Defining moment
Higgins etches name in Bethel Park wrestling history
Dec. 27, 2024 was a defining date for Ethan Higgins. The Bethel Park senior had arrived as a wrestler. He had just entered the Century Club by recording his 100th career victory during first-round action in the prestigious Powerade Tournament.
Before reaching the milestone Higgins said, “I doubted if I ever would be that calibre or just mediocre. You have some doubts sometimes because Pennsylvania is such a tough place to wrestle, especially in the WPIAL. Getting 100 wins makes me feel good. Like I’m good,” he added.
Higgins indeed is more than a decent grappler. He is ranked No. 3 in the WPIAL at 145 behind Rhamil Islamov from Baldwin and Trinity’s Thomas Allison. Islamov is undefeated at 18-0 and 119-21 in his career while Allison has started the season at 10-1 and sat at 90 career wins heading into 2025.
Higgins started the new year at 19-5 overall. He’s been a two-time regional qualifier and a two-time sectional finalist. He is the defending sectional champion and a fifth-place regional finisher in 2024.
This winter, he helped Bethel Park win the Charters-Houston Tournament by taking third in his weight class.
During the Powerade event, which showcased the premier talent from across the county, Higgins also scored victories against Julian Ruggieri from Connellsville, 5-0, and Max Firestine from Franklin Regional, 4-1, to raise his career record to 102-46. Higgins dropped a 4-3 decision to Central Bucks West’s Patrick Kelly, preventing him from reaching the medal rounds of the tournament.
“Almost placing at Powerade, winning sections last year and 100 wins have been the highlights so far in my career,” Higgins noted.
Since he was 5, Higgins has wrestled. His father, Dan, nudged him to try the sport he loved and excelled at, becoming a WPIAL champion and a PIAA fourth-place finisher while attending Charters-Houston High School. Dan Higgins later wrestled at Duquesne University.
“My dad has had the biggest influence on my career,” said the 17-year-old son of Karen Higgins. “He pushed me to give wrestling a try. I liked it so I stuck with it.
“My dad always pushes me to do my hardest and keeps me on track. No slacking off and staying consistent,” Higgins added. “He is an inspiration to me. I try to live up to his accomplishments or do better.”
Higgins already has exceeded his father’s win total (87 in three varsity seasons from 1988-1991) and was overjoyed when his dad and uncle, Ryan (Chach) Higgins, unveiled a life-size poster for him after his milestone victory.
“I remember the match before and thinking what if I lose but reminded myself that if I wrestle like I know I can, then I will be fine,” Higgins said. “After I won the match, I didn’t really think it was real until I saw my dad and uncle holding up a sign with my face on it. It felt nice. That was really cool.
“So many people have enabled me to reach this goal. The people who coached me, too, especially Coach (Tyler) Nauman. It’s happened by staying consistent and putting in a lot of hard work,” Higgins added.
Higgins wrestles year round. Usually during the summer, he attends practices twice a week at the Gladiators Club while working out also four times a week with his high school team. He lifts and participates in tournaments, including qualifiers for the national championships held annually in North Dakota. During the season, he adopts a similar work load.
Recent practices have focused on cutting weight from 152 to 145, which will be his competitive division for the remainder of the season. This means foregoing some of his favorite foods like pizza and Teriyaki chicken.
“They’re hard to give up,” Higgins admitted. “Sometimes you have to do things you don’t want to do but they are probably for the good. Cutting weight in general is not too hard, maybe a little harder during the holidays or because I do like sweets, but I burn it off really fast.
“(My weight) feels good to me,” he added. “I feel strong. I have energy. I am not exhausted.”
The upcoming weeks could be taxing on Higgins and his Blackhawks.
After a showdown with Baldwin on Jan. 15, Bethel Park will participate in the Allegheny County Championships to be held Jan. 17-18 at Fox Chapel. The Blackhawks then embark on WPIAL team tournament action after visiting Upper St. Clair on Jan. 22.
First-round action begins Jan. 27 with the Class 3A semifinal and championship matches set for Feb. 1 at AHN Arena on the Peters Township High School campus. The top three teams qualify for the PIAA team tournament to be held Feb. 6-8 at Altoona High School.
Last year, Bethel Park finished fourth in the WPIAL team tournament. The Blackhawks lost to Trinity, 27-26, in the semifinals and to Franklin Regional, 28-27, in the third-place consolation bout.
As a team captain, Higgins feels a responsibility to help the Hawks reverse those results.
“Whenever someone is falling behind, getting tired or losing motivation, I try to help them keep with it,” he said. “I feel those two losses last year hurt everybody, especially with how close they were and how we could have won either of those matches. Even with the losses of our seniors to graduation, I definitely feel like we can get to states this year. That’s the goal. Winning my matches and motivating my teammates is my role as a captain.”
After his team responsibilities, Higgins will focus on the individual championships. Action commences with sectionals on Feb. 15 at South Fayette.
The WPIAL 3A individual championships will be held Feb. 21-22 at Canon-McMillan High School. The Southwest Regionals follow Feb. 28-March 1, also at Canon-McMillan. The PIAA championships are set for March 6-8 at the Giant Center in Hershey.
Higgins hopes to reverse his individual showing from last season. After winning the section, he finished fifth in the regional and failed to qualify for the PIAA championships.
“I expected to make it to states last year but I screwed up,” he admitted. “Something caused me to wrestle too conservatively. I worried more about getting my hand raised rather than wrestling. I lost close matches because I did not score as many points as I could.”
This year, Higgins “hopes” to place at states and he is adopting a new philosophy. Before each match, he reflects on an inspirational quote.
“Hesitation is defeat,” he said. “I have to be ready to go. If I just continue to work hard, keep my mind in the right place in matches and keep wrestling, I feel I can achieve my goals.”
Ethan Higgins
Bio box
Age: 17
Birthdate: Jan. 19
Who is he: Bethel Park High School senior that recently entered the Century Club with his 100th career victory in wrestling.
Parents: Dan and Karen
Siblings: Emily, 16
GPA: 3.4
College: Undecided.
Major: Business
Career: After I wrestle in college, I am going to trade school to prepare for a career as an electrician.
Color: Green and Purple.
Food: Teriyaki Chicken. “South Hills food court has the best.”
Restaurant: Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza
Song: Jigsaw Falling Into Place
Book: Berserk Manga Series
Athlete: Mike Tyson
Dream destination: Italy
Person with whom you would like to have dinner: Abraham Lincoln. “He used to be a wrestler before he became president.”
Lessons wrestling has taught you: Sometimes I have to do things I don’t want to do. I think even though I don’t want to do it, it’s probably for the good in the end.
People might be surprised to know this about you: I play the guitar.
In 15 years, I will be: Married with a couple of kids.
Reaction positive to Higgins achievement
Ethan Higgins entered the Century Club by winning his 100th career wrestling match during the Powerade Tournament held Dec. 27-28 at Canon-McMillan High School. The Bethel Park senior opened with a 7-1 decision over Altoona’s Gavin Ciampoli for the distinctive victory.
Bethel Park wrestling coach Tyler Nauman weighed in on the achievement.
“Reaching 100 wins is a great milestone and we are beyond proud of Ethan for doing this,” he said. “(Ethan) joined a club with some talented wrestlers.”
During the Powerade event, which showcased the premier talent from across the county, Higgins also scored victories against Julian Ruggieri from Connellsville, 5-0, and Max Firestine from Franklin Regional, 4-1, to raise his career record to 102-46.
Higgins dropped a 4-3 decision to Central Bucks West’s Patrick Kelly, preventing him from reaching the medal-rounds of the tournament.
“Ethan wrestled well at Powerade,” Nauman said. “He would have loved to pull out his round of 12 match and have gotten on the stand but that one didn’t end his way.”
Higgins wrestled at 145 during the Powerade Tournament, a drop from his previous 152.
“I think this weight fits Ethan a bit better,” Nauman said.
Being the first time down a weight and first two day weigh-in losing a little bit of weight sometimes affects how a wrestler feels, says Nauman.
“But Ethan handled it well and performed at a high level,” he said. “Ethan is off to a great start.”
Heading into 2025, Higgins held a 19-5 record. He is prepared to repeat as a section champion and improve upon his fifth-place showing at regionals as well as help the Black Hawks advance in the team tournaments. Last winter, Bethel Park reached the WPIAL semifinals and fell one match short of advancing to the state tournament in the team competition.
“We look for Ethan to continue to lead the team as captain and for him to continue to improve individually and win when it counts. Pick up wins, place high at sectionals, WPIALs, regionals and look for a medal at states,” Nauman said.
Bethel Park started the new year at 7-0 overall. After non-league matches last week against Derry on Jan. 6 and away against University in West Virginia on Jan. 10, the Black Hawks return to section action on Jan. 15 when they host Baldwin at 7 p.m. The Allegheny County Championships follow Jan. 17-18 at Fox Chapel.