Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League

Back in 1982, the Bucs were Pennsylvania wrestling’s version of “Hoosiers.” Chartiers-Houston was a small school, but finished ahead of all the big boys 29 years ago. The Bucs wrestled “up” in classification and ended up winning the Class 3A state team championship, finishing ahead of second-place North Allegheny. During the season, Char-Houston defeated Hempfield, Mt. Lebanon, Canon-McMillan, Trinity and North Allegheny. Despite Chartiers-Houston’s small size, five Bucs’ wrestlers qualified for the Class 3A state tournament. Phil Mary won his second consecutive state championship. Jim Vulcano, Brian Bell and Chris Mary all finished third at the state championships. Kurt Kesneck was the other state meet qualifier from Chartiers-Houston.