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Discussion Topic: Ben Stehura, new coach at CSU?
Hank Kornblut added to this discussion on August 15, 2008
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According to Alan Brown, aka Stove Pipe, a respected figure in the online wrestling community, Ben Stehura will be the next head wrestling coach at Cleveland State. I believe Brown runs wrestlingreport.com out of Pennsylvania. He posted this info on themat.com I'm just repeating what I read.
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Discussion Topic: Ben Stehura, new coach at CSU?
Eric Brooks added to this discussion on August 15, 2008
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He is a former CSU assistant and has done a great job at Limestone (also a Jefferson High grad and earned masters degree at CSU)
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Discussion Topic: Ben Stehura, new coach at CSU?
Dan Cosimi added to this discussion on August 16, 2008
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Quote:
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"
Ben building a Buzzsaw
Karl Pearson - Ashtabula Star Beacon
April 12, 2008
Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither is a fine program in any sport. But Jefferson High School graduate Ben Stehura certainly hasn’t taken long to make the Limestone College wrestling team into a force to be reckoned with in NCAA Division II.
In just five years and four competitive seasons, Stehura has built the Saints program from the ground up. This season, Limestone hit the big time when Dan Scanlan, the Saints’ 184-pound wrestler, captured the national championship at the meet held at Upper Iowa University. Scanlan, a resident of Leesburg, Va. and the second-seeded wrestler in the weight class, defeated regional rival and third seed Mike Corcetti of the University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown to claim the first national title for a Limestone wrestler.
It didn’t stop there for Stehura’s Saints, though, as Trey Moss, who competed at 285 pounds, placed eighth in his division. Their performances helped Limestone to a 15th-place finish in the team standings.
The thing is, Stehura believes this year’s national tournament is just the start of something big for the Saints.
“This year was definitely pretty exciting,” the 29-year-old son of Pete and Lynda Stehura of Jefferson said. “What’s even more exciting is the fact we have nine of our 10 starters from this year back.
“I’m really proud of all the guys. We’ve had three All-Americans in four years. They’ve worked very hard. I think we have the chance to keep growing from here.”
It is as much a credit to the work of Stehura, who was a fine high school and collegiate wrestler in his own right. The 1996 Jefferson graduate placed fifth in the Division II state tournament for the Falcons in his senior year and also qualified for state his junior year, although he didn’t place.
Stehura came by his wrestling knowledge honestly. His father is a veteran of many years of officiating in the area. His high school coaches were Scott Francis, who produced his first Ohio state champion at Kirtland this year, and Bill Nye, Ashtabula County’s only two-time state champion.
“I have been fortunate to have excellent teachers,” Stehura said. “My father has probably been the biggest influence on me. He was my coach in pee-wee football, wrestling and in Little League. Scott and Bill also had a big impact on me.”
Perhaps part of his Stehura’s wrestling prowess comes from the fact he was the second-youngest of seven children. Two of his siblings, brother Matt and Sarah, the youngest, still live in Jefferson. Oldest sister Theresa lives in Buffalo, oldest brother Mark resides in Florida, third child Chrystal lives in Mentor and older sister Amy lives not far from Ben in Greenville, S.C.
His productivity as a competitor didn’t stop in high school. He went to Lock Haven University in Pennsylvania and started there for three years at 165 pounds. That included fourth- and fifth-place finishes in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Tournament and a fourth place in the Eastern Wrestling League Tournament. He was also a member of the EWL All-Academic Team before he graduated from Lock Haven in 2000.
The coaching staff at EWL rival Cleveland State thought enough of Stehura’s skills to hire him. He stayed with the nationally-ranked Vikings through the 2003 season, serving as freestyle and Greco Roman Club coach in addition to his role as an assistant with the CSU varsity. During his time at Cleveland State, the Vikings were ranked in the top 25 in Division I wrestling, produced 10 national qualifiers and also had three freestyle and Greco Roman world qualifiers.
His time at Cleveland State worked out well from two standpoints. He completed his masters degree. It was there that he also met his wife, the former Michelle Jaworski, a Chicago native who served as the Vikings’ team physician through her work with Cleveland Clinic. They have been married for slightly less than two years and are the owners of three dogs.
“I was really fortunate meeting my wife there,” he said.
Stehura was recruited by Limestone to begin building the wrestling program after the 2003 season at CSU. His work paid off right away in the Saints’ first year of competition in the 2004-05 season as he built a squad that numbered 40 wrestlers and produced an All-American in senior heavyweight John Richard, who finished seventh in the country.
In the second season of competition, the Saints sent another wrestler to nationals, while Moss also qualified for nationals in the third year. All along the way, Stehura had his team follow the motto, “History in the Making.”
Now, it has been made, with the prospect of more ahead. It isn’t always easy, since Limestone’s normal opposition is teams familiar to area fans like Mercyhurst in Erie and West Liberty in West Virginia, in addition to Pitt-Johnstown.
“It’s almost like I’m a truck driver,” Stehura said with a laugh. “It’s a lot of 10-hour trips.”
Stehura has managed to recruit several Ohioans to the school, which is located in Gaffney, S.C., located near the North Carolina-South Carolina border quite close to Charlotte, N.C. However, all his Buckeye recruits are from the Cincinnati area.
“We have two wrestlers from Miamisburg and one from Lakota West,” he said. “We’ll have to see if we can get some wrestlers from up home down here.”"
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