BUTLER TWP— For 15 years, Scott Stoner has been at work in the room.

The wrestling room.

Butler's varsity coach has been accumulating wrestlers, teaching technique and building confidence. The construction of a consistent winning wrestling program can take years.

And Stoner's project may be nearing completion.

"I hope so," the coach said cautiously. "It's looking good so far."

The Golden Tornado take a 14-0 dual match record into Wednesday night's match at North Allegheny, the perennial section powerhouse. Butler has never beaten the Tigers in a dual match.

Butler's junior high team is 10-0 and has lost only once in the past two years. The varsity team has 28 wrestlers, the junior high team has 40.

There are another 80 wrestlers learning and competing in Butler's elementary program.

"The key is that we're all on the same page throughout the system,"Stoner said. "(Varsity assistant)coach Bill Mylan has been here 10 years and we both wrestled and learned our coaching fundamentals at Slippery Rock University.

"Junior high coaches Donnie Geibel and Rob Hromack were wrestlers for us. And (former Butler wrestler)Gary Gombos is helping coach at the varsity level."

Geibel said the large number of young wrestlers has contributed to the junior high team's success.

"Not many junior high teams have 18 kids to fill weight classes from 75 pounds to 250,"he said. "We don't have to forfeit any matches. North Allegheny is the only other team we wrestle that matches those numbers."

Mylan said Butler's wrestling program has benefitted from consistent teaching.

"From the elementary level on up, the kids are learning the same technique,"Mylan said. "Their skills are being refined from year to year.

"By the time they get up here (high school), they know the basic fundamentals. We don't have to teach them, so we can expand on them."

Hromack wrestled at Butler from 1996-99, left the area and recently returned. He sees major differences in the program now.

"When I wrestled, the program was just getting established here,"Hromack said. "Freshmen didn't have the background to compete at the varsity level and the numbers were nothing like they are now."

Three freshmen are in the Tornado's starting lineup this season and each is doing well. Eric Tuck is 12-9 at 103 pounds, Mike Crawford 15-3 at 125 and Cole Baxter 19-2 at 130.

Baxter was 44-0 in two years of junior high wrestling and gave up only two escapes during that time. He is a product of Butler's elementary program.

"He is an elite wrestler. I figure he's going to be a state placer — maybe even a state champion before he's through here,"Geibel said. "When you combine natural ability with work ethic, you get a Cole Baxter."

Butler has never had a wrestler place at the state meet. Only four — Lyneil Mitchell, Geibel, T.J. McCance and Garrett Boarts — have even qualified for the state tournament.

The latter three competed in the PIAAmeet in 2000. No Butler wrestler has gotten there since.

Entering last weekend's Fort Cherry Duals, Baxter and Crawford shared the team lead with nine pins each.

Stoner said Baxter "just wants to pin everybody and that's not a bad thing."

Crawford and Baxter have paired up in the wrestling room over the past few years and the former has become adept at pinning opponents as well.

Entering last weekend's Fort Cherry Duals, Baxter and Crawford shared the team lead with nine pins each.

"That's the classic case in wrestling," Stoner said. "When you have a state champion, look at the kid from his team who wrestles in the next weight class above or below and you may find a state placer.

"I know Mike's learned a lot from being Cole's partner. Both of those kids soak up technique like a sponge."

The Tornado upperclassmen aren't doing badly, either. Senior 152-pounder Josh Pascazi and 160-pounder Alex Evanoff — 16-1 and 17-0, respectively, entering the Fort Cherry Duals — are partners in the room.

That leaves little room for junior 171-pounder Derek Hays (14-5), who weighs closer to 152 pounds.

"I'm not going to beat Josh or Alex,"Hays said. "If I want to wrestle this year, I have to bump up. I'm getting good experience for next year, when I'll probably be at this weight class naturally."

Other Butler wrestlers with more than 10 wins already this season include sophomore Daman Redenbach (15-5 at 112), senior Ken Rosenbauer (11-9 at 140), senior Jon Sanko (15-6 at 145) and sophomore Chris White (11-10 at 189).

Butler's team record for pins in a season is 130. This year's Tornado squad had 73 pins entering the Fort Cherry Duals.

"A few of our records may fall this year,"Stoner said. "We're wrestling a lot of duals."

They're winning a lot of duals, too.