Jan 11, 2024 By Eleanor Bailey 8 min read

Mason Kernan of Bethel Park leads The Almanac All-Star list as Most Valuable Grappler.

Mason Kernan works on his moves against Kurt Baran during 139-pound action. The senior scored a technical fall, 25-10, against his opponent as Bethel Park defeated Upper St. Clair in the dual section match.

Mason Kernan controls the action against A.J. McGarrity. Kernan’s technical fall, 15-4, propelled Bethel Park to victory against Peters Township in dual section match action earlier this season.

Mason Kernan possesses a passion for wrestling that endears the Bethel Park grappler to his coaches and virtually assures him success.

“Mason is the type of wrestler any coach would wish for,” said Hawks’ coach Tyler Nauman. “Not many love wrestling the way he does

“Mason eats, breathes and sleeps wrestling. He is very focused and driven to achieve the highest level he can. Mason also dislikes losing which furthers his drive to make sure that happens as little as possible.”

Heading into a critical dual meet against top-ranked Canon-McMillan at 7 p.m. Jan. 17, Kernan sported a 102-17 career record. He entered the Century Club when he decisioned Carter Nogle from Mount St. Joseph, 7-5, during the Powerade Tournament held Dec. 30.

“Earning 100 wins in your high school career is a tough accomplishment especially when you’ve had a couple of injuries and other events happening to keep you from wrestling certain events and matches like Mason has,” Nauman said. “What’s even more of an accomplishment is Mason only has 119 matches, with 102 of those being wins. That’s an awesome percentage.”

Kernan wins the majority of his matches in dramatic fashion. He has 23 career pins, 35 technical falls and seven major decisions in his career. Two of his 19 decisions came in December against out-of-state competition.

In placing seventh at Powerade, he faced opponents from: Virginia, losing to Noah Nininger from Staunton River, 7-4: New Jersey, beating Noach Coachman from Bergen Catholic, 9-2; Ohio, falling to Kade Brown from St. Edwards and Maryland.

“Powerade is a prestigious tournament with good opponents and I knew getting my 100th win would be in a hard-fought one but I treated it like any other match. I would have to say (the milestone) is a (career) highlight but I would have liked to have finished better. Sometimes you don’t always get what you want.

“Reaching 100 wins is very hard,” Kernan continued. “You have to be consistent, not miss many matches, stay healthy and do the right things on and off the mat.”

Off the mat, Kernan adopts sound sleep and eating habits. He said retires to bed early and adheres to a normal diet, flush with fruits and meat.

“Anything grown on a farm ,” he said. “I try to avoid processed foods.” Occasionally, he indulges in a feast at täkō, an Asian-Mexican restaurant in Pittsburgh. “Once a month, maybe, I’ll let myself have a treat,” he said.

Kernan rarely takes a break from a workout because results are what he seeks.

“That’s the thing I love about the sport,” he said. “The guy who works the hardest normally wins.”

As a freshman, Kernan was 14-4 with a second-place showing in the section at 113. As a 120-pound sophomore, he was 38-5 with a fourth-place performance in the Southwest Regional that vaulted him into the PIAA tournament.

While he was 33-5 last season as a junior with a section title and sixth-place medal in the regional, Kernan missed several 133-pound matches because of injuries and a death in the family.

“A lot of uncontrollable things happened last year and I didn’t wrestle my best but this year, I have been working out a lot and making sure my body is healthy and ready to go.”

The Black Hawks are entering a critical segment of the season as they battle for a spot in the WPIAL team tournament.

After the dual with the Big Macs and a section match at Baldwin on Jan. 24, the Black Hawks look to be one of the top three teams in Section 6 advancing to the district playoffs, which commence Jan. 29 and conclude with the championship and consolation bouts at 3 p.m. Feb. 3 at AHN Arena on the Peters Township High School campus. The top three WPIAL finishers advance to the PIAA team tournament, scheduled for Feb. 5-10.

Bethel Park won a WPIAL team title in 2009 and four of those veterans: Ace Bonaccorsi, Jake and Josh Ricciuti as well as Corey Delmastro returned recently. They were recognized with other graduates during Alumni Night in which the Black Hawks defeated Upper St. Clair, 62-6, in a section match.

“I think seeing those people come back to watch the sport they used to do was pretty cool. Wrestling is such a different sport. You build relationships,” Kernan said. “Our team wants to win a WPIAL championship. The goal is to qualify for Hershey and make a trip down there.”

A journey to Hershey for the individual state championships is the gameplan for Kernan. The PIAA tournament is set for March 7-9 at the Giant Center.

The road to Hershey begins Feb. 24 with the sectional at South Fayette and the regional March 1-2 at Canon-McMillan. The top four regional finishers move on to states.

“The goal is to win a WPIAL title and win states,” Kernan said.

Nauman added those have been his and Kernan’s objectives since he started coaching the Black Hawks. Nauman believes the goals are “achievable” along with finishing the rest of the season with no more losses.

“In order to do this, Mason needs to continue to do what he’s doing with his training, weight training,” Nauman said. “He needs to continue to believe in himself and his training as well as preparation.”

At 17-3 this winter, Kernan is currently ranked No. 2 at 139 pounds. Thomas Jefferson’s Maddox Shaw is ranked first. A junior, Shaw sports a 17-3 overall record and 102-12 career mark.

Kernan and Shaw have never wrestled. They could meet in the Allegheny County Championships set for Jan. 20 at Fox Chapel.

Of the weight class Kernan said, “I think it’s wide open.” He added that he didn’t think there was a “target” on his back because he hasn’t had the “results” or “career” that he had anticipated.

“My strengths on the mat are that I have a lot of offense and I can score from all three positions but there are a lot of areas that I’m working hard on like moving my feet in the neutral position and gaining forward pressure.”

Kernan is getting a familiar push in those regards. His practice partner in the wrestling room is his brother, Hunter, who wrestled at the University of Pittsburgh and also roomed with NCAA champion and two-time PIAA runner-up Nino Bonaccorsi from Bethel Park.

Big brother always played a pivotal role in Kernan’s career.

“When I was five, my parents took me to Hunter’s practices,” explained the 18-year son of Amy and Greg Kernan. “Then I started wrestling, too, but things didn’t click. I didn’t like it. In sixth grade, I started to enjoy it more though. I was sick of losing so I started working harder and it turned into my life.

“Hunter has driven me to be better,” he continued. “I was learning moves and getting better. Now all my choices revolve around wrestling.”

Kernan’s biggest life-altering decision has been accepting a scholarship offer to West Virginia. Competing for the Mountaineers in the Big 12 will enable Kernan to achieve his long-term objectives.

“When I took my visit there, I loved the facilities and clicked with the coaches. I felt I could win there,” said Kernan, who is tabbed as a 141- or 149-pound collegiate grappler. “The wrestling is very good there.

“My goal is to be an NCAA champion. To do that, one has to not necessarily give up everything but make a lot of sacrifices in all aspects of life.”

While undecided regarding a major, Kernan believes wrestling will play a major role in his life and career path.

“I only have one chance at wrestling so right now all I want to do is wrestle,” he said. “Maybe I will incorporate something with wrestling in my life. My dream job would be at a college program but you gotta be good to get there.”