Tyler Oravec, in gold, attempts a takedown for Kiski Area

The Cavaliers sent five wrestlers to the PIAA State Individual Championships in March, the most the school has ever sent under the current system of sending the top three wrestlers in the region/WPIAL at each weight. Representing the Big K in the four different weight categories were Scott Joseph (WPIAL/Regional Gold Medalist), Matt Riddle (WPIAL/Regional Silver Medalist), Tyler Oravec (WPIAL/Regional Silver Medalist), Zach McKendree (WPIAL/Regional Bronze Medalist), and Tony Clark (WPIAL/Regional Bronze Medalist).

Three of Coach Chuck Tursky's Crew of Champions, all seniors, survived defeats in Hershey and were able to wrestle back through a grueling series of bouts that determined final contestants for the top eight medal rounds. 145lber Zach McKendree came home with a fourth place State Medal, 215lber Matt Riddle carried home an eighth place State Medal finish, and 135lber Tyler Oravec delivered a fourth place and medaled also.

Matt Riddle, son of Mary Jo and Steven Riddle, made his first trip to States after finishing in the top eight in the WPIAL last year. He lost his first match, meaning he was catapulted into the cellar of the double-elimination tournament. To stay alive, he'd have to wrestle five matches with PA's finest wrestlers in less than three days. "I was hoping to win the first one," Matt says, "because you know if you lose it is so hard to wrestle back, but you just have to buckle down and do what you need to, and that's what I did." The Cavs have a place on the wall that says, "Pride" in their wrestling room that they always slap. Riddle considers it essential for competing against champions "You've got to know you can do it, and have pride in your work ethic. You have to know the guy you are going to be wrestling is going to be working hard and you've gotta do everything in your power to beat him, never giving up."

Tyler Oravec, son of Gary and Kathy Oravec, elaborates, " Anybody who is committed to sports is a champion in my book. It takes hard work. I worked hard on conditioning all these years, did a lot of running over the years. My trademark for those years was it’s the third period and I'm not tired--so, I win the third period because I'm not tired." To keep that stamina up, Oravec wrestles weekly with three young men who each became State Champ this March: Ashton Primus (Connellsville), Troy Dolan (Derry), and Ryan Goodman (Latrobe) for now. He will be wrestling for West Virginia University next year.