The 1975 NCAA Division III Wrestling National Champions

50 Years Later: How Cleveland Kids Realized DeCarlo’s Dream of a National Championship

10/6/2025 3:41:00 PM | By: Joe Ginley '16, SID

The full story of how Tony DeCarlo guided the 1975 Wrestling team to JCU’s only NCAA Championship

Fifty years ago, a talented group of local kids developed into a "band of brothers" to bring home Cleveland's first National Collegiate Athletic Association title.

To this day, the feat of winning the 1975 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championship remains the greatest team achievement in the history of John Carroll University.

This longform piece tells the tale of how Tony DeCarlo built a wrestling powerhouse utilizing the rising prominence of the sport in Northeast Ohio. This is a story of a diverse bunch of hard-working, fun-loving characters who reached the mountaintop. It is also the account of how these grapplers built a foundation for success in life and formed bonds to last a lifetime.

Author's Note: This is a lengthy feature and may be an article to bookmark. It may make sense to read it one section at a time, but the stories of these outstanding wrestlers and men are well worth your time.

Also, be sure to join John Carroll Wrestling in a special Homecoming Weekend celebration from October 24-25. More information here

Thank you!

THE ARCHITECT

In 1964, a young man from Painesville, Ohio arrived in University Heights with big ambitions.

Just two years removed from acquiring his Bachelor's degree from Kent State in 1962, the young coach accepted roles as the head wrestling coach, head tennis coach, and assistant football coach. His resume was short, with two years of teaching and coaching experience at St. Edward High School in Lakewood, an inner-ring suburb on the West Side of Cleveland. Married to the former Rita Lawrinson, he settled into South Euclid and started a family.

The hire of Anthony J. DeCarlo did not garner huge headlines, but it would change the course of John Carroll University Athletics forever.

The expectations were limited for what the Harvey High School graduate could accomplish. After all, this nascent wrestling program would need to be built from the ground up. Many of the athletes in the programs were newcomers to the sport.

Perhaps Carroll News sports editor Michael Quinn's 1967 column says it best, "When Carroll inaugurated its wrestling program three years ago, no one expected any surprisingly good results right off the bat."

The first two seasons of the program indeed offered little reason for optimism, as JCU won just six matches. But in the 1966-67 season, DeCarlo's magic began to bear fruit, with a Presidents Athletic Conference Championship. And the success did not stop there at a conference level, as the Blue Streaks won every year through 1987.

But DeCarlo was not content with mere conference success. This was a man who wanted national success, unafraid to schedule Division I competition. A 1968 Cleveland newspaper columnist noticed, penning a piece, "Carroll vs. ND?" that noted "This could be an overmatch, but I wouldn't bet on it too heavily. It's only their fourth season, and some fans may not have noticed it, but the Streaks are making rapid strides in the world of intercollegiate wrestling, at least on the small college level."

DeCarlo also wasn't afraid to do the work to make things happen. And importantly, he was not afraid to coach his athletes hard.

"I don't know what secret sauce Tony had, but he pushed you to achieve," recalls Mike Jiannetti. "He wasn't a tactician, but he knew enough. He was the motivator."

Assistant coaches Dan Weir and Chuck Angello also played very vital roles in the mid '70s.

Dan Weir, a Hall of Fame wrestler in his own right, was known as a jokester who lightened the mood but kept the team working hard while having fun. After graduating in 1973, Weir was looking to get into banking, but a recession dampened job prospects. DeCarlo offered Weir a spot as a graduate assistant, a no-brainer for Weir.

"I was in a unique position to see the transition between competing at the conference level to nationally," explains Weir. "Tony wasn't steeped in wrestling but his coaching ability was proven to be among the best in the nation. He created a challenging, yet fun, environment. He was such a special coach."

Angello was known as a tactician and hard-driving coach who liked to say, 'If you ain't tough, you ain't nothing.' Angello arrived in 1973-74 after happening upon a Weir-led open mat session with his mentee, Tim Pazniak. An "honored" Angello joined the staff after an offer from DeCarlo.

"Dan and Chuck were terrific," Kevin Hinkel praises. "Chuck was a clinician who could teach moves, he was younger and was still wrestling in his mid 20s into his early 30s as a teacher working with the developmentally disabled. He conveyed information in an understandable way. Dan was electric. He just kept everything light."

The first page of Rita DeCarlo's scrapbook from the 1974-75 season

THE FOUNDATION

A culture of success was thus in place as the 1960s gave way to the 1970s.

Grapplers such as Tom Corbo, Kerry Volkmann, and Dan Weir set the standard of excellence with continued conference crowns and adding All-American hardware to DeCarlo's trophy cases. The word "dynasty" began popping up in newspaper coverage around this time.

As ambitions heightened to thoughts of further success, John Carroll's ascent mirrored a rise in the sport locally. As the legendary Plain Dealer writer Dennis Lustig wrote in a 1973 article, "Interest in wrestling in Greater Cleveland is skyrocketing. One of the areas where the attention is increasing is in the local college ranks."

DeCarlo's recruiting efforts intensified, as the now veteran coach sought out the best of the best in Northeast Ohio. His roster was dotted with out of state athletes, but the vast majority prepped at nearby high schools.

Joe Bertolone remembers his recruitment process quite well. A strong grappler at Warrensville, Bertolone finished third in the state tournament as a senior and even made a trip to California for the Junior World Olympics. His best friend, Larry Dulay, starred as an All-American at JCU at 190 pounds, so the path was there.

"Coach DeCarlo was positive and very persistent. He seemed very interested," recalls Bertolone. "Cleveland State was interested, and I thought about Ohio State until I visited and it seemed enormous. CSU didn't have football and I wanted to play both, so it seemed like a good fit. JCU was close enough for family to see me wrestle and be part of my career and activities."

DeCarlo developed good relationships with other talented local wrestlers who might have opted for higher competition if not for his magic touch. All five All-Americans on the 1975 team were locals (Hawald: Beachwood, Charles Becks: Harvey, Brad Bowman and Bertolone: Warrensville, Jack Mulhall: St. Joseph).

The NCAA did not split into divisions until 1974, but much of the roster could have competed at schools that later became Division I strongholds.

"Our starters were tough guys. Some of those starters could have been Division I, they were Division I caliber," states Jiannetti, a Mayfield native. "Tony had the touch, he could make you do anything. He was a great organizer and motivator while being a disciplinarian. He checked all the right boxes of a great coach."

A key part of the foundation? Tough practices. Nearly all of his alumni grapplers remember the hard practices, which were grueling but often fun.

"You didn't lift weights back then, but we did rope climbing, stair running, and much more," Mark J. Hawald recalls. "That was when the wrestling room was in the aux gym on the balcony, and we did burnouts. DeCarlo pushed us to fatigue. Like Dan Gable said, 'Fatigue is your friend.' When we ran stairs, we chanted while we ran to the bottom, clapping hands and having fun. At the end of practice, we did crab walks, seal crawls, bear crawls, all kinds of military stuff. Plus we did calisthenics, and warmed up with 100 pushups, four sets of 25. That ensured that when we were fatigued in the match, it would not be a big deal. It made us a band of brothers. We wrestled and trained hard, but it was so much fun."

"We had brutal practices working so hard in the microwave of a wrestling room," Jiannetti remembers. "We cooked in there, it was hot. But at the same time, we had a lot of fun."

As a coach, Angello appreciated the practices, too.

"It was just amazing to be at practices, it was a lot of fun," Angello remembers. "It was electric, with so much competition. Guys at JCU had the great ability to stay cool and focused in tight spots. Practices were an important piece of that.

"When you came into the room, everyone entered with the mentality, 'I'm going to get better by helping someone else in the room get better.' Sometimes someone would falter, but you weren't alone in your quest to be a national champion. They convinced each other that they could be national champions."

MEET JCU'S FIRST NATIONAL CHAMPION

To many members of the team and to the national wrestling community, John Carroll Wrestling was not expected to compete for a national title heading into the 1970s.

Tony DeCarlo didn't get the memo. Entering his ninth year at John Carroll, DeCarlo had big plans. In the way of Joe "Jo Jo" Bertolone, BIG plans.

In the fall of 1972, Bertolone arrived at John Carroll. An elevated blood pressure test caused him to miss his first football season, and torn cartilage in his knee forced him to miss some wrestling. But even still, DeCarlo saw greatness.

"Coach used to introduce me to people as, 'This is Jo Jo Bertolone, he will be the first national champion in John Carroll history.' That planted the seed my freshman year."

In 1973, Bertolone won a wrestle-off against Ed Floyd, a warrior in his own right, who set the program record for pins in a season (13) in 1972 and won PAC Most Outstanding Wrestler that season.

With young guns such as Bertolone and old hands like Tom Corbo and Dan Weir, John Carroll competed against Goliaths: Ohio State, Lehigh, Notre Dame, Clarion, you name it. In 1973, JCU surprised many by upending the Fighting Irish in a 26-11 victory in front of 2,600 fans in University Heights to wrap up the dual season with a best-ever 12-1 mark.

Following the 1973 campaign, change was in the air. The NCAA split in divisions, suddenly making national team success possible in Division III.

"This team is capable of taking a national title," DeCarlo told a local writer during the following season. "I really believe that."

Joe Bertolone and the Blue Streaks attracted plenty of media coverage, this piece from 1975

STEEL SHARPENS STEEL

An influx of new talent in 1973-74 made DeCarlo's words prophetic.

Al Hess of Mayfield, Al Evangelista of Richmond Heights, and Tim Pazyniak of Brush were among the top recruits mentioned in a preseason article by Dennis Lustig. Hess' recruitment attracted particular attention from Lustig, as Hess turned down a full scholarship from Arizona.

"We're getting a lot of fine people and our kids are doing a heck of a job helping us recruit," DeCarlo told The Plain Dealer.

Two stalwarts not mentioned in the initial PD piece were Brad Bowman and Charles Becks, two vital pieces of the new national title contender. Bowman followed in Bertolone's footsteps from Warrensville Heights, while Becks followed a more circuitous path to University Heights.

Becks graduated from Harvey High School in 1971 with a record of 27-6-1. In his senior year, he earned runner-up honors at the state tournament along with Plain Dealer All-Scholastic honors. He attended Lakeland Community College in 1971-72, earning junior college All-American honors while finishing 13-0-1 in dual meets. He sat out the 1972-73 season to transfer to JCU. All the while, as a February 13, 1974 Plain Dealer article mentions, Becks became an avid hunter and a car enthusiast, working "constantly on my 1966 Orange Chevelle convertible" in Painesville (DeCarlo's hometown, too). All of this while raising an infant son, Charles Jr., with his wife, Lynette.

"My plate was full at the time as a husband and father, and being a commuter student on the wrestling team," explains Becks. "I knew DeCarlo before John Carroll being from the same hometown, plus his older sister went to school with my father. From the standpoint of the wrestlers and others on campus, he was revered and respected. I have nothing but respect for him."

Bowman was expected to be a very solid wrestler, but his ceiling was not known at the time. After all, he only broke in the starting lineup as a senior in high school, finishing fourth at districts. Bowman told Lustig in 1976, "I picked John Carroll because I wanted to go to a school where coach [DeCarlo] would take interest in his wrestlers more than just athletes." For DeCarlo's part, he called Bowman "one of the hardest working kids we've had." Lustig also noted, "For fun, Bowman rides his Kawasaki 400 motor bike. His longest trip was to Kentucky."

Today, Bowman notes that he was "scared of DeCarlo," and that during one Florida match, DeCarlo started yelling at him. Not wanting to be on DeCarlo's bad side, Bowman reacted by pinning his opponent.

As Dan Weir remembers, Bowman's single leg takedown was legendary, as the young grappler moved with surprising speed. His trademark style proved to be scoring a 2-point takedown, allowing 1-point escape, then repeating the process. He would go on to finish 33-0 in PAC matches, the first wrestler in the conference to never lose a dual meet or in the tournament.

"I was quick, I would take a step to the left and shoot to the right," recalls Bowman. "Just like we practiced every day. I was a lot better on the takedowns than on the riding and on the escaping."

Becks and Bowman fit right in with the team culture. Though at John Carroll, the young Black student-athletes attended a school with few folks who looked like them. A Marketing major, Bowman was a member of JCU's Black Scholarship Program. Becks was a member of the Iota Chi Upsilon (IXY) Fraternity.

"The people I encountered and interacted with treated me with open arms and accepted me," said Becks. "I never encountered any major problems during my experience at JCU. I had the support of the team and my fellow wrestlers. My IXY brothers were also very supportive, showing up in droves to all of the matches."

"There were not a lot of Black students at JCU in those days," recalls Mulhall. "It must have been a different experience for them, as you're on a campus as a definite minority. I always admired those guys."

As for Bowman's part, he recalls that he "always loved being at the school. My coaches and teammates were great. I enjoyed the whole college experience."

The first-year Streaks showcased immediate talent, beating out more established Blue Streak grapplers via wrestle-offs. Becks defeated Mark Hummer, a senior co-captain. Evangelista bumped out John Morabito.

"Steel sharpens steel," says Hinkel. "Tony created that environment better than other coaches. You had the mentality of, 'I'm going to make myself better and help the team get better.'"

Becks also wanted to be certain that Hummer got a special shoutout: "He was one of the greatest guys you'd ever want to meet. He was gracious when I took his spot, just the epitome of super guy. He helped me, and I don't win the national championship without him."

A strong offseason certainly made the team ready for the 1973-74 season, both individually and team-wide.

"I trained in Japan for six weeks going into the season," Hawald says. "I worked out at Tokai University in Shibuya, Japan and won Japan's Junior National Championship. I brought back techniques typically not seen in the U.S., including Japanese throws and headlocks."

"We had a unique team culture, we had a lot of guys who believed wrestling was very important and were dedicated year round to getting better," Mulhall remembers. "We always had great leadership from DeCarlo on down, plus Chuck Angello and Dan Weir."

CRAWLING OUT OF THE HOLE INTO SECOND PLACE

The 1973-74 season opened with strong tidings, as host John Carroll third National Catholic College Invitational in five years. JCU won handily, as Becks, Hess, Corbo, and Tim Schaefer all won titles.

The annual Florida trip went well, too.

"We left on December 26 and came back on January 15, about 18-20 guys driving down in cars," recalls Hinkel. "We wrestled in Lauderdale, a short walk from the beach. We ran on the beach and practiced in the afternoon around 3 pm. Afterwards, the coolest bar in the area hired the bigger guys to be bouncers. But if you looked sick the morning after, DeCarlo made you work harder. It was a huge tradition with lots of fond memories."

"We ran the concession stand to raise money for the Florida trip," Angello recalls. "The Florida trip was a big advantage compared to many of our opponents. We had 2-3 workouts a day and accomplished a lot during our 10-14 days training."

John Carroll cruised through PAC action and defeated Notre Dame in South Bend to set up a colossal match against Cleveland State. The two programs had not met for two years, caused by an additional PAC match due to conference expansion, according to DeCarlo in press clippings from the time.

The match drew plenty of press attention, including a tale of the tape comparison between Bertolone, checking in at 5'11" and 325 pounds, and CSU's Chuck Ehrhart at a massive 6'9" and 370 pounds. The contest took place in Woodling Gym, with a near-capacity crowd of 2,500 in the gym, then new. DeCarlo told Lustig, "This is the biggest match in the 10 years I've coached college wrestling at Carroll."

The match, in a word, was a flop for John Carroll.

The Vikings crushed the Blue Streaks in a 36-0 thrashing. Dejected afterwards, DeCarlo lamented, "This is the worst we have looked in my 10 years of coaching at Carroll." In a later piece, DeCarlo told Chuck Day in a newspaper piece, "After that match, I never was so low. I wanted to climb into a hole and die."

But the defeat was not quite as bad as it seemed on paper. Riding time proved to be significant, as CSU was awarded a bonus point in six of the ten matches for the one minute riding time advantage. With five bouts decided by just one or two points, it most definitely played a key factor.

But JCU rebounded nicely, winning the PAC title with ease, scoring a conference record 166 ½ points and claiming seven individual titles. Hess won the PAC MVP honors, with Evangelista, Hawald, Becks, Bowman, Corbo, and Jack Metzger joining him as champions.

Bertolone did not win the PAC crown, but advanced to the national tournament due to a strange quirk. Bertolone lost to Hiram's Ken Levels, then a 28-year-old father of three who won a bronze medal in Greco-Roman wrestling at the World University Games in Moscow. Interestingly enough, Bertolone had trained with Levels at the East Cleveland YMCA, as Levels got back into wrestling after serving in the Army. Levels received eligibility from the PAC but not from the NCAA. So, Bertolone got to go to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania for a shot at glory.

In the first NCAA Division III Tournament, a trio of Blue Streaks made the finals, as Becks, Bertolone, and Evangelista all made it. Hawald and Pazyniak would have to settle for third, while Corbo accepted sixth.

While Becks and Evangelista both lost in the finals, Bertolone came out swinging in his bout. Bertolone, seeded first, came out of the gates aggressively against his Wilkes foe. Bertolone needed just 18 seconds to win it.

And just like that, Bertolone made the prophecy of DeCarlo, to be named the NCAA Division III Wrestling Coach-of-the-Year, come true with a flair.

HIGH EXPECTATIONS

On the bus ride home from Pennsylvania, talks of glory in 1975 began.

Surprised initially by the second-place finish, the Blue Streaks started dreaming of what would be next season. And for good reason, as Corbo was the only starter graduating. Plus, John Carroll would soon be named as the 1975 tournament's host.

"We started preparing on the way back from Wilkes," said Bertolone. "We talked about it on the bus ride home, saying 'Wouldn't it be great to win at home?' We wanted to be a national championship team."

The offseason training certainly kept the Blue Streaks in shape. The return of Ken Meditz from injury also helped the team.

JCU roared into the season, firing into January following a strong Florida effort. Bertolone helped JCU make a statement by beating the class of the OAC, Baldwin Wallace, 34-5, as Bertolone pinned Les Wojciechowski in 55 seconds. JCU lost to Lehigh in a tough battle, and once again lost to Cleveland State. But this time, the bout against the Vikings was much closer, 21-9, with Bertolone getting revenge against CSU's Ehrhart. Jim Weir provided a big upset, upending All-American Tom Cavanaugh, 4-3.

Competing against primetime competition definitely helped the Blue Streaks later on. As DeCarlo told legendary Plain Dealer wrestling writer Pat Galbincea in a nationals preview article, "This had to help us, even though we didn't win [against CSU and Lehigh]. We're used to tough competition while some of the other schools in this tournament aren't. Wrestling good competition pays off."

JCU rolled through the National Catholic Invitational in Minnesota, but bad news befell Mark Hawald. Although victorious in the championship match, he injured his left ankle late in the third period. But thanks to his sister, Donna, introducing him to an acupuncturist, he recovered. While legendary athletic trainer Doc Iliano scowled, "Stick a bunch of needles in your foot," the treatment worked. Becks also dealt with shoulder and ankle injuries in January and February but would rebound well in March.

John Carroll catapulted past Notre Dame, 31-3, showing that the Streaks were battle tested and ready for the PAC Championship. JCU cruised to the title, winning eight of 10 weight classes, as Mulhall (118), Hawald (134), Pazyniak (142), Becks (150), Hess (158), Meditz (167), Bowman (177), and Metzger (190) all won crowns.

Even still, Wilkes entered as the favorites, returning six place winners and two national champs. Wilkes stood as the top-ranked team in the winter, but DeCarlo still stood confident.

"We have more of a well-balanced team," DeCarlo quoted in a newspaper preview. "We have a shot at it. We're a young team […] We don't have any weak spots in our lineup."

JCU's lineup for the 1975 NCAA Championships

A FOUNDATIONAL FRIDAY

After a year of waiting for the Blue Streaks, and 11 years after the program's founding, the moment finally arrived.

On Wednesday, March 5, 1975, a whopping 459 wrestlers from 82 colleges arrived in University Heights. The number seemed eye-popping at the time, as it was nearly 200 more grapplers than the previous tournament.

Late Thursday, the pairings were completed. Angello recalls the seeding meetings, led by DeCarlo, both the tournament manager and a member of the rules committee.

"The seeding meeting is strategic, you want to get guys to the finals and placing rounds," explains Angello. "When Tony talked, people listened. He looked like a movie star and was quite the dynamic person."

With some favorable draws for JCU, on Friday, March 7, the action began. A total of six national champions returned to defend their crowns, including Bertolone, who trimmed down from 365 pounds at the start of the year to 330. Much ink was dedicated to Bertolone, as the hopes of the team were thought to rest on his shoulders.

A grueling 10-hour day on Friday yielded a very close field, but DeCarlo and the Blue Streaks felt good.

Five Blue Streaks emerged from the chaos of the first day to the semifinals. Mulhall (118), Hawald (134), Becks (150), Bowman (177), and Bertolone (heavyweight) fired through the opening rounds to get to Saturday's semifinals.

Highlights from Friday's action included a Becks pin in just 14 seconds to open his bracket. Hinkel upset the defending champ at 190, Rick Molbury, in a stunning 2-0 overtime conquest. Bertolone also experienced overtime on the opening day, needing extra time to pick up a 5-1 win in his first bout. His next two conquests were a tad easier, with a first-period pin and then a 5-2 decision. Both Mulhall and Hawald bested foes from Wilkes en route to the semis.

Not all was perfect. Top-seeded Al Evangelista tasted defeat at 126, with a 2-1 upset to an unseeded grappler from Oswego. As a newspaper piece described, Evangelista "nearly scored a match-winning takedown in the final seconds." Pazyniak also lost a narrow 5-4 defeat in an upset.

But all in all, the Blue Streaks had reason for optimism heading into the second and final day. JCU enjoyed a narrow lead with 45 points, two better than Wilkes and three ahead of Montclair State.

Montclair matched JCU with five grapplers in the semifinals and three in the consolation brackets, while Wilkes tabbed four in each. In DeCarlo's mind, it would all come down to the semis.

"We're sitting pretty, but the next round is crucial," he told the press. "We're just about where I'd expected – and hoped – we'd be. But now we start all over."

As for Becks, he was on cloud nine, telling the papers, "I've never been so psyched in my life. We lost a couple of one-point decisions early and I felt as if I just HAD to do something. We're a close-knit team and we're all feeling some momentum." However, he was dealing with an injured ankle that Doc Iliano, trainer for the Browns and Blue Streaks, helped him ice down.

The team was so tight-knit that they spent time together on Friday evening. In fact, Becks slept over at Hawald's house.

"Charlie was a role model for me, I wanted to be like him and win," says Hawald. "We had a calming influence on each other."

A preview article by the late, legendary writer Pat Galbincea

MAKING HISTORY

As DeCarlo predicted, the Saturday semifinals starting at 1:30 pm would be vital.

And in a fantastic showing, John Carroll's five grapplers swept in front of a raucous crowd in University Heights.

Bertolone's bout contained the most drama. The veteran developed a nosebleed with the contest tied at 2-2. After they resumed, with 52 seconds left, Bertolone snuck ahead, 3-2, and seemed to have a takedown with 14 seconds on the clock, but the referee ruled that it happened out of bounds. But Bertolone ran out the clock.

Hawald picked up a cautious victory over Mount Union's returning NCAA runner-up Raphael McDonald, 4-1. He told Ed Chay of the Cleveland Press, "I could have scored more points but I was a little cautious."

Caution went out the window in the finals, as John Carroll dove full bore into the finals. Yet, as Hawald says, "No one was nervous. We were mentally and physically ready." Hawald recalls sitting in the bleachers with his then girlfriend and now wife, Debbie, before firing into his warmups.

Mulhall experienced the agony of defeat in his championship bout. He faced Nabil Guketlov, an Armenian immigrant who arrived in the United States at the age of six. Guketlov won the 126-pound title for Montclair in 1974 before dropping down a weight class to win in 1975 over Mulhall, 6-0.

"The guy who beat me got the outstanding wrestler award, it was an indication that I had come back a lot but not physically 100 percent," said Mulhall. "Looking forward to senior year, I had room to improve. It did take a little away, but I would not trade the team championship for anything. As a competitor, you're fantastically happy the team won, but it definitely gave me determination for the future."

Mulhall would win the 1976 championship, but in Dan Weir's mind, his work in 1975 was equally impressive.

"Jackie wrestled with injuries and pain I've never seen another wrestler overcome," said Dan Weir. "His two major decisions earlier in the tournament were key. I would argue that Jackie overcoming the challenge and the pain put us over the top for the championship."

After that disappointing loss for JCU, Hawald faced a confident opponent in Montclair's Vince Tundo, who hit Hawald with a powerful fireman's carry early that thankfully did not finish inside the lines. Tundo broke the scoreless tie in the second period with an escape, then the grapplers traded an escape apiece in the third. With 1:04 remaining, Tundo took a shot, which Hawald was ready for in a "reflex reaction."

"I did a snap spin behind for a takedown. He escaped and we were both on our feet with 9 seconds left," Hawald recalls today. "So many matches are lost in the last 10 seconds. I ran in place and circled to avoid that, and the whistle blew."

"That was the closest match I had in the tournament," Hawald told the Cleveland Press at the time as he celebrated a 23-0 season. "They seemed to get tougher and tougher. My coach didn't actually say I had to win my match if the team wanted to win, but we all knew it was important."

Hawald's victory brought John Carroll to the precipice of victory.

Enter Charles Becks.

It would be the pride of Painesville's Harvey High, the alma mater of DeCarlo, to score the clinching victory. Becks secured a 5-2 decision over Tony Peroza of SUNY-Potsdam. As Chuck Day wrote, "Wrestling like a man possessed, Charlie first escaped for one point then followed immediately with a takedown to end all doubt. That, too, brought the fans to their feet."

"People told me that I was in for the match of my life," Becks remembers. "Mind you, I was the runner up from a year ago. It was very close, and I was trailing by one point. I remember going ahead and the match being exceptionally competitive. I have the match recorded, but I haven't watched it. I do remember how satisfying it was and how electric the gym was. I also recall feeling a great deal of relief. That was the ultimate goal I had been striving for so many years. It brought so much joy to me. I couldn't be happier."

The evening ended with a pair of Warrensville kids making good.

Brad Bowman followed up Becks' effort with a no-doubter victory. The star grappler bested another SUNY-Potsdam wrestler, Tom McCue, in a 7-4 decision at 177.

"By the time I took the mat, there was no pressure on me," remembers Bowman. "Dan Weir used to really help me not have any pressure on myself and just to have fun out there. We had the tournament sewn up, plus I knew Jo-Jo was going to win. [In my match] I caught the kid I was wrestling with an ankle pick at the appropriate time and caught him at the right time. It was a good day."

Bertolone's match also proved to be not super exciting from a drama perspective, but Bertolone put on a patience clinic. He secured a 5-2 decision at heavyweight to end the evening with JCU's fourth national title of the tournament. DeCarlo said of Bertolone, who finished the year 24-2, "He kept the pressure on the other fellow [freshman Steve Caldwell) who was stalling, and as long as he maintained a good stance he would win. Joe did not want to make a crucial mistake."

"That was a hard earned second national championship," recalls Bertolone. "It was a battle all the way."

Newspaper coverage following the historic championship

THE AFTERMATH FOR THE CLEVELAND KIDS

As could be expected, the gym exploded when the Blue Streaks won. And in a way, the earthquake reverberated across Cleveland.

The conquest was not just one for the Blue Streaks, but all of Northeast Ohio. After all, the papers heralded it as the first national college crown by a Cleveland school. And it was undoubtedly a victory for wrestling in Cleveland.

"We did it all with Cleveland kids," DeCarlo said afterwards. "Think about that. It's never been done before. I'm proud of winning the national championship, the first one on any level for this area. It's a real tribute to Cleveland coaches and high school wrestling in this area."

It was definitely a remarkable achievement for a team formed just 11 years earlier by DeCarlo. "We've come a long way in a short time," he said.

Hawald and his teammates had planned a party for after the tournament at Hawald's place in Beachwood, thinking they would win. And after winning, it was that much more celebratory. But it wasn't just for the winners. Even the second place team, Montclair State, showed up at Hawald's house.

"There was a lot of camaraderie between wrestlers," Hawald recalls. "At the East Stroudsburg Open for example, you'd get a pewter mug for placing in the top four, and you'd have a mixer with all the wrestlers afterwards. If you had a pewter mug, you got free beer! It was a lot more fun before social media."

"The Championship party went until midnight or 1 am. I dropped off my girlfriend at her house in Pepper Pike and then drove home. The Plain Dealer used to throw papers in bundles on the corner for paper boys. On the way home, I grabbed a paper and I remember reading the coverage. It was great."

Dan Weir remembers an "ecstatic" celebration. As he recalls, the backups on the roster deserved to celebrate as much as the top dogs.

"You don't win the championship without talent behind your starters pushing them," explains Weir. "There was a lot of talent pushing behind them. I think of guys like Mike Jiannetti who challenged Mulhall and made him better, in addition to doing a hilarious DeCarlo impression that even made Tony laugh. There were a lot of guys in the room who made the starters better. It was an impressive group."

FACING THE BIG DOGS

Back in these early days, a championship at the Division III level meant you got to compete in the Division I championship.

"The seeding committee didn't honor the power of Division III, but a number of D3 guys placed in the tournament, as in Jim Weir and Mark Hawald," said Angello. "We wrestled tough. But when you turn on the lights in a big arena against Division I wrestlers, it's difficult."

John Carroll was used to facing Division I competition after facing the likes of Notre Dame, Lehigh, Ohio State, and Cleveland State. But after the rush of winning a hard-fought D-III tournament, it would be difficult to face the best scholarship grapplers in the country.

"We beat some good kids here but it will be a different situation this weekend. It's hard to predict what they will do because they have gone through a strenuous tournament here," DeCarlo acknowledged. "At Princeton, we'll be competing with full scholarship kids and teams that have had stronger competition. But I'm proud of what we accomplished."

Four Blue Streaks would make the trip to Princeton University after conquering the Division III world: Hawald (134), Becks (150), Bowman (177), and Bertolone (Heavyweight). Bertolone had been to Iowa State in 1974, losing in the second round after a first-round bye.

DeCarlo praised a "better prepared" Bertolone leading up to the trip to New Jersey.

"JoJo is very agile for his size. His strength need not be elaborated on," marveled DeCarlo. "Joe is a very classy individual. He is well organized and handles himself with poise among people. JoJo is an unselfish personality. An example is his attitude toward the kids at the matches and on the football field."

Bertolone, Hawald, and Becks all won matches in the tournament. Both Bertolone and Hawald made the final round of the consolations following impressive wins. Hawald beat Brigham Young's Mark Sanderson (uncle of Penn State Coach Cael Sanderson) and Arizona State's Jim Jeffries, Becks beat Doug Weaver of Penn State, and Bertolone beat North Carolina's Tom Higgins.

Despite no place winners, it was an impressive showing and a great end to a spectacular season.

Carroll News coverage of the championship

FUTURE SUCCESSES

In many ways, the national championship set the stage for many future successes.

However, among those successes is not a JCU national title.

The Blue Streaks followed the historic 1975 season with a whale of a season in 1976. Mark Hawald remained atop the mountain with a second straight Division III crown followed by an All-American finish at the Division I championships, placing 5th. Jack Mulhall avenged his semifinal defeat to win his first national title. And Jim Weir began his ascent en route to becoming the most decorated grappler in John Carroll history, winning the first of three straight national championships.

But while JCU as a team scored 112.5 points (more than in 1975), Montclair State proved to be unstopped, roaring for 143 points. That point total would not be beaten until Augsburg scored 166.5 in 2003. And for that matter, no team would beat JCU's 112.5 points at the national tournament until Augsburg racked up 122 points in 1997.

Perhaps we could write another full piece on that 1976 Wrestling Championship.

Cleveland wrestling continued to be known nationally, both at the high school and college levels. John Carroll hosted the 1981 and 1989 Division III Wrestling Championships, while Cleveland hosted the Division III tourney in 2018. At the high school level, St. Edward became one the nation's most elite programs.

But despite this, no team from Cleveland, let alone Northeast Ohio, has finished as the NCAA Division III victor or runner-up since JCU took second place in 1976. The Blue Streaks enjoyed top 10 finishes, and other local programs have done well, but the national spotlight belongs to Minnesota and Iowa.

Since 1995, either Augsburg (MN) or Wartburg (IA) has claimed the national championship, though Johnson & Wales (RI) tied Wartburg last year.

But trophies are not the only measuring stick for success.

SUCCESS IN LIFE

Wrestling is often a great teaching tool for life. The wrestlers on the 1975 National Championship took that to heart, with many of the members going on to successful careers.

DeCarlo, of course, continued to lead the wrestling program until transitioning to football coach and athletic director. Without a doubt, DeCarlo became one of the most impactful Blue Streaks in the history of the athletic program.

For Chuck Angello, his experience led to the upper echelons of college wrestling. After nine seasons at John Carroll, Angello moved on to Miami University, where he spent 18 seasons and became the winningest wrestling coach in Miami history. Angello's teams won three Mid-American Conference Championships, he coached five Division I All-Americans, won four MAC Coach of the Year accolades, and gained induction into the Ohio Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2016.

"I had the best time of my life at Carroll," says Angello. "I would have loved to stay in Division III in 20 years. I copied Tony's practice plans, which is why we were great at Miami. At the start of the season, you always learn new moves, but at other places, sometimes you coast. Tony drilled the team every day and we wrestled hard every day to stay in great shape conditioning wise. It was magic."

After completing his time at JCU, Dan Weir became a titan in the banking industry, rising to a key leadership position with Third Federal Savings and Loan.

"I still keep in touch with many of the guys on the team," says Dan Weir. "I just saw Jackie Mulhall, for example. Lifelong friendships were formed. I am looking forward to the October reunion and reconnecting with the guys again."

Becks notes that winning laid the foundation for not only success in his own life, but for his children.

"John Carroll shaped me to raise, with my wife, three wonderful young men who have gone on to be successful and productive citizens to our community," says Becks. "All were successful in wrestling. Charlie, my oldest, attended Ohio State and was a national runner-up. He's now the CEO of a food company. Brett finished third at Indiana and played football, going on to work at ESPN for over 20 years, and he now works as a national sales director in sports. Mark was an All-American at Penn State before working for JP Morgan. Wrestling laid the foundation for our family to be exceptionally successful."

As Mulhall reflects, he notes that he doesn't think back on the past. But as he does so now, he remembers plenty of fond memories.

"This was a group of guys who loved being together," says Mulhall. "Besides how good we were as a team, we were super close. But you had to have thick skin, good natured ribbing was the norm. It was a unique team culture with strong leadership from the coaches and my teammates. As I look back, I have pride in the achievements we've accomplished. And today, we can get together after not seeing each other for 10 years, we don't miss a beat. We're still engaged and care about each other. Fifty years later, all the qualities that made them good, hard, competitive wrestlers have made them all successful people with loving families and great careers."

Brotherhood is the top word that comes to mind for Jiannetti.

"We were a true band of brothers," says Jiannetti. "Poor Tony, he was the brunt of our pranks, but we knew when to be serious. Today, the fact that we're all still friends says something. We talk all the time, and our wives and kids do things together, which is great."

Jim Weir did not make his hay in 1975, but became John Carroll's most accomplished wrestler over the course of the next three seasons. His three Division III titles and .907 win percentage sets the bar high for future Blue Streaks. However, his feat of becoming a two-time Division I All-American (6th in 1976 and 4th in 1978) is an unreplicable goal, as the NCAA stopped allowing Division III wrestlers to compete in the Division I Championships after the 1989-1990 season. He also applied his lessons learned to the business world, working in finance all across the globe for some of the world's top companies.

One of his top takeaways is the camaraderie. Not just of the team, but of the community, including Rev. Henry F. Birkenhauer, S.J., Rev. Michael Lavelle, S.J., and the professors.

"The community was so involved. Camaraderie was the theme of the team and the program," said Weir. "The community attended the matches, wrote us letters, and really cared about us. That's still prevalent in Division III and doesn't always happen in Division I. Your professors were always asking about your matches. I even remember a guy on the maintenance team, his name was Bill, who would call me Tiger Jim when he saw me on campus. Father Lavelle remained a great friend. On one of his many trips, he baptized our first son at Farm Street Church, the Jesuit Center in Mayfair London."

Bertolone followed in DeCarlo's footsteps to become a wrestling coach, coaching for many years in Florida. Bertolone even founded the wrestling program at Keiser University.

"We still have a tight group," says Bertolone. "I've been in Florida since 1977 but will still come up for reunions. We have a very special bond as a team."

Perhaps Kevin Hinkel sums up Tony DeCarlo and his team best.

"Everyone has 4-5 favorite stories, we were real characters," Hinkel says. "Our era had some amazing wrestlers, and we were lucky enough to be with Tony at that stage of his career. His leadership made us more confident as a team. Wrestling taught us to be inclusive and the value of bringing energy to your work. One quote says it all about Tony and our team, 'To share your talents is good, to use your talents to reveal someone their talents is special.'"

Author's Note: Thank you to the folks who provided their time and efforts in making this article possible. Most especially to Rita DeCarlo for donating her scrapbooks for John Carroll. Thank you to Chuck Angello, Charles Becks, Joe Bertolone, Brad Bowman, Mark Hawald, Kevin Hinkel, Mike Jiannetti, Jack Mulhall, Dan Weir, and Jim Weir for their time during interviews.

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The full story of how Tony DeCarlo guided the 1975 Wrestling team to JCU’s only NCAA Championship

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