May 11, 2017 3 min read

Canon-McMillan reached into some strong wrestling bloodlines at Burgettstown High School to find its next head coach.

Jeff Havelka, who wrestled at Burgettstown and the University of Findlay, was hired as varsity head coach for the storied Big Macs wrestling program at the Thursday meeting of the Canon-McMillan School Board.

The board also hired Shawn Urbano as varsity head girls basketball coach. Urbano was head coach at Cornell High School for the past 10 years.

“I saw the story when Coach (Jason) Cardillo resigned and it crossed my mind to apply,” said Havelka. “I got an interview pretty quick and it went well.

“I’m very excited. I’m a Southwest Pennsylvania guy and I know the tradition and history of this wrestling program. I’m really excited to meet the guys and get in there to start working with them. There are definitely expectations there to do well and I’m excited for the challenge.”

The 30-year-old Havelka replaces Cardillo, who resigned after the season to spend more time with his family.

Havelka was working as assistant coach at Waynesburg University under head coach Ron Headlee for the past three years after spending a year as head wrestling coach at Chartiers-Houston High School.

“We are excited to have a quality person in Jeff to lead one of the top high school wrestling programs in the country,” said C-M athletic director Frank Vulcano. “He knows the expectations are high and that the tradition of Canon-McMillan is second to none.”

Havelka, who lives in Canonsburg, is the son of Terry Havelka, who was the longtime wrestling coach at Burgettstown. Terry Havelka also coached football and served as athletic director at the school.

Jeff Havelka said the influence of his father was invaluable as he developed his wrestling career.

“My dad has meant everything to my coaching career,” he said. “He’s been my mentor for my entire life. He had a long career as a coach and he got me into it.He has had a huge impact on me.”

At Chartiers-Houston, Havelka led the Bucs to the WPIAL Team Tournament and qualified two wrestlers to the PIAA Championships at the Giant Center in Hershey.

At Findlay, he was a two-time NCAA Division II national qualifier, a four-year letterman and two-time captain. Havelka was a three-time NCAA Academic All-American.

“It was an extremely hard decision to leave Waynesburg,” he said. “The atmosphere Coach Headlee has created down there is special and I appreciate him working with me and mentoring me.”

Urbano coached Cornell to a second-place finish in the WPIAL this past season and into the WPIAL playoffs for the past eight season. Urbano replaces Lou Waller, who resigned after the season.