After 7-year hiatus, Jamie Kyriazis returns to coach North Allegheny wrestling team

By: Chris Harlan
Saturday, December 10, 2022 | 11:01 AM

Timing is important in wrestling.

Since Jamie Kyriazis resigned seven years ago as North Allegheny’s coach, he’d spent more time with wife Amy, saw his daughter Hannah enter high school and welcomed a new addition to the family in now-6-year-old son Nico.

“The timing was just right to step down for different reasons,” said Kyriazis, who coached the team for 15 seasons. “I was burning out a little bit and just wanted family time.”

This winter, he’s back on the mats.

Kyriazis had started volunteering part-time with the junior high program early last season and always thought he’d maybe someday become an assistant, not knowing North Allegheny would urgently need a new varsity coach after his replacement, Sanshiro “Sunny” Abe, departed last winter. Seeing his old program in distress, Kyriazis decided the timing was right for a return.

“Coming back now to be honest with you wasn’t something I was seeking out at first,” said Kyriazis, who works as a teacher in the district. “But I went through this program as a wrestler myself and coached all of those years, so I do feel that sense of pride in the program and wanting to be able to help out in any way I can.”

No other program could’ve lured him out of retirement.

North Allegheny went 217-68 in his first stint as coach from 2000-15, winning 14 section titles and reaching the WPIAL team tournament all 15 years. Ten of his wrestlers won individual WPIAL titles during his tenure, 22 placed at states and four won state championships.

Kyriazis was inducted into the North Allegheny Athletic Hall of Fame in 2008.

As a wrestler himself, the 1990 graduate won an individual PIAA title his senior season and was part of powerhouse NA teams that won state championships in 1988 and 1990.

“Especially toward the end of my career, I saw such a value in the team aspect of an individual sport and I want to bring that back,” he said. “I think that’s kind of gone away the last few years.”

Kyriazis takes over a program that reached the quarterfinals of the WPIAL team tournament a season ago. Among the wrestlers returning this fall is senior Jayson Flener, who finished fifth in the WPIAL at 138 pounds as a junior. However, the team faced turmoil last February when Abe resigned for personal reasons with one match left on the schedule, leaving his assistants to finish out the season.

Kyriazis’ return comes with real expectations, considering his teams’ success in the past, but he said that doesn’t translate into any feelings of pressure for him or his staff.

“I won’t use the word ‘pressure’ because we believe in what we’re doing right now,” Kyriazis said. “We know it’s not going to happen overnight. We like what we see with this team. Right now there’s no one that’s a household name on our team, but we have some guys who could really step up and have a year that makes a name for themselves.”

He said Nate Monteparte at 139 pounds and Adam Rohan at 172 are senior leaders in position for success. Flener, now at 145, was one match away from reaching states.

Kyriazis’ coaching philosophy is the same as when he resigned in 2015, but he says he’s now able to delegate better. His coaching staff includes Dwayne Nasiadka, Dan Heckert, Eric Cassidy, Dustin Layton and Rich Catalano.

“I don’t feel I have to do it all,” he said. “Not that I did it all last time, I had great assistants, but I feel like the workload is really distributed and we all work together. That’s the biggest thing. Don’t try to take everything on myself. I’m not 25 or 30 anymore. Let other guys do what they’re passionate about and use their skills.”

With a 6-year-old son and a 16-year-old daughter at home, Kyriazis said he still values those priorities as a dad as well.

“It was a tough decision coming back regarding that,” he said. “I still want to do the family thing but we’re making it work, so it’s cool to get back in there.”

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

Tags: North Allegheny