Former Jeannette/Hempfield wrestler Ethan Berginc off to perfect start for Army

Ethan Berginc’s college wrestling career is off to a perfect start. Literally.

Berginc, a freshman at Army who attended Jeannette and wrestled in a co-op with Hempfield, went unbeaten through his first 12 matches with the Black Knights. The run included a sudden-victory triumph over the then-No. 7 wrestler in the 125-pound weight class, Oregon State’s Brandon Kaylor.

Berginc seemed unimpressed and unfazed by his early success.

“I got to maybe one attack before overtime but couldn’t finish,” he said about his match with Kaylor. “So that’s something I have to work on. I knew I could compete with the best. Even if it wasn’t as dominant as I would have liked, I got the win and I just have to keep working.”

If Berginc doesn’t seem surprised by his fast start, he isn’t alone. Army coach Kevin Ward said he was confident in Berginc’s ability to get out of the gate strong.

He allowed that Berginc has wrestled only one top-tier opponent — Kaylor — but he expects to see continued improvement moving forward.

“Ethan is a skilled wrestler. He’s got some really good attacks that he can score points with,” said Ward, in his ninth season with the Black Knights. “But I think some athletes just have some intangibles where they are coachable, and they can pick things up quickly and you can show them something and they can execute it in a competition pretty soon afterward.

“Those are all valuable things, and Ethan’s got it. Really just being a competitor is the No. 1 thing you’re looking at. If you’ve got some skills and you really want to win, you’ve got to be a competitor.”

If Berginc wasn’t motivated enough already, his early splash should drive him even more.

An unknown when the season began, Berginc has moved to No. 13 in the nation at 125 pounds according to the latest rankings by Intermat.

That will put the proverbial target on his back and give his opponents an even greater sense of urgency to beat him. After all, Berginc said, everyone wants to beat a ranked wrestler.

Berginc has his sights set on a few more himself, and the next one he is likely to see is Penn’s Ryan Miller (No. 17) when the Black Knights face the Quakers on Dec. 9.

In the bigger picture, a meeting with Iowa’s Spencer Lee could be in the offing. Lee, a three-time NCAA champion, is the top-ranked wrestler at 125 pounds, but Lee has yet to wrestle this season as he recovers from the latest in a series of knee injuries.

Berginc missed his chance early in the season when Army (8-2) faced the No. 2 Hawkeyes.

Aiden Harris wrestled at 125 that day for Iowa, and Berginc won by fall.

Berginc, as a fellow wrestler and Westmoreland County native, is well aware of Lee’s prowess, but he would welcome a chance to test himself against the Franklin Regional grad.

“He’s, obviously, one of the best guys in the sport,” Berginc said, “and I want to see where I compare against him, so I’m excited.

“Hopefully, it’s sooner rather than later so I know what I have to work on.”

And Berginc knows there is still plenty to work on.

Already, Berginc has seen opponents starting to wrestle him differently. During the Black Knight Invitational the weekend before Thanksgiving, Berginc said some of his foes tried to take away his go-to moves, so there is, he said, a need for him to diversify his offense.

He also said he needs to become more adept at scoring points on top and not always rely on scoring on his feet.

“We kind of talked (during) the last tournament (that) it felt like, some guys, their goal was to keep the match close and just kind of pull some points from him,” Ward said. “It looks like in matches their goal is to say they lost a close one or to keep it within striking distance and try to steal one at the end.

“That’s going to happen. But Ethan has to embrace that other challenge. … Now people think you’re somebody, and when all of a sudden people know who you are, they’re probably more prepared to wrestle you.”

Berginc said he is eager to see what the future brings. The ultimate goal, of course, is to win an NCAA championship — if not this season, then down the road.

In the meantime, he said he will continue to work and embrace the challenges that lie ahead.

“You’ve got to beat the best guys to be the best,” he said. “Long-term goal is, obviously, national title. But I’ve got to take it day by day, just pick apart my wrestling, find little things I’ve got to work on each day and just practice with a purpose.”