See, the Mt. Lebanon junior participates in an unusual combination of sports for a high school athlete.
During the winter months, Kochanek dives for the Mt. Le-banon swim team. He wrestles as well for the Blue Devil varsity.
"We've had a number of discussions about balancing the two sports," said Lebo wrestling coach Bill Lewis, "but I have been impressed with how well he has adjusted to the demands of practicing and competing in the different sports.
"Competing in one varsity sport can be difficult enough for anyone but doing two and doing them both well...that takes a special kid."
On Tuesdays and Thursdays, Kochanek attends diving practices. He trains at the University of Pittsburgh under Doe and Julian Krug.
In addition, competitions are typically held those evenings while wrestling matches are normally contested on Wednesday and Fridays. Tournaments are held on weekends.
There has been some sacrifice, particularly on the part of Kochanek's family. His mother usually picks him up right after practice on days that he has diving competitions so as to minimize loss of practice time in the wrestling room.
The other adjustment is trying to get Kochanek to rest and eat says Lewis.
At one point in the season, Kochanek approached his coach and asked him if he should be doing more running on his own because he thought he might be out of shape.
Flabbergasted, Lewis explai-ned to Kochanek that he was certain that after practicing two hours in the weight room with the other wrestlers plus the swim practices, he surely was in condition.
"What Stan needed to make sure was that he was giving his body enough rest and recuperation. Also we had to make sure he was eating enough since he has a really busy schedule and he tends to burn a lot of calories.
"Steve certainly has responded well to every challenge and I applaud him," Lewis added.
The winners' circle
This past weekend, Kochanek received plenty of plaudits.
Foregoing competing in the WPIAL championships for diving--for which he had qualifi-ed--Kochanek captured a Section 5-AAA wrestling title.
In the 119-pound finals, he decisioned Corey James of West Allegheny, 1-0. The win came on the heels of a challenging semifinal match where Kochanek came from four points behind to pin Jason Greco from Trinity.
In five previous meetings, James always had the better of Kochanek. But, during the Allegheny County Tournament, this year, Kochanek gained confidence when he pinned James.
"Stan did a great job of putting together a solid tournament," said Lewis.
"One thing that we constantly stress with Stan is that it's all about wrestling non-stop for six minutes.
"If Stan wrestles his match, his way, non-stop, then he can beat anyone during those six minutes. That certainly proved to be true."
Diving almost proved to be Kochanek's true love. He took up the sport while lifeguarding during the summer of his freshman year in high school.
"Stan really seemed to enjoy the skill involved in diving. Almost too much," said Lewis.
Indeed.
Kochanek did not come out for the wrestling team initially his sophomore season. However, after several weeks, he pleaded with Lewis to return to the squad. He vowed not to let diving interfere with wrestling.
"I said I would be willing to give it a chance if our team was willing to take him back," Lewis said. "The team did and that began a very promising career in both sports for Stan."
Hence, Kochanek lettered in both sports last year. Plus, he is on his way to gaining his second pair of letters this winter. In addition, he has qualified for district competition in both sports.
Last weekend, the WPIAL diving finals conflicted with the section wrestling tournament, which is the first step toward a PIAA state berth.
"Stan chose to wrestle and in doing so passed up an opportunity to compete in diving. We are glad that he did because he accomplished a lot by winning the section title," Lewis said.
Two join Kochanek
Though they did not capture section laurels, his teammates Chris Johns and Mike Lewan-dowski achieved runner-up honors and berths in this weekend's WPIAL and Southwest Regional Tournaments at Norwin.
Johns succumbed to defending state champion, Colin Johnston of Canon-McMillan, in the 125-pound weight class.
Lewandowski posted a pin over Matt Hundenski of Hope-well to reach the finals at 140 before falling to Jared Roberts of Trinity in the championship bout.
"We really put together a nice section tournament," Lewis explained. "I'm very proud of my guys.
"They all have good attitudes and we're excited to see what they do in the [WPIAL] tournament."