Eagle Sports Editor

When Mars began an elementary wrestling program, Adam Smetana began wrestling.

Now the Planet senior is primed to leave Mars High School as its best wrestler ever.

The 119-pound Smetana enters this weekend's Class AA Southwest Regional in Johnstown with 88 career victories, snapping Steve Perri's previous school record of 86 at last weekends' WPIAL meet.

Mars didn't have a high school wrestling program until 1998, but Smetana's career was well under way by then.

"I got involved when I was 5, the first year they had an elementary program," Smetana said. "I loved it from day one."

He's been progressing ever since. Now in his third year as a varsity wrestler, he won 22 matches his sophomore year before putting together a 32-3 mark at 103 pounds last year.

Smetana didn't lose a match last year until the regional. He went 0-2 at the PIAA meet while trying to compete with a bad shoulder.

"He never once used that injury as a crutch or an excuse," Mars coach Don Cooley said. "Adam is a tough kid physically and mentally.

"I'm proud to be able to coach a kid like that."

After the state meet, an MRI on Smetana's shoulder revealed a torn rotator cuff and muscle partially torn off the bone.

"The doctor said that shoulder was supposed to be dislocated and I was out there wrestling with it," Smetana said. "I thought it was just sore."

The shoulder is fine now and Smetana took a 34-4 record into the regional meet. He is a fifth-place qualifier from the WPIAL Class AA tournament at 119 after winning his weight class last year.

Cooley said four of the 10 top-ranked 119-pound wrestlers in the state were at the WPIAL meet.

"The competition was rigorous there and Adam lost some close matches," Cooley said. "That won't deter him this weekend. He knows he can still get through to states."

"I have confidence in my ability," Smetana said. "I don't pay attention to records or seedings. I just wrestle."

Actually, he does more than just wrestle.

"A lot of guys wrestle," Cooley said. "There are very few wrestlers. Adam is a wrestler. It's a high priority in his life and he's passionate about it."

The summer after his sophomore year, Smetana placed second at the Greco-Roman Nationals. He couldn't compete last summer because his shoulder required surgery.

Smetana has 25 pins this season - teammate Logan Giger led the Planets with 27 - and is among the program's all-time leaders in takedowns.

"I'm at my best on my feet," he said. "I get a lot of pins by catching kids on their backs right after takedowns."

Carrying a 3.5 grade point average, Smetana wants to major in architectural engineering in college. He wants to continue wrestling as well.

West Point, University of Pennsylvania, Central Michigan and Northwestern are among the schools pursuing him.

"He's not a very tall kid and he's taken care of his body," Cooley said. "Adam is a strong lightweight wrestler who has dominated most of the kids he's faced.

"He has a bright future in the sport in college. He'll keep getting better because he works at it so much."

Mars junior Matt Perri, 28-9 at 112 pounds, joins Smetana as a regional qualifier. Dave Pisarcik - 14-5 at 189 - would be joining them, but a shoulder injury sustained in the WPIAL meet ended his season.

Smetana struggled when asked to explain the sudden success displayed by his 66-7 won-loss record of the past two years.

"I guess it was just the accumulation of wrestling for all those years, of doing it all the time," he said. "Everything just kicked in."