Observer-Reporter Athlete of the Week
Name: Josh Kuslock
School: Chartiers-Houston
Class: Senior
Sport: Wrestling
Kuslock’s week: Despite going into the event unseeded, Josh Kuslock roared through the bracket and won the 138-pound title in the Chartiers-Houston Wrestling Tournament Saturday afternoon.
Kuslock opened the tournament with a pin of Mason Sweetie, a junior from Fort Cherry, in 1:32. He pinned Coltin Jezioro, a sophomore from Peters Township, in 2:38 in the quarterfinals and followed that with a 6-2 decision over Darrell Bails, a senior from Burgettstown, in the semifinals. Kuslock won a 4-2 decision over Garrett Burnham of Pine-Richland in the finals.
“I picked this weight in the summer and trained for it,” said Kuslock. “I didn’t know any of the kids in my weight class. I just went out there and I knew my hard work would pay off.”
Chartiers-Houston head coach Garrett Johnston said he would “never rule Josh out of any match.”
“He’s a good wrestler and you know he’s always going to give it his all.”
Second title in four seasons: What made this such a special moment was that Kuslock had not won a title in this tournament since his freshman season.
In his sophomore year, Kuslock lost to talented junior Gage Curry of North Hills. Curry went 44-1 and finished third in the Class AAA state tournament. Last season, Kuslock developed a case of mononucleosis and missed the first half of the season. Kuslock finished the season with a 28-12 record and qualified for the Class AA Southwest Region Tournament.
“It’s been too long (to get to the second title),” said Kuslock. “I missed a month last year with mono. It’s been a long way back but the time off helped me focus more on wrestling.”
Kuslock’s talents have brought him to an 80-33 record in his high school career, 20 shy of 100. Johnston believes Kuslock has the ability to reach that milestone and go on even furth..
“To be honest, I didn’t look at his bracket,” said Johnston. “He just wrestles. It doesn’t matter to him who he wrestles. He just goes at it. The mono set him back but he came back strong. … His goal is to get to Hershey and I believe he can accomplish anything he works at.”
Compiled by Joe Tuscano