It’s a Coal Region connection built on the blue collar work ethic of the area where they were born and raised.

The wrestling co-op between Marian and Mahanoy Area embodies the spirit of the sport, both in its wrestlers and the coaches.

And it’s created a culture that is about more than just success on the mat.

“It’s been awesome to be around it with them,” said Marian sophomore Rory Dixon.” All the coaches are all around my age, and they all wrestle with us every day. They’re all very high-caliber wrestlers, and they’re fun guys to be with. The team is great, we’re like a big family there. The culture there, it’s fantastic.”

Dixon thrived a year ago, when the Colts had a co-op with Panther Valley. When that partnership ended at the close of last season, a new alliance was formed with Mahanoy, one that has been a boost to both sides.

“It’s awesome,” said Dixon, who recently returned from injury and placed eighth at the Coal Cracker. “There’s no bad blood between Marian and Mahanoy there. We’re all like one big family. We’re all working towards our own goals. We’re all helping each other to get better. All the coaches are helping everybody. They don’t care if you’re from Mahanoy, Shenandoah, Marian, anywhere. They don’t care. They want to see you succeed.”

That mentality has been a key component for Mahanoy head coach Nathan Fegley during his tenure leading the program, where he also wrestled.

“I think whenever you bring new guys in to where you’re building the environment that you want to help kids grow and get better, and the Marian kids fell right into it with what we had already started,” said Fegley, whose program also has a co-op with Shenandoah Valley and includes Gordon Slater and Nia Gregory. “They’re just character guys. They want to get better. They want to put the work in. So it was actually a pretty natural transition. We have some really good, natural leaders, like Rory Dixon, Jah Bushati, Matt Spino. Honestly, it was pretty natural.

“I think we have a really good environment where kids feel safe to take risks, they feel safe to try to get better, and it’s not just about winning the current match, it’s about the long-term goal of just getting better in the end and becoming better versions of ourselves. Always comparing ourselves to ourself and seeing how we can improve.”

Perhaps a perfect example of that type of progress can be found in Bushati, who recently placed second at the annual Schuylkill League Tournament.

“I think the season is going really well for me and for the team, we’re wrestling incredibly well,” Bushati said after his runner-up finish. “From last year to this year, I’ve improved so much. I went 0-2 last year at leagues, and this year I’m in the finals. It’s been a really good thing.

“I give a lot of credit to let us and my coaches, especially from Panther Valley with Coach (Kris) Nalesnik and then coming to Mahanoy with Coach Fegley and all of them. And then I’d also like to give credit to my wrestling partner Rory. Me an him always go at it in the room, so, that’s a big thing for me as well.”

Bushati, along with fellow junior and Mahanoy standout Kyler Quick, both have 22 victories this season. Quick also made it to the final of the league tournament, and qualified for states last year.

“Five years ago was my first year. I was scared, I didn’t really think I could be this good, as good as I could be,” said Quick. “I got a lot tougher mentally and physically, which has really helped me a lot. Wrestling is a tough sport, so not a lot of people like doing it. But everything here is great, and it’s awesome to have so many guys on the team working together.”

There is a mutual respect among wrestlers and coaches at Mahanoy, one where learning and self improvement continue to drive the program forward.

“At the end of the day, that’s what sports are all about,” said Fegley. “Sometimes people put more into it. I teach math at the high school, but I’ve taught probably more important values, character building traits, in the wrestling room. And that’s all a sport is. We just tap into the competitiveness of human spirit, and we leverage the sport to teach kids important values; delayed gratification, dealing with adversity. And kids don’t have to come out for wrestling. They have to come to my math classroom, but they don’t have to come out for wrestling. That’s what I love about sports. The growth we can get from it I think we undervalue as a society.

“Any extracurricular activity where kids show up because they want to be there, you have that built in motivation, so it’s much easier to change behavior through sports than sometimes it is through subjects.”

A continuation of that commitment to self-belief and dedication can be found in Fegley’s assistant coaches, including former Jim Thorpe standout Will Schwartz, in his first year with the program and as a physical education teacher in the district.

Schwartz, along with Shane Quick, who wrestled at Pottsville, sees it the same way as Fegley, Bushati or Dixon, no matter where you’re from, at Mahanoy, you’re family.

“I guess the thing that just surprised me the most is how close-knit we are,” said Schwartz. “We’re willing to put it all on the line for each other. And just to see those guys from all these different schools really come together is super nice.”

And the buy in from everyone involved has been even better.

“We have a bunch of new kids, every year we get new kids out. You look at their records, maybe they’re 1-8, and that’s what people see,” said Fegley. “Sometimes they live on the other side of town. And when the weather is bad, it’s a Saturday and I see those kids walking from the west end of town, which is a mile away – and I know quite a few of them live on that side of town – they’re getting themselves up on a Saturday at 8 a.m. and they’re walking in the weather. People sometimes could be critical of our student body, and they don’t see that side of it. They’re getting themselves up and they’re walking a mile in 14 degree weather to come and get better.”

And they’re doing it together.