Thad Benton, Jarrod Deavor, Dave Marko, Russ Knisley and Ryan and Brandon Ickes represent the 2000 C-K wrestling team at the Bedford County Hall of Fame. Courtesy photo

EVERETT — Thad Benton, who became one of the most accomplished wrestlers in program history for both Claysburg-Kimmel High School and the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, has always learned to regard adversity as an ally.

Benton, who was one of eight individuals inducted into the 2026 Bedford County Sports Hall of Fame at a ceremony held Saturday afternoon in the Everett Area High School Auditorium, said that he grew adept at thriving when his back was against the wall.

“I started wrestling when I was very young, and I wasn’t very good then,” Benton said. “The first trophy I got in third grade was for finishing in third place in my weight class, but there were only four kids in the weight class.

“Then I broke my leg, and coming back from that seemed to motivate me and instilled in me a very strong drive,” Benton added. “I finished my eighth grade season undefeated.”

Things would get better from there for Benton — much better.

He became a four-year member of the Claysburg-Kimmel starting wrestling lineup, piling up a sparkling career record of 120 wins and just 15 losses, while winning three District 6 Class 2A championships, two Southwest Class 2A Regional titles, and earning three placewinner’s medals at the PIAA state tournament in Hershey — including a second-place state finish at 130 pounds in his junior year. He also earned fifth-place and third-place state medals as a sophomore and senior, respectively.

After graduating from Claysburg-Kimmel in 2001, success, and adversity, continued for Benton in his collegiate wrestling career at UPJ. After winning 25 matches as a redshirt freshman, Benton won 16 matches in his sophomore year before an injury ended his season.

“I tore my UCL (ulnar collateral elbow ligament),” Benton said. “It was a letdown sitting out that season, but I took that experience and used it to drive me to win two national titles over the next two seasons.”

Benton returned to the mat in the 2004-05 season and captured the NCAA Division II national championship at 141 pounds with a 9-4 win over Nebraska-Omaha’s Eli Dominquez in the title bout.

He followed that up with another national championship the next season, defeating Central Oklahoma’s Kyle Evans in the 141-pound championship match. Benton’s 17 falls in the 2005-06 season are still a Pitt-Johnstown record for falls by a wrestler at that weight class, and his 121 career wins at UPJ rank him 16th among the school’s all-time winningest wrestlers.

Benton, like the afternoon’s other inductees, thanked his parents, other family members, coaches, and mentors who paved the road for his success.

“When you surround yourself with good people and work hard, anything is possible,” said Benton, who is married and is the father of three.

Among the most positive influences in Benton’s life was his high school wrestling coach at Claysburg-Kimmel, Dave Marko, who served as Benton’s presenter for Saturday’s induction ceremony.

Benton — who lives in Johnstown, has been an assistant wrestling coach at Richland High School since 2008, and is employed as a surveyor with the LTC Energy Company there — gave Marko credit for helping him to develop a work ethic that still serves him well today.

“He has made such an impact on my life and on the lives of all of the wrestlers that he has coached,” Benton said of Marko, who is currently the head wrestling coach at Central High School. “So much so that to this day, I try to instill that same work ethic in my kids and in the wrestlers who I have coached.”

Marko is thrilled that Benton has enjoyed such a successful personal and professional life, as well as a stellar athletic career.

“It’s been an amazing ride for him,” Marko said. “I’m proud to have been his coach, proud of the man and father that he has become, and now, I am proud to be his friend.”

Benton had previously been inducted into the NCAA Division II Wrestling Hall of Fame and the UPJ Athletics Hall of Fame.

As a junior, Benton was also a prominent member of the 1999-2000 Claysburg-Kimmel wrestling team that earned collective induction into the Bedford County Sports Hall of Fame Saturday.

That team finished second in the team standings to Wyalusing at the PIAA Class 2A state tournament and featured four state medalists — runners-up Jarrett Musselman and Benton, third-placer Derek Tipton, and sixth-placer Ryan Ickes.

“I am honored to present the 2000 team induction into the Bedford County Sports Hall of Fame,” said Marko, who established a coaching dynasty during his years in Claysburg. “This group of young men didn’t just land at the top of the mountain — they scratched and fought their way there with their hard work and dedication.

“This team was an absolute joy to coach,” added Marko, who was joined on the stage by 1999-2000 team members, including assistant coaches Jarrod Deavor and Russ Knisely, and wrestlers Benton, Brandon Ickes and Ryan Ickes.

Other individuals in the 2026 Bedford Sports Hall of Fame induction class included:

– Former long-time Bedford High School athletic director and athlete Terry Diehl, whose commitment to athletics spans more than 70 years as a player, coach, administrator, official and mentor.

– Former Everett High School and Shippensburg University track star Wendy (Clark) Evans — who former Everett coach Jeff Batzel, serving as her presenter for the induction, described as “the most talented and accomplished girls track athlete that I’ve ever coached.”

– Former Tussey Mountain High School and Juniata College softball pitching standout Jodie (Wise) Kormanski.

– Les Logsdon, a former three-sport athlete at Bedford High School who starred in basketball on the collegiate level at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

– Former Bedford High School pitching standout Aaron Sams, who played collegiately at James Madison University and was a fifth-round draft pick by the Chicago Cubs in 1998. Sams played four more seasons of professional baseball in the Cubs, Boston Red Sox and Milwaukee Brewers organizations.

– The late Bedford native Sam Fletcher, who had a brief Major League Baseball career as a pitcher in the 1909 season with the Brooklyn Superbas and in the 1912 season with the Cincinnati Reds.

– Osterburg native Donald “Meach” Miller, who made his mark as one of the state of Pennsylvania’s most accomplished and respected slow-pitch softball pitchers in a career that spanned from 1973 to 2012.

Other team inductees included the 1970 Tussey Mountain baseball team, the 1984-85 Bedford girls basketball team, and the Allison’s/Healing Arts/Thomas Chevrolet slow-pitch softball team.

High school Athletes of the Year from the Mirror’s core coverage area honored by the Bedford County Sports Hall of Fame included Claysburg-Kimmel’s Mason Campagna and Isabella Paris, as well as Northern Bedford’s Nolin Snider and Alyssa Yeatts. Campagna was also named the Bedford Gazette’s Male Scholar Athlete of the Year.

Other area high school Athletes of the Year honored by the Bedford Hall Saturday included Chestnut Ridge’s Dominic Deputy and Juliet Alt, Tussey Mountain’s Noah Lucko and Brianna Gabrielson, Bedford’s Owen Schrock and Kacey Martz, and Everett’s Jakobe Harman and Jade Colledge. Martz was also named the Bedford Gazette’s Female Scholar Athlete of the Year.