Bill Wade, Post-Gazette Rudy Chelednik, top, wrestled in the Powerade tournament for Greensburg Central Catholic last season, but is competing for Hempfield this season. Hempfield will wrestle in the Powerade tournament which gets under way Friday at Canon-McMillan High School. Click photo for larger image.

Vince DeAugustine has fond memories of his appearances in the Powerade Christmas tournament. The 1997 Hempfield High School graduate also remembers the California (Pa.) University Christmas tournament.

"It was the California tournament when I was a freshman," said DeAugustine, who placed fifth in his debut. "It was held at California University. They changed the name to Powerade my sophomore season and I won the 152-pound title. I placed second [at 160] as a junior after losing to Kevin Boross from Ohio's Solon High. The tournament moved to Trinity High School my senior year and I won the 171-pound title."

DeAugustine will make a return trip to the Powerade tournament Friday, but this time as Hempfield High School's head coach.

"It's changed quite a bit since I wrestled," he said. "It's much bigger and the field is much stronger. Powerade is clearly one of the top tournaments in the country. It's a big challenge for the kids. They've been looking forward to it."

	WPIAL TEAM RANKINGS CLASS AAA Rank, School Record 1. Hempfield (2-0) 2. Connellsville (5-0) 3. Penn-Trafford (4-0) 4. Kiski Area (8-1) 5. Waynesburg (7-1) 6. Canon-McMillan (5-1) 7. North Allegheny (4-0) 8. Latrobe (7-3) 9. McGuffey (3-1) 10. Chartiers Valley (5-0) CLASS AA Rank, School Record 1. Burrell (5-0) 2. South Side Beaver (4-1) 3. Mount Pleasant  (9-1) 4. Burgettstown (5-0) 5. Tie, Shady Side Academy (5-0) 5. Tie, Derry Area (5-1)

The Powerade tournament will celebrate its 40th anniversary this week with its biggest field. Forty teams will cram into Canon-McMillan High School's gym, the tournament's site since 2003. And Hempfield returns after a long absence.

"This is new to us," said DeAugustine, in his second season as the Spartans' head coach after five seasons as an assistant. "I did attend the finals last year as a spectator. I expect this year's field to be as strong, if not stronger than last year."

With five PIAA qualifiers in his lineup, DeAugustine and the Spartans enter the tournament with high expectations, but also realize the most recent WPIAL team to win a Powerade team title was Connellsville, in 1999.

"Our goal is to finish among the top five in the team standings," he said. "How well we do will depend on the seedings. We must have a contribution from everybody in our lineup to be a serious threat for the team title."

Three of Hempfield's five returning PIAA qualifiers joined the team through a cooperative agreement with Greensburg Central Catholic, after the Centurions disbanded their program after last season. Nico Cortese placed second in the PIAA, while Rudy Chelednik and T.J. Valore were PIAA qualifiers.

Travis Uncapher and Jake Kemerer have also made PIAA appearances. Uncapher, who wrestled at Hempfield as a freshman, spent the past two seasons at Greensburg Central, but transferred back after last season. Kemerer qualified as a freshman last season at Hempfield.

"Hempfield has to be considered one of the favorites for the team title," Waynesburg coach John Yates said. "The co-op with Greensburg Central Catholic has solidified their lineup. They will be tough to beat in the WPIAL."

The tournament has had 17 different team champions in its 39-year history, with Cincinnati's Moeller High School the most recent.

"Moeller decided not to come back this year," said tournament director Frank Vulcano Jr. "But we have two other out-of-state teams replacing them."

Kellam High, a third-place finisher in last year's Virginia Class AAA tournament, and New Jersey's Southern Regional are the new entries.

Also making the trip from Virginia are Christiansburg, that state's Class AA champion; Cox, the Class AAA runner-up; and Colonial Forge, the Class AAA fourth-place finisher. The foursome features 21 wrestlers who qualified for the Virginia championships.

Christiansburg has two returning Powerade champions -- Ian Squires and Cody Gardner. Squires won the 103-pound Powerade title, then placed second in the state. Gardner won both titles at 215.

Other out of state teams entered in the field are: Canandaiqua (New York), Mount St. Joseph (Maryland), Parkersburg (West Virginia), Solon (Ohio) and Walsh Jesuit (Ohio). Chase Skonieczny returns for Walsh Jesuit after claiming the 130-pound title last year.

Hempfield and host Canon-McMillan are two of the 20 WPIAL entries. The others are: Albert Gallatin, Burrell, Chartiers-Houston, Chartiers Valley, Connellsville, Derry Area, Fox Chapel, Greensburg Salem, Keystone Oaks, Latrobe, McGuffey, Mount Pleasant, Penn-Trafford, Pine-Richland, Shaler, Trinity, Waynesburg and West Greene.

Other teams from Pennsylvania are: Blue Mountain (PIAA District 11), Cedar Cliff (District 3), Central Dauphin (District 3), Council Rock North (District 1), DuBois (District 9), Emmaus (District 11), Ft. LeBoeuf (District 10), Indian Valley (District 6), North Star (District 5) and State College (District 6).

"At this point, it's too early to predict a team champion," Vulcano said. "There are at least a dozen teams that have a legitimate shot of winning the team title."

Returning to this year's tournament are eight individual champions, five runners-up and a total of 45 place-winners.

"We have 13 individuals entered in this year's tournament who won a state title last year," Vulcano said. "And some of them will be in the same weight class. Not many tournaments can say that."

Returning champions from the WPIAL are: Canon-McMillan's Colin Johnston, at 112; Derry Area's Troy Dolan, at 119; Trinity's Grant Lowther, at 125; West Greene's Kory Bissett, at 135; and Fox Chapel's Brian Letters, at 152.

Tournament time

Sixty-four of the WPIAL's 82 wrestling teams are entered in tournaments this week.

The 35th annual Steve DeAugustino Holiday Classic will be held Friday and Saturday at West Mifflin with 15 WPIAL teams in the 20-team field.

Bermudian Springs is once again the team to beat. The Eagles had five wrestlers in the finals last year and four were underclassmen. Bryce Marshall, at 119, is the Eagles' lone returning champion.

Also entered in the field are: Bethel Park, Brashear, Cameron (W.Va.), Carlynton, Franklin Regional, Hampton, Langley, Laurel Highlands, McKeesport, Moon, Mt. Lebanon, Perry, Seneca Valley, South Allegheny, Steel Valley, Thomas Jefferson, Washington and Wheeling (W.Va.) Central Catholic.

Eighteen WPIAL teams are entered in the 30-team Southmoreland Holiday Classic Thursday and Friday. Defending team champion Greenville is once again the team to beat and returns two of its three individual champions from a year ago. Eric Weaver won the 135-pound title and Justin Ferguson claimed the 140-pound crown.

Norwin also has two returning champions. Dennis Fix won the 135-pound title as a sophomore, then captured the 145-pound crown last season. Teammate Mike Salopek won the 160-pound title last year.

Also in the field are Apollo-Ridge, Ambridge, Avonworth, Baldwin, Bentworth, Blackhawk, Blairsville, Central Cambria, Charleroi, DeSales (Ohio), Forest Hills, Gateway, Hickory, Jeannette, Jefferson-Morgan, Ligonier Valley, Meyersdale, Mount Union, Musselman (W.Va.), Riverview, South Side Beaver, Southern Garrett (Md.), Southmoreland, South Park, Uniontown, West Branch, Woodland Hills and Yough.

Kiski Area returns to the 14-team Manheim Lions holiday tournament Thursday and Friday. The Cavaliers finished fourth and had three finalists last year, but all three have graduated.

Peters Township, Mars, Montour, Central Catholic and Ringgold are entered in the 32-team Wheeling Park Duals tomorrow and Wednesday.

Shady Side Academy and Belle Vernon are in Brockway's Big Dog tournament Thursday and Friday.

Laurel is entered in the Pymatuming Valley Christmas tournament Thursday.

Indiana is entered in the Conestoga Valley Christmas tournament Thursday and Friday.

Century Club

Tom Dolde Jr. became the newest member of the WPIAL's Coaching Century Club with Connellsville's recent 81-0 win again McKeesport, and he did it faster than any other coach. Dolde, in his fifth season, has a 100-14 record.

Only two other WPIAL coaches have reached 100 wins in seven seasons or less. The mark was previously held by Jim Neuman, who posted a 112-17-2 record in seven seasons with Canon-McMillan. The other was former North Allegheny coach George DeAugustino, who compiled a 138-36 record in 10 seasons with the Tigers.

"It's not a personal thing," said Dolde, the son of Tom Dolde Sr., who ranks No. 1 among WPIAL coaches with a 448-137-6 record in 34 seasons. "I took over the reigns for a Hall of Fame coach and just built on his philosophy. This is a reflection of our program and our coaching staff. It isn't about me."

Highlands coach Jeff Pollock has also joined the Century Club. Pollick recorded his 100th victory with the Golden Rams' 59-16 win against Kittanning on Dec. 1. Highlands is 10-2 and Pollick, in his 11th season, has a 109-74 record.

Mount Pleasant coach Mark Mears recorded his 99th victory with Wednesday's 63-10 win against Charleroi. The win also marked the 400th in Mount Pleasant history.

"It's kind of neat to be the coach for the 400th victory," said Mears, a 1985 Mount Pleasant graduate. "I've wrestled here and coached here, so I feel like I've contributed."

Other coaches approaching 100 wins are: Elizabeth Forward's Rich Scheuermann (96), Burrell's Chris Como (95), West Allegheny's Mike Johnson (93) and Canon-McMillan's Chris Mary (92).

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Correction/Clarification: (Published Dec. 28, 2006) This story as originally published Dec. 25, 2006 had an incorrect opponent for Connellsville's wrestling team Dec. 17. The team Connellsville defeated was McKeesport.