Apr 2, 2024 6 min read

By The Observer-Reporter

The sport didn’t matter. It could have been football, wrestling or even mixed martial arts. If Josh Koscheck was involved, he was going to excel in the sport.

Koscheck was a dual-sport standout at Waynesburg Central High School, where he was a PIAA runner-up in wrestling and rushed for 1,600 yards in football, helping the Raiders to the WPIAL playoffs. In college, at Edinboro, Koscheck was a four-time NCAA Division I All-American wrestler.

In his first two seasons at Edinboro, Koscheck finished fourth and second at the NCAA Championships. As a junior, he won all 42 of his bouts and the 2001 NCAA championship at 174 pounds.

As a senior, Koscheck finished in third place despite being slowed by a bulging disk injury in his neck. He ended his wrestling career with a 128-17 record, four PSAC and two EWL championships and three PSAC Wrestler of the Year awards.

Koscheck then enjoyed much success in mixed martial arts with the Ultimate Fighting Championships. He won 17 of his first 22 professional fights, including twice winning Knockout of the Night and Fight of the Night as well as Submission of the Night once. He lost a decision for the 2010 UFC Welterweight Championship.

Koscheck was recently selected as an inductee to the Class of 2024 for the Washington-Greene Co. Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.

The other Class of 2024 inductees include Bill Dukett, Damon “D.J.” Faldowski, Jeff Frazier, Wes Harrington, Terry Havelka, Kathy Knabb, Tom Morrell, Mike Sirianni, Ramont Small, Paul Stanley and Jim Vulcano. The 1994 McGuffey Highlanders football team is the Team of Yesteryear. Special honorees include James J. Faiella, Roy Winfield, George Malanosky, Marissa Rush, Cherie Mazutis and Lorie Wise Hildreth.

The Washington-Greene Co. Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame will induct its Class of 2024, special honorees, Courage Awards, Above and Beyond Award recipient and Hall of Fame Moment during ceremonies Sunday, June 9 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Southpointe.

The following are biographies for the second half of the inductees. The first half was published in a previous edition of the Observer-Reporter.

Ramont Small, Athlete, Coach – Ringgold H.S., Akron and Washington & Jefferson – Small was a multi-year, two-way all-conference football player at Ringgold. He set a then-school record in 1989 with 82 solo and 112 total tackles. He was a third-team all-state selection that year. At Akron, Small was a three-year letterman who was third in scoring while earning All-Mid-American Conference honors as a freshman. At W&J in 1994, he was second team all-conference, second on the team in rushing with 865 yards and eight touchdowns while helping the Presidents reach the NCAA Division III national championship game. Small made the final cut with the Hamilton Tiger Cats of the Canadian Football League before suffering a knee injury. He then coached various football positions, including at Brownsville, where he was the head coach. Small started the track and field program at Monessen in 2007 and helped produce three WPIAL champions, a PIAA champion, two PIAA finalists and three Mon Valley team co-championships.

Paul Stanley, Athlete, Basketball – Butler H.S. and Waynesburg University – A WPIAL Section 2 scoring champion in high school, Stanley was a four-year starter at Waynesburg. He graduated in 1985 as the school’s career-scoring leader with 1,916 points. Stanley helped the Yellow Jackets win two NAIA District 18 championships. In the Australia National Basketball League, Stanley was a first team all-star with the Melbourne Tigers, for whom he averaged 32.5 points, second best in the league. This included averaging 27.5 points in victories over Big East powers Georgetown and UConn in exhibition games. In 1987 with the Hobart Tassie Devils, Stanley won the National Basketball League scoring title (35

ppg) and became the fastest NBL player to reach both 1,000 and 2,000 career points. His career NBL scoring average was 32.6 points per game. In both ASA and USSSA softball competition, Stanley was a 31-time National Champion, 40-time All World All-American selection and three-time World Series MVP. Stanley was a 2023 Amateur Softball Association of Pennsylvania Hall of Fame inductee and was inducted into the Butler County Sports Hall of Fame in 1993.

Jim Vulcano, Athlete and Coach, Wrestling – Chartiers-Houston H.S. – Vulcano compiled an impressive 129-13-1 record in high school. His 129 victories remained a school record for 31 years until it was surpassed by his nephew, Garrett Vulcano. Jim Vulcano was a four-time PIAA state qualifier, a three-time section champion, one-time runner-up and a two-time WPIAL finalist who also earned third- and fourth-place WPIAL finishes. He was a starter on the Bucs’ 1981-82 WPIAL and PIAA championship teams as well as the 1980-81 WPIAL championship team. As C-H’s head wrestling coach, Vulcano compiled a 107-57 record in 12 years while producing 21 state qualifiers, six regional champions, four PIAA place-winners with one state champion, and 12 WPIAL champions. He guided the Bucs to a second-place finish at the 2001 WPIAL Team Tournament. Vulcano also was an assistant coach at Canon-McMillan.

1994 McGuffey Highlanders, Team of Yesteryear, Football – Coached by Frank Sworden, the Highlanders (13-1) won the WPIAL Class 3A championship with a 12-6 win over Blackhawk at Three Rivers Stadium, which avenged a setback to the Cougars in the 1993 title game. During a 10-0 regular season, McGuffey outscored its opponents by a per-game average of 27.8-8.3 with three of the wins via shutout. Before denying Blackhawk a fourth straight WPIAL championship, the Highlanders

advanced to the finals with playoff victories over Hampton (26-7) and Belle

Vernon (20-13). The Highlanders opened the season with consecutive shutouts over Canon-McMillan (14-0) and Brownsville (40-0). Victories over Mount Pleasant (41-21), Peters Township (21-7) and South Park (37-14) followed. McGuffey posted wins over West Mifflin (28-13), Keystone Oaks (24-9) and Chartiers Valley (14-0) before gaining a pivotal 7-6 decision over Thomas Jefferson and a regular-season finale win over Waynesburg (52-14). The season ended with a PIAA semifinal loss to Sharon.

The 1994 Highlanders had to overcome the graduation of Jason Barr and did it with a host of players, including brothers Jason (running back) and

quarterback Jared Johnson, fullback Brett Shriver, and running back Bobby

Wagner. Sworden’s coaching staff included his brother, Mickey Sworden, Rick Barlow, Mike Malesic, and Rudy Johnson.