Sloboda going for it all
BUTLER TWP — The WPIAL Wrestling Championships are more than a month away, but it’s never too early to jockey for position.
Just ask Santino Sloboda.
Butler’s sophomore 114-pounder is working toward dropping to 107 before the postseason competition begins.
“It’s all about finding the best path,” Butler coach Scott Stoner said. “Santino’s goal is to win a WPIAL title. It has to be that way.
“There’s nowhere else to go for him.”
Sloboda was 40-3 as a freshman, placing second at the WPIAL Championships and fourth at the PIAA Championships. All three of his losses came in the postseason.
Sloboda still has yet to lose a regular season match, improving to 15-0 this year with a 19-4 technical fall over North Hills’ Giovanie Schipani on Wednesday night.
He is 55-3 in his still young varsity career.
“I’m starting to work now on getting down to 107 pounds,” Sloboda said. “It has to be a gradual process, but I’ll get there.”
He actually wrestled at 121 pounds against Seneca Valley and decisioned Raiders standout Connor Smith, 7-4.
Norwin freshman Landon Sidun is 26-1 on the season at 114 pounds. Stoner wants Sloboda to stay out of that weight class in the WPIAL tourney.
“People will read this and think, ‘why not just stay at 114 and wrestle that kid?’,” Stoner said. “Santino’s got a shot against any kid he wrestles, but you want to go with your best chance.
“If he goes back to 107, I like his chances more. You want to set your kids up for success.”
Sloboda said that coming so close to the WPIAL crown last year makes this season’s goals clear.
“The WPIAL championship and taking a shot at the state are where I’m at,” he said. “There are ways for me to get better, things I’m still working on.
“I’m good in scramble mode ... I can get in and out of things ... but I can improve using my hands in matches and the fundamental stuff.”
Stoner admitted Sloboda is a bit difficult to coach “because he’s so funky on the mat and does moves nobody else does.
“I have to let him go at times because he knows how to get out of trouble with some of the risky stuff he does. But the question is always there, when will he go to the well once too often? That’s something that’s hard to gauge.”
Sloboda has been a year-round wrestler since he was a small child. He does club wrestling a couple of nights a week at Quest in Washington (Pa.).
While no one on the Golden Tornado’s current roster can truly challenge Sloboda in the wrestling room, he sees high-level competition during club practice.
He also gets challenged by Butler assistant coach Blake Caudill in the Tornado wrestling room.
“Coach Caudill drills me pretty hard,” Sloboda said. “I’ve learned a lot from him.”
Of Sloboda’s 15 wins this season, nine have come via pin, two by technical fall.
“Even after all these years, Santino is more passionate about the sport than ever,” Stoner said. “There’s no telling how far he’s gonna go.”
Cole Baxter holds the Tornado’s career wins record at 160. Sloboda has talked about taking a run at that.
“A lot of factors come into play there,” Stoner said. “How many matches he gets, staying healthy ... You never know. All I know is, I have to give him the freedom to do his thing because it’s obviously working for him. That is an extremely talented wrestler.”
When asked if he’s picked up a few more moves since last season, Sloboda coudn’t help but smile.
“I picked up another couple of moves over the summer,” he said. “But it’s about recognizing when to apply them during a match, reading and countering your opponent.
“That’s what I love about wrestling.”
