`heaven And Earth' 
Is Vintage Stone

Above, Rick Derringer Heads Up A Multi-talented Roster Of Musical Guests 
Including, Right, Dead Letters.

By LORI SHONTZ; Times Leader Sports Writer
 Friday, January 07, 1994 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1B QUICK WORDS: WEST SIDE TECH'S ONCE
DORMANT WRESTLING PROGRAM 





PRINGLE -- Russell Sims used to hang out in pool halls instead of school
halls. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 His mother, Mary, remembers when Sims was "out of class more than he was
in." The only thing Sims was in: trouble. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Now he's in the 112-pound slot for the West Side Tech wrestling team. The
Titans are undefeated for the first time in 20 years. And most important to
Coach Jim Fender, boys like Sims are learning more from wrestling than
takedowns, reversals and weight control. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Your body's not made to lose 10 pounds and run up hills and have your
coach yell at you when all your friends are going home and watching Gilligan's
Island on TV," Fender said. "Sooner or later, your sanity says, `Are you
nuts?' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "But you do it. And when something hard happens in life, the wrestler in
you won't let you quit." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 They don't have the tradition of schools like Coughlin and Wyoming Valley
West, but the Titans aren't really different from wrestlers at those schools.
They wear three, four or five layers of clothing to practice, sweating off
extra pounds. They eat carrots and broiled chicken instead of Big Macs and
fries. They love the intensity of being alone in the spotlight during a match. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 They spout all of the cliches about the sport being like life. But for
these wrestlers, it's not a cliche. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Take Sims. He got suspended from Wyoming Valley West Middle School for the
final time two years ago. He chose to attend West Side Tech and ended up in
Fender's electrical occupations class. Fender talked him into wrestling. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Sims went out for the team, went out of the pool halls and into his
classes. He hasn't been in trouble since. Sims goes to school, practices
wrestling, watches his diet and competes twice a week. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I have no time to do anything else," said Sims, a sophomore. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Mary Sims supported her son's decision to wrestle, but she expected him to
quit. Instead, he liked the discipline, liked the challenge and liked Fender. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Now he hangs out with the team instead of those damn animals in the pool
halls," Mary Sims said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Sims is 3-2 with a second-place finish in the Delaware Valley Tournament
this season. But those victories aren't as important as victories like this: &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Without wrestling, Sims said, "I probably would have quit (school) last
year. Or got thrown out of school." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Sims isn't unique among West Side Tech wrestlers. Two are foster children.
Others are overcoming unhappy home lives. Many were chronic absentees who now
have a reason to come to school: if you don't go to class, you can't be on the
team. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "The discipline problem with some of these kids has ceased," Athletic
Director William Morgan said. "They're not getting called to the office. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "They were not part of the school environment," Morgan added, "but now
they're part of the whole environment. They're working hard at their academics
as well as their vocational studies." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Not that everyone needed wrestling to become interested in academics. Don
Korus said joining the team caused his grades to improve -- to higher A's. Tom
and Duane Pretzman, Fender said, have always done well in class. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But Fender beams every time he sees one of his troubled wrestlers succeed
because he sees part of himself in every one. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Fender started high school at Wyoming Valley West, but he switched to West
Side Tech as a sophomore. He joined the wrestling team -- then coached by
Morgan -- and won the District 2 championship at 138 pounds in 1979. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I found that the harder I worked, the luckier I got," Fender said. "Then I
figured out that it wasn't luck anymore." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 So Fender went to work. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 He studied in eight-hour shifts at West Chester University and graduated
with a physical education degree -- despite discovering he had a learning
disability. He received a master's degree in educational administration from
Cheyney State and said he's just dissertation away from receiving a doctorate
of education degree from the University of Sarasota. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 All because of that District 2 championship medal. Fender mounted it on a
plaque, and he considers it more important than any of his academic degrees.
That medal is the most precious thing he owns. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Actually, it's not the medal but the process I went through to get that
medal," Fender said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Fender returned to West Side Tech to teach eight years ago and started
coaching the wrestling team in 1990. He pinpointed boys in his classes who
needed some discipline in their lives and directed them to the team. He told
them his story. And he made them believe they can succeed, too. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "He's like a second dad," senior Jeremy Artmont said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "To all of us," senior Tom Pretzman added. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Artmont and Pretzman, Titan co-captains with junior Mark Ktytor, joined the
team when it never won any matches. But they aren't surprised by their success
or by the 17 wrestlers -- more than several area programs have -- on the team. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "You've got to work hard, and when you're down you don't quit even though
you'd like to," Pretzman said. "You just keep on trying, and you keep your
head up." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "If you struggle through it, you'll make it," added 171-pounder Steve
Vilardo, a second-year wrestler and Fender's foster son. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The team's 5-0 record doesn't surprise Fender or first-year assistant Kevin
McGee, either. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "With this being a vocational-technical school, these kids are blue-collar
and they're tough," he said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Three Titan wrestlers enter the Wyoming Valley Conference season
undefeated: 103-pounder Jason Rinehart, 119-pounder Duane Pretzman and
140-pounder Tom Pretzman. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 None of the Titans had wrestled before ninth grade, so they start behind
athletes from other schools who have wrestled since elementary school. Sims
didn't win often last season, but he stuck with it and started well this year. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I'm so proud of him for what he's done," Mary Sims said. "I knew he was a
good kid." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "He worked a little, and he got better and better and better," Fender said.
"And now he's great." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 As each individual improves, Fender hopes, the team will start to win
conference matches and become a presence at the district championships. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "For the kids it's a quest for self-respect, to prove you can do it,"
Fender said. "The kids from Coughlin, Valley West and Tech all learn the same
lessons. You don't have to be a district champion. But it does make it easier
if you're winning."

West Side Tech's Once Dormant Wrestling Program Is Undefeated For The First 
Time In 20 Years. More Important, These Titans Aren't Learning About Just 
Takedowns And Reversals

West Side Tech's Once Dormant Wrestling Program Is Undefeated For The First Time In 20 Years. More Important, These Titans Aren't Learning About Just Takedowns And Reversals