Hall of fame inductions are nothing new for Slippery Rock High School wrestling coach Fred Powell.

Powell, who will turn 62 in July, already belongs to the NAIA Wrestling Hall of Fame, Slippery Rock University Athletic Hall of Fame, Lock Haven University Athletic Hall of Fame and Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Wrestling Hall of Fame.

He will add to that list Saturday when he is inducted into the Pennsylvania Wrestling Hall of Fame at the Giant Center in Hershey during the PIAA Tournament.

Powell said the inductions never get old for him.

"You can't possibly ever expect or anticipate something like this," Powell said. "This is my home state. It's where I've accomplished what I've done in this sport.

"To be recognized for those achievements is a tremendous honor."

Powell has been achieving in wrestling for 44 years. He was a high school state champion in Virginia. He was an NCAA champion at Lock Haven University.

He coached 21 NCAA All-Americans at Slippery Rock University and has coached state qualifiers at Slippery Rock High School, including two this season.

"One former wrestler of mine said I must have nine lives," Powell said. "He's retired from coaching now and I'm still doing it.

"When I retire for good, it will be my decision. Right now, I still feel like I have something to offer these guys."

Fifteen of Powell's former wrestlers are high school coaches. He also mentored Oklahoma University coach Jack States and former U.S. Olympic wrestler Stan Dziedzic.

"The man was relentless as a coach," said Butler coach Scott Stoner, a former SRU wrestler. "He always made you challenge yourself.

"All I know is I was a walk-on under him as a freshman and was wrestling for a medal at Division I nationals as a senior."

Stoner said Powell ran eight miles with his team in practice and led the pack even when he was well into his 40s.

"He took on everybody in the (practice) room, from the lightest weight to the heavyweight, and I never saw him lose," Stoner said. "Coach is a legend. There's a big picture of him hanging above the doorway to the Lock Haven wrestling room."

It was while taking on his own wrestlers that Powell learned it was time to exit the college ranks in 1991.

"I strained my back rolling around with my 240-pounder," Powell said. "I realized I couldn't do that anymore or I was gonna get myself killed."

Pine-Richland coach Tom McGarrity finished fifth in the state as a New Jersey high school wrestler, but said he didn't know the sport.He learned it under Powell at SRU."I won in high school because I was a decent athlete," McGarrity said. "To win in college, I had to learn wrestling. That's why I chose Slippery Rock."Kiski Area coach Chuck Tursky said Powell knows more about the technical aspect of wrestling than anyone.Tursky has 308 high school dual meet wins in 25 years of coaching and was a heavyweight wrestler for Powell at SRU."I've never met a coach who knows more than him nor have I met a coach with his kind of passion," Tursky said. "He gets the most out of every kid he works with. That's what makes him a great coach."Veteran University of Pittsburgh wrestling coach Rande Stottlemyer picked up career win No. 200 this year and his teams have been ranked among the top 30 in 15 of the past 19 seasons.Stottlemyer coached against Powell's teams for years."I'm a big fan of that guy," Stottlemyer said. "He doesn't just pick out the good wrestlers to work with, he works with everybody."Fred is an incredible technician. He doesn't cut corners. He does it right. He's a no-nonsense guy. Slippery Rock High School doesn't realize how lucky it is to have him."Powell never expected to be coaching at Slippery Rock High School. When he stepped down as SRU's coach in 1991, he figured that was it.His youngest son, Liam, who is now a freshman wrestler at SRU, came home from high school one day his freshman year and told his father the school had interest in starting a wrestling program."I told him that was great and asked him who the coach was," Powell said. "He looked at me and said the kids were hoping I'd do it."When Liam told me he'd wrestle for me in a heartbeat, that was all I needed. I've been there ever since."Liam Powell went on to produce an 85-16 record in high school."I've had as much fun coaching these kids as they've had wrestling - probably more," Powell said."He's an old-style coach, a hands-on guy," Stoner said. "He didn't tell you how to do it, he got down on the mat with you and showed you."He never allowed for any excuses, there was always an answer for it. Every practice in the room with him was a valuable practice."Fred Powell's the best as far as I'm concerned. The absolute best," Stoner added.