JACKSON TWP - Mike Bianco's competition in WPIAL Class AAA wrestling certainly are pushovers.

But the Seneca Valley senior already has fought his most important battle - and won.

The 215-pound wrestler returned to the mat this season after recovering from numerous injuries suffered in a car accident in December 2002.

"I'm just glad I'm able to do things again, like wrestle," Bianco said.

"It's remarkable what he's been able to do," said Seneca Valley coach Lee Mullett. "He was almost killed in that accident, and for him to come back and compete in high school sports, it's pretty amazing."

Before the story of his comeback can be told, the near-fatal circumstances Bianco found himself in during the early morning hours of Dec. 17, 2002 must be understood.

Bianco, then a sophomore, was driving west on Klein Road in Beaver County sometime after midnight when his car skidded off the road before flipping over several times and hitting a utility pole.

Though he doesn't remember much from the incident, Bianco can recall his initial efforts just to survive the ordeal.

"All I could think of was getting to the road," said Bianco, who found himself in a field after the accident. "I tried to get up and walk, but I had a broken (left) femur."

With the temperature in the mid-teens, he dragged himself along the ground close enough to the road that a passing motorist finally noticed him at about 7:30 a.m.

Bianco was transported by medical helicopter to UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in Pittsburgh, where he was treated for his broken leg, a broken back and a collapsed lung.

He spent a week in the hospital before enduring three months of rehabilitation.

"I knew I'd eventually get back on the mat," Bianco said. "I started wrestling in fourth grade and it was always so much fun.

"I'm as big of a competitor as you'll find, and I had a lot of people encouraging me every day."

After taking the 2003-04 season off, Bianco's first taste of competition came last fall, when he started at left guard for the Raiders football team.

Bianco's expectations were modes when the wrestling season began.

"I was just hoping to have about a .500 record this year," he said. "I thought I'd be rusty at the beginning."

Rusty or not, Bianco carries a 13-1 record into tonight's match at Avonworth.

"I'm still not wrestling my best," he said. "But Coach (John) Perry works with me every day. And Coach Mullett has been with me since grade school. They're both great guys."

"He has excelled at every level of wrestling," said Mullett. "So I'd say his experience is his strongest asset."

"The most difficult thing is wrestling at a heavier weight," added Bianco. "Before the accident, the highest weight I wrestled at was 160. Now I'm at 215. Those extra pounds are a lot to adjust to."

Just as his car accident provided challenges to Bianco, he also recently endured the deaths of two important people in his life.

"Last year, a good friend of mine committed suicide," he said. "And then one of my favorite teachers died from cancer.

"All these things have given me a new perspective on life," added Bianco. "You learn to appreciate the little things so much more."

Bianco has been accepted at Duquesne University, where he will study to become a pharmacist.

"I really haven't given much thought to sports in college," he said. "I'm just glad I got in."