Butler Area High School wrestling coach Scott Stoner took his squad to Eastern Michigan University to support a fellow Slippery Rock University alumnus; he was rewarded with a lovely parting gift.

The Golden Tornado brought home a championship trophy.

"We attended a team dual meet competition camp held at Eastern Michigan University," Stoner said. "The reason I chose Eastern Michigan was its coach -- Derek Delporto.

"Derek is a graduate of Slippery Rock University who earned All-America status his senior year [1999]. He was also Slippery Rock's coach when the university decided to drop the program."

Delporto took over another program in trouble when he arrived at Eastern Michigan.

"The program was in bad shape when Derek took over," Stoner said. "Derek just completed his third year at Eastern Michigan and his squad had the third most substantial improvement nationally in its four-year Academic Progress Report (APR) scores. He's done a great job and attending his camp was our way of supporting the good work he's doing."

Eighteen members of Butler's 2009-10 squad made the five-hour trip to Ypsilanti, Mich., for the camp, which began June 25.

"We had two days of technique and drilling sessions," Stoner said. "We were one of six teams and the other five were from Michigan. They also had quite a few kids who were attending an intensive camp.

"The third and fourth days we had a dual-meet tournament. We faced the five Michigan teams plus four other teams made up of kids who were attending the intensive camp. Each match consisted of 10 weight classes."

Butler claimed the team title with a 9-0 record, which included a pair of victories against the two teams that appeared in this year's Michigan Division 4 final.

"We dominated the four 'pick-up teams,' but I was most impressed with our performance against the Michigan teams," Stoner said. "We beat Napolean, 36-12; Tecumseh, 39-9; John Glenn, 28-15; and Hudson, 21-18. Hudson was this year's Division 4 champion in Michigan."

Butler's final match was against Addison, a school that had won Division 4 titles in 2005, 2006 and 2007. Both teams were undefeated, but the Golden Tornado took home "The Belt" with a 22-18 victory.

"Derek had a special belt, that cost more than $300, made for the winning team," Stoner said. "Our kids were chanting 'We want the belt' during the tournament."

Three Butler wrestlers went undefeated during the two-day tournament.

"Cole Baxter hammered everybody," Stoner said. "He pinned all nine opponents in the 175-pound weight class. Dakoda Collins and Mike Scialabba were also 9-0, at 160 and 189, respectively. Dakoda clinched our last two matches, including an impressive win against a Hudson wrestler who won a Michigan state title this year."

Chris White and Cody Hartman had 7-2 records for Butler, while Jesse Spohn, Eric Tuck, Matt Pribus and Alex Miranda had 6-3 marks.

"A lot of positive things came from our trip to Michigan," said Stoner, who was joined by assistant Bill Mylan, another Slippery Rock graduate. "Coach Mylan and myself stayed with the kids in the dorms. It was a good chance for the kids to bond with us.

"We also wanted the kids to face opponents outside of Pennsylvania to see how they wrestle. The kids from Michigan were very good on their feet, but we dominated them from the top position. The competition was pretty good."

Stoner said the trip wasn't very expensive.

"The university provided dorm rooms, so we didn't have to pay for lodging," Stoner said. "We just had to pay for transportation and meals. It was a pretty good deal."