Alex Truman competed in high school wrestling for only two years, but he still qualified for the WPIAL Tournament.

He's been competing in Strongman events for two years — and the possibilities are endless.

"I'd like to turn pro by the time I'm 21," said the home-schooled Butler resident.

Truman, 18, joined the Butler High wrestling team as a junior in 2007-08. He didn't compete in the section tournament that year, but wrestled as a heavyweight his senior year, finishing 22-18 with 13 pins and a fourth-place finish in the section meet. That earned him a spot in the WPIAL Tournament.

He used wrestling as part of his training regimen for Strongman competitions.

"I was looking for the toughest, most physical sport to try and wrestling was it," Truman said.

"I never had a home-schooled kid on my team before. I wasn't sure what to expect," Butler wrestling coach Scott Stoner said. "Alex is a bright kid. He knows how to break things down and get better.

"He exceeded all my expectations."

Truman won't exceed his own expectations in Strongman competitions because he expects to be the best.

At 5-feet-10, 200 pounds, he qualified for the North American Strongman Teen Nationals Aug. 8 in Everett, Mass.

"I'll be in the 200-pound class and I expect to win all five events," Truman said.

He competed in the Sports Festival Strongman event last weekend in Allentown and won all five events there: the log press, farmer's walk, tire flip, keg carry and stone load.

The log press is consists of overhead pressing a 220-pound log, which he did 10 times.

The farmer's walk is walking 100 feet while carrying 200 pounds of weight in each hand. Truman did that in 10 seconds.

He flipped a 500-pound tire five times in 27 seconds, carried a 230-pound keg 160 feet in 21 seconds and loaded 330-pound stones in 18 seconds.

"I was a few seconds faster than everyone in my division in all those events," Truman said.

The top two finishers in each event in Allentown qualified for nationals, though Truman had already qualified from other competitions. He's competed in West Virginia, New Castle, Indiana. Pa., Harrisburg and Oil City, among other sites, and has won at most of them.

"I have a lot of admiration for Alex because he has a passion for something that's not mainstream, yet he educates himself about it and learns ways to make himself better in it," Stoner said.

Truman will major in elementary education at Slippery Rock University this fall and is organizing a Strongman competition for Sept. 19 at SRU.

He does normal weight training four days a week in the gym. He spends two days a week lifting logs, axles or whatever weights he can put together at his home.

"Other kids his age save their money to buy stuff for their cars," Stoner said. "Alex saves his money to buy stuff to lift and train with at home.

"He has to push himself hard in a sport that's pretty black and white. You either make the time or you don't."

Truman was part of a Golden Tornado wrestling team that was 44-12 in dual meets the past two years.

"Looking back, I wish I had gotten into wrestling earlier in life," he said. "But it served its purpose for me. It helped me in training technique and showed me that dedication and practice do pay off.

"I want to turn pro in powerlifting, too. To succeed in this stuff takes hard work. I'll be at it for a while."

Stoner isn't betting against him.

"Alex is taking a unique path, but passion like he's got can go a long way," he said.