WRESTLING: Jeff Karam Steps Down at Bethlehem Catholic

[RoverNation05]

Big news this morning as Jeff Karam is stepping down after 15 seasons as the head coach of the Golden Hawks. Karam coached 24 individual state champions, third most in Pennsylvania history, and his teams have won nine state dual championships (most all time) and have finished first in the individual tournament seven times (second). Karam has coached three NCAA finalists (Mike Labriola, Zeke Moisey, and Darian Cruz) and one NCAA champion (Cruz). This past season, Becahi set a Lehigh Valley record with 139 points in the individual tournament, the third highest total ever in 3A. They will return ten starters, including three state champions, in 2023-24.

This is not the first time Karam has walked away. He resigned in 2018 to spend time watching his sons wrestle, but his replacement, Rick Thompson, was dismissed midway through the year and Karam came back on as the interim coach, then was rehired as the full time coach and the program did not miss a beat. Before Bethlehem Catholic, Karam was the head coach at Freedom High School in Bethlehem, where he coached for fourteen years and had five state medalists.

The hire here will be very interesting. Former Becahi state champ and Lehigh All American Randy Cruz has had a hand in Becahi’s club and off-season training, and it would not surprise me for Karam to hand it off to him (Randy’s father has been Karam’s top assistant). Former Northampton medalists and Drexel NCAA qualifier Steve Mytych has been involved for various Lehigh Valley wrestling jobs and it would not shock me if he threw his hat in the ring. Former Easton state finalist and Lehigh NCAA qualifier Seth Ciasulli runs Red Hawk wrestling, the biggest and most successful club in the Valley, which has been a feeder to Becahi, and it would not shock me for Seth to be interested in the high school gig. I’m sure there are other names and guys outside the area who will be very interested. Becahi is a perennial top 10 team nationally as the major private school in arguably the most densely populated talent rich area in the country. For those interested in the sport, will really be something to watch.

 

[RoverNation05]

So here's the interesting philosophical question on Jeff Karam.

Jeff was a head coach for 30 years - 15 at Bethlehem Catholic and 1 at Delaware Valley (NJ) and 14 at Freedom.

Between Del Val and Freedom, Jeff had five state medalists (one every three years). His highest placer was John Steiner, who took 4th at 171 in 2002. His highest team finish in D11 was twice finishing 4th, and he coached five D11 champions and qualified seven wrestlers to states in his fourteen years with the Patriots. For comparison's sake, at Liberty (in the same school district - coached by his brother Jody) over the same time period they had 11 D11 champs, 23 state qualifiers, 10 state medalists, and two state finalists. They finished third in D11 once and 4th three times. If they're the control group, it clearly outpaces what Jeff could do at Freedom in the same school district with very similar kids and feeder programs.

In Jeff's second year at Bethlehem Catholic, they won their first of four straight 2A state dual championships and finished 3rd in the state tournament. That started a run of 68 D11 champs, 81 state medalists, 24 state champions, nine state dual championships and seven state individual tournament championships. Clearly and obviously one of the best runs of a coach/program in Pennsylvania history. That's more state champs than Don Rohn (Hazleton/Northampton), Steve Powell (Easton), Gus DeAugostino (North Allegheny) and a number of other legendary coaches in Pennsylvania history - it's more than Brad Silimperi (Council Rock South), Ray Nunamaker (Nazareth) and Chris Mary (Canon McMillan)...combined. Next season, Bethlehem Catholic will tie the state record for most consecutive years with a state champ, set all the way back in the '40s by Clearfield.

He'll go into the PA/probably National Hall of Fame at some point as one of the great high school coaches of all time. But I have a hard time getting past this - his teams were solidly mediocre for 15 years when he was at a regular old school in the Valley. Once he went to Becahi (with Randy Cruz as an assistant, who brought his two sons that were both state champs/NCAA All Americans and a number of their club teammates) he had a 15 year run unmatched in state history. Is this an example of a coach just finding the right setting for him and thriving? Or is it more of a statement on how little coaching actually matters when you can get some of the best talent in the country? Or am I just bitter because Becahi took the torch from my alma mater as the dominant program in the Lehigh Valley and ran past even what Easton accomplished in their dominant runs in the '60s, mid '70s to early '80s, and mid '90s to mid' 00s?

Also, for the gossipy - I'm hearing that Scott Desmond will inherit the job. Desmond was the coach at Pen Argyl (2A school in D11) from 2011-2013 where he notably mentored Mikey Racciato to three state championships. Desmond's son Nathan is currently a sophomore at Bethlehem Catholic and just won his second state title - he's ranked #2 nationally at 114 pounds. Desmond currently is a Becahi assistant and runs the freestyle program at Red Hawk Wrestling Club, which is owned by his brothers-in-law, Andy and Seth Ciasulli, and is a major feeder program to Bethlehem Catholic.

 

[RoverNation05]

Major pull here for Bethlehem Catholic.

Becahi announced today that Mike Cole will take over as the head coach at Bethlehem Catholic. Cole was a two-time state champ at Montrose before going onto an incredibly decorated career at Clarion, where he was a two-time All American, finishing 3rd twice at the NCAA tournament. Cole was a finalist at the 1988 Olympic trials in freestyle, and was a staple on the freestyle circuit through the early 1990s. Post college, Cole was a graduate assistant at Rutgers from 1990-1994 before going into finance, where he was an executive at Merrill Lynch. The "Cole Roll", a counterattack to a double-leg, was named for him in the late '80s and has been taught in wrestling rooms around the country.

Since retiring from Merrill, Cole has been teaching computer science at Hunderton Central (NJ). He was a volunteer assistant at North Hunderton (NJ) from 2000-2018 before joining teh Hunderton Central coaching staff upon his retirement from Merrill Lynch. He helped run North Hunderton's youth club for years. Presumably he will oversee development of both Bethlehem Catholic's feeders and the high school program.

It will be interesting to see how Cole's relationship with Red Hawk wrestling, who has been the main pipeline of talent to Becahi in the Lehigh Valley, will continue and develop - particularly when I look at the tweet from Brad Wilson announcing the hire, and one of the first responses is Red Hawk owner Seth Ciasulli saying "horrible decision." Should be fun...

 

[Relayer]

Rover, I'm sure you saw that Brad Silimperi has retired from CR-South. He built quite a program and one of the best HS tournaments in the country. I always said, Brad was a top 3 coach in D1, regardless of sport.

 

[RoverNation05]

I did! He’s certainly one of the great ones, maybe the best D1 wrestling coach there has been?

Of course, he’s a Lehigh Valley guy! Silimperi was Ray Nunamaker’s first state champ at Nazareth. Nunamaker is one of the most legendary coaches in state history. He built Nazareth from absolutely nothing into a state and national power, which of course in his time took decades, not an instant transfer bonanza and success. But after a bunch of near misses in the 70s and early 80s, Silimperi was the first to finally break through. Nunamaker is maybe the most widely respected high school coach of any sport that I’ve come across, and Silimperi being the strongest branch in his coaching tree is a credit to both men.

 

[RoverNation05]

Nate Desmond officially transferring to Wyoming Seminary. Was on track to be a four-time state champ. Jake Dailey, a state medalist who is committed to Army, is also leaving Bethelehem Catholic for Wyoming Seminary. His home school is Wyoming Valley West, so a huge cut down on his travel time to school.

 

[RoverNation05]

Rumors I'm hearing is state champion Keanu Dillard (#1 nationally at 107 last year) will be transferring out of Bethlehem Catholic after the coaching change. The rumor I'm hearing is the family would like to be in the Easton school system if they're not in private school. Would obviously be a massive shift, that'd be two state champs leaving Becahi and a two-time state medalist (plus all three have little brothers who are elite kids coming up).