JFK wrestling turns out a winner

Influenced by the Poweskis, wrestling has flourished at Warren Kennedy.
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
Bob and Mary Beth Poweski were at a Warren Kennedy High basketball game eight years ago when they saw three students with their chests painted with the school's letters.
Poweski turned to Mary Beth and said, "There's a 145 [pounder], there's a 152 ... These guys should wrestle."
So Poweski -- who wrestled in high school and college -- talked to JFK athletic director John Gillen, who gave him the go-ahead to try wrestling as a club sport the following year.
After 20 years, Bob Poweski was back in wrestling.
"When we first started, my son Thad was wrestling at 125 [pounds] and he couldn't make it out of the first period without being pinned," Bob said. "It was a really hard year."
Came a long way: Thad -- who now wrestles at John Carroll -- and the Eagles got better. By the time Thad was a senior, he was a match away from qualifying for state, losing by a penalty point on a controversial call by the referee.
"He really came a long way," Bob said.
So has JFK's program.
Bob -- whose nickname is "Big Bear" -- graduated from Brooklyn High School on the west side of Cleveland and attended a community college for two years before transferring to Kent State. He finished second in the Mid-American Conference tournament his junior year at Kent and took first his senior year in 1974.
It was during this time that he began dating Mary Beth. The couple will celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary this May.
"The happiest 25 years of Big Bear's life," Mary Beth said, smiling.
State meet experience: Their middle son, Jared, went 38-5 as a junior last season, losing in the preliminaries in the Division III state tournament at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus.
"I was kind of overwhelmed," Jared said. "I should have won a couple matches. The crowds at the Schottenstein are amazing."
Their youngest son, Bobby, went 26-9 as a sophomore last season, breaking his hand with 25 seconds left in an Eastern Ohio Wrestling League match against Liberty's Paul Martin.
He finished -- and won -- the match, but his season was over.
"I felt it snap in the third period," Bobby said. "My adrenaline was flowing so it didn't hurt that much. I was upset for a couple days, but there's nothing I could do about it."
Struggled at first: Jared and Bobby became interested in wrestling when Bob became the coach. They practiced with the varsity while still in middle school, and both said they struggled.
"In seventh and eighth grade, I got my butt kicked," Jared said. "My freshman year, things turned around."
The two brothers went to wrestling camps in the summer and would wrestle each other during the year. They got stronger, their technique got better, and their confidence rose.
"Jared and I go at it, but he weighs more than me," Bobby said. "It's fun to be on the same team."
Jared is 11-1 this season, with his lone loss coming at the Leonard Truck and Trailer Tournament at Jackson-Milton earlier this month. Bobby, 17-2 this season, has won titles at the Jackson-Milton tournament and the Cardinal Middlefield tournament this season, and finished second at the season-opening Dover tournament.
Bobby also played on JFK's playoff football team this season, and both work out year-round to prepare for the season. They competed in last summer's National Open Wrestling Championships in Birmingham, Ala.
The experience helped prepare Bobby for his goal of making it to this year's state tournament.
"The tournament in Alabama had 12 mats going at one time, just like the state tournament," he said. "I feel like I'm ready, but I'm not going to worry too much about it."
Jared has a loftier goal.
"I want to win state," he said. "I know what it's like going down there. It got my feet wet for this season."
scalzo@vindy.com