East Xtra: Penn Hills senior gets boost from new coach
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Penn Hills High School's Joseph Washington, top, goes against Central Catholic's Tony Palumbo in a 145-pound semifinal match at the Allegheny County Tournament.
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Penn Hills hasn't had a WPIAL wrestling champion since 1991; Joseph Washington is hoping to become the next Indians wrestler to reach that lofty goal.
Washington is a three-year starter who has never placed higher than sixth in the WPIAL, but a coaching change has given the 145-pound senior a new outlook for his final season in the scholastic ranks.
"It's been a positive change," said Washington, when asked about new coach Michael Ladick, who took over when former Indians coach Dean Koett retired. "He's more intense and more strict. I really like his style of coaching."
Ladick, who coached at South Fayette for three years prior to being hired at Penn Hills, was familiar with Washington, but didn't know a lot about him.
"I knew he was talented, but quickly found that he had a lot of bad habits," Ladick said. "He needed a lot of little things tweaked."
Ladick pointed out a few of his "bad habits."
"He was riding legs very sloppy, getting out of position, and had no clock management," Ladick said. "He was also doing a lot of 'over wrestling' and was a bit out of shape."
With so many things to tweak, Ladick decided the best option was to go back to fundamentals.
"We tried to condense and consolidate everything by going back to the basics," Ladick said. "We wanted to take what he does well and improve in those areas, while working on some of the other things he needed to tweak. He has a very good double-leg [takedown] and is very tough on the top, so why not use that to his advantage."
The new strategy has worked well for Washington, who is ranked No. 5 in the WPIAL in Class AAA in the 145-pound weight class. He entered the week with a 14-1 record.
"My two assistants, Howard Bell and Jeremy Packer, have also been working closely with him," Ladick said. "Howard and I grew up together and wrestled at Penn-Trafford. He was a four-year [NCAA Division II] All-American at Pitt-Johnstown. He knows what it takes to build a winning program. It's great to have him and Jeremy around."
Washington's only setback this season was a 4-3 loss to Fox Chapel's Sam Molina in the semifinals of the Steve DeAugustino Holiday Classic, which took place Dec. 29-30 at West Mifflin.
"I was disappointed with my third-place finish at West Mifflin, because I won that tournament my sophomore season," Washington said. "I've placed third the past two years."
Washington rebounded from his performance at West Mifflin with an impressive showing at the Allegheny County Tournament. He registered five victories, including two major decision and two pins, to claim the 145-pound title.
"It's definitely the most meaningful thing I've done in wrestling," Washington said. "It was a great feeling to win the title, especially since I was seeded 10th."
Washington posted a 3-0 win against Central Catholic's Tony Palumbo in the semifinals, then pinned North Hills' Jonathan Avon at 4:57 in the championship match.
"In the semifinals, Joseph showed good clock management and was very conscious of where he was on the mat at all times," Ladick said. "He had a one-point lead and patiently waited until the third period to score the takedown that iced the victory.
"In the title match, he turned a lateral drop into a five-point move. He just wore out Avon and was eventually able to pin him."
Washington has been at 145 since breaking into the Indians lineup as a sophomore. He placed second in Section 1-AAA and sixth in the WPIAL and finished with a 30-5 record. Last season, he placed third in the section and made a quick exit from the WPIAL tournament after losing two straight. He finished with a 24-6 record.
"Joseph would like to wrestle in college and has been in contact with W&J," Ladick said.
"Winning a WPIAL title and placing at states would certainly open other doors for him. We'll just have to wait and see how far he goes in the postseason tournaments."
First Published January 26, 2012 12:00 am
