Kiski Area unveils state-of-the-art wrestling room to honor coaching legend, train future champions

By: Michael Love
Thursday, November 20, 2025 | 7:32 PM

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Members of the Kiski Area boys wrestling team worked out Wednesday in their spacious new wrestling room at the high school.

Their Cavaliers female counterparts did the same in an adjoining room not far away.

Some of them would pause for a moment, still taking in their new surroundings with pride for the opportunity afforded them from a project completed earlier this month.

“I remembered walking into the room for the first time and was just amazed,” senior University of Buffalo commit Cooper Roscosky said.

“I’ve seen nice (practice) rooms, but nothing like this. My first thought was that I couldn’t wait to practice in here. I get to spend my entire senior season in here. It is a great feeling to know that the school, the administration and the coaches back you the way they do that they would build a facility like this. Having that trust really makes me and the guys not want to let them down.”

The Chuck Tursky Training Center, named in honor of the Kiski Area coaching legend who led the program to more than 400 dual wins and guided Cavaliers wrestlers to numerous individual and team championships over three decades, has ushered in a new era for Kiski Area wrestling, coach Chris Heater said.

“We are beyond excited to see what this new facility can do for our program,” he said.

The project, funded a great deal by private donations, originally was designated for a late-summer completion.

“But we didn’t want to rush anything for the sake of having it done at a certain time,” said Heater, a Kiski Area assistant coach under Tursky from 1992 until he took the reins in 2015.

“With all construction projects, there are things that take longer and things that cost more money. There was the discovery of things that we originally didn’t think we had to do. There were a lot of things to navigate. It was challenging at times, but we knew it was going to be worth it in the end. We finished about two weeks before the season started, so we were able to get a few preseason practices in.”

The new wrestling rooms, coaches’ room and surrounding amenities were unveiled to the donors and the people who worked on the project in a ceremony and ribbon cutting Nov. 1.

Another unveiling and ceremony the next day was for those in the Cavaliers wrestling program.

The first practices in the new rooms were Nov. 3.

“It was an amazing sight to see all of them in there working out, rolling around and having a good time,” Heater said.

Up to that point, everyone still was using the old wrestling room a short distance away.

“We were all navigating all of the workouts, all of our girls and boys teams,” Heater said. “We all had to kind of scale back things because of our numbers. Our numbers are pretty good right now. It was OK because they were just preseason practices where we didn’t have our full numbers before the official practices started (Nov. 14).”

The old room, Heater said, was used for 18 years.

“Champions were made in that room. We came in and took all the stuff off the walls, and then we cleaned it, repainted it, installed a new mat and put up a new speaker. So that room also has a new feel to it. Everything done was just like a rebirth for the program.”

Heater said there was a lot of anticipation for the project to be finished.

“There were so many people who were just super excited for the rooms to be open,” Heater said. “It was a long time coming. We all worked really hard on this and raised a lot of money and put a lot of time into it. I had 30-plus years of ideas and things I, coach Tursky and others always wanted for a facility like we have now.

“It was a culmination of all of that to be able to give the kids a first-class facility that can give them an advantage and help them strive to be their best. It will continue to serve kids in this program long after we (the coaches) are gone.”

Heater said he was happy to give coach Tursky a private showing of the facility two days prior to the first unveiling.

“I was honest with him in letting him know that it was a lot and if he wanted to take it all in by himself,” Heater said.

“(Kiski Area girls coach) Justin (Tresco) was the general contractor, and I was the project manager, and we brought Chuck in and he was speechless for a little bit. He was emotional, but I kind of wanted him to have a chance with some quiet reflection. A lot of memories came flooding back when he was able to see everything. He was glad he had that time. He said it would’ve been a lot to absorb on that Saturday with so many other people here.”

The spoils of all the hard work by Cavaliers wrestlers over the years are on display on the walls of the main room.

One wall features banners recognizing individual section, WPIAL and PIAA accomplishments. On the wall directly opposite are championship teams throughout the years, including the five WPIAL champion groups (1997, 2005, 2017, 2018, and 2019).

Centering both of those walls contains the recognition of Kiski Area’s three individual state champions: Matt McCutcheon, Isaac Reid and Darren Miller.

Next to them are three frames with the words, “Who’s Next???” in the hopes many will aspire to be the next Cavaliers state titlist.

A kiosk in the hallway outside the new facility allows users to navigate the rich history of Kiski Area wrestling. Heater said it will constantly be updated.

A QR code on the screen enables those in person to send it to others all over the world.

Kiski Area athletic director Jake Nulph had the opportunity to emcee the initial unveiling ceremony.

“It is a first-class facility to honor a first-class coach and mentor,” Nulph said of Tursky, who went 459-83-1 in 29 years as Cavaliers coach (1986-2015) and guided teams to 16 section titles, eight county championships, two WPIAL crowns and a PIAA runner-up finish in 2003.

Tursky is a member of eight halls of fame honoring his 36 total years as coach at Kiski Area and at Burrell before that.

“He has meant so much to Kiski Area wrestling,” Nulph said. “The fact that struck me the most is that there are 80-plus former wrestlers of his who are now coaching somewhere. That speaks to the man coach Tursky is. Yes, the dual and tournament wins and (WPIAL) championships are there, but the biggest compliment you can give somebody is to be influenced in a way that you want to give back and follow in someone’s footsteps.”

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Kiski Area