Jan 19, 2020 3 min read

When Mark Caffrey decided to retire as McGuffey High School’s wrestling coach at the end of last season, an air of uncertainty circled the program.

Caffrey had an illustrious career that landed him in the Pennsylvania Wrestling Coaches Association Hall of Fame. So there would be much expected from his successor. The school board decided on Jared Roberts, an assistant under Caffrey, to take his place.

All Roberts had to do was figure out a way to keep the program headed in the right direction, while leaving his mark as the new head coach.

How does a 9-0 record sound?

So far, so good.

The Highlanders capped a perfect regular season with a narrow win over Beth-Center last week. McGuffey will try to win it’s first section title under Roberts Wednesday, then move on to the WPIAL Class AA team tournament next week.

“I wasn’t surprised at what they did,” said Roberts of his wrestlers. “I think some of it was because there were some kids who came out that were not out for a few years so we have a full lineup. We lost some kids to graduation but I knew we had some good kids coming back. So I would say the surprise came from people outside our circle. I have coached these kids as Mark’s assistant for seven years. I knew that if we got everyone into the right weight class, and we did that for the most part, we could be successful.”

Caffrey compiled an incredible 417-103 record over 28 seasons at McGuffey, producing seven PIAA individual champions, three WPIAL Class AAA Team Tournament championships and two regional titles.

At his retirement, Caffrey ranked 23rd on the PIAA coaches list for victories and was one of eight active coaches with 400 or more victories. He was inducted into the Pennsylvania Wrestling Coaches Hall of Fame in 2005 after surpassing 300 victories, the benchmark for inclusion.

“When Mark left the program, it was still pretty strong,” said Roberts. “He left the program in pretty good shape. Everyone wants it to be successful. McGuffey is a wrestling school and they want to see it be successful. Their expectation is for success, so that’s my expectation.”

Roberts’ first venture into the wrestling postseason comes Wednesday in the Section 1-AA Tournament in Claysville. McGuffey will wrestle South Park in the 6 p.m. opener, then take on the winner of the match between Burgettstown and Beth-Center in the 7:15 p.m. finals.

“Ethan Barr and Rocco Ferraro are the hardest workers in the room,” said Roberts. “They set a good example for the younger kids. Beau Bergles has come a long way for us. He had a big pin against Beth-Center. He was one of the wrestlers who didn’t come out last year and we finally convinced him. Now, he has an over .500 record and he’s really beginning to have fun.

“I’m excited because I think we have a shot. If the boys wrestle the way they are capable of, I think we can see some big things Wednesday night.”

In Section 4 of Class AAA, Waynesburg is hosting Canon-McMillan, South Fayette and Trinity. Peters Township travels to Mt. Lebanon in Section 2.