popple could see in the semifinals.
“Everyone there is at the top level of competition. Everyone’s coming to wrestle so anyone can beat anyone on any given day,” Popple noted. “You got to be ready to wrestle that person that steps out on the mat no matter who they are.
“Both sides of the bracket are really tough, but I’m going to have a lot of tough competition. There are a lot of good kids with good record so I just got to be ready and come to wrestle.”
UP NEXT
What: PIAA Championships
When: Today through Saturday
Where: Giant Center, Hershey
At Stake: A state championship or one of eight medals in each weight class.
TV: The finals can be seen live on PCN on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. (Class 2A) and 8 p.m. (Class 3A)
The Schedule
Class 2A
Today
9 a.m., preliminaries
12:15 p.m., first round consolations
Friday
8 a.m., quarterfinals
9:45 a.m., second round consolations
6:30 p.m., semifinals and third round consolations
9 p.m., fourth round consolations
Saturday
12:30 p.m., third, fifth and seventh place matches
2:30 p.m., finals
Class 3A
Today
4 p.m., preliminaries
7:15 p.m., first round consolations
Friday
1 p.m., quarterfinals
2:45 p.m., second round consolations
Saturday
8 a.m., semifinals and third round consolations
10:30 a.m., fourth round consolations
6 p.m., third, fifth and seventh place matches
8 p.m., finals