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PA Profile of Troy Dolan
By Todd Irwin,
Pennsylvania Wrestling Newsmagazine, March 2007
If you checked in on Troy Dolan and his
friends one day while they hung out, you might see him playing an original song
or a cover song on his guitar.
"I like to play the guitar a lot," the Derry Area
senior said. "I think that just relaxes me."
When you're a three-time state champion, a workout
maniac and a good student, you need something to blow off steam and handle the
pressure.
Dolan captured his third title, and second at 119, when
he beat Southern Huntingdon's now two-time state runner-up Cody Myers, 6-1, in
the finals of the PIAA Championships at the Giant Center.
Dolan has had a target on his chest ever since he
defeated West Greene and District 7 foe Justin Blumer, 7-4, in the 112-pound
finals to win his first state title as a sophomore.
"I think people always like to see an upset," Dolan
said, "so you always have some pressure on you. You have to show people you're
still the champ and you're where you should be. Last year, it was the same
thing. This year, it got even worse. It makes it exciting, though."
In addition to the guitar, he also copes with the
pressure of being a state champion by joking around a lot. Dolan said he and his
teammates try to keep it light.
"We have a good time," he said. "We never get too
serious until it's time to step on the mat or step in the practice room, and
then you flip the switch and it's game time."
Derry coach Mike Wood says you'd never know Dolan was
feeling the pressure if you didn't know his wrestling history.
"He made me more nervous than him," Wood said. "I think
he's nervous inside, but he doesn't show it. I'll ask him if he's ready to go,
and he'll say 'No, I'm just going to lay around a little bit more.' I'm worrying
about him, but he's always ready to go."
A former Pennsylvania Junior Wrestling state champion,
Dolan came up to the high school level as a freshman. That year, he went 41-5,
finished second in the Southwest Regional Tournament at 112 and went 1-2 in
Hershey.
"I don't want to say I made a mistake, but I think we
could have put him at 103 his freshman year," Wood said. "I just didn't want him
to cut too much his first year of varsity just to make sure he could handle it.
I think he could have made it."
"My freshman year, I was glad to get (to Hershey),"
Dolan said. "The next year, I just wanted to place."
He did, of course, more than just place. Dolan, who went 41-1 as a sophomore,
recorded two technical falls, a 7-5 overtime quarterfinal win over Lewisburg's
eventual third-placer Derek Rebar and the win over Blumer.
"I really didn't even consider winning, and then I
did," Dolan said. "I think that's when I realized 'Hey, if I've got two years
left, I've got to win it.' I still sa my favorite time is winning my first state
championship. I was a sophomore. I was younger. I think I was more excited then.
"I never want to do worse than the year before. I just
want to keep getting better and more dominant and just make sure I'm always
improving.
I work out like crazy. There's so many great coaches
who help me and push me, along with my high school coaches and my family."
"I wish I could instill some of his work ethic in my
other wrestlers," Wood said. "He'll do a couple practices a day, sometimes
three. He lifts all the time. He's always working on his technique."
The next year as a junior, Dolan went 42-1 and breezed
to the state title - his closest bout being a 10-4 win over Harriton's eventual
third-placer Marty Borowsky in the quarterfinals. In another Southwest Regional
rematch, he beat South Park's Vitaly Ivashchenko, 10-3, in the finals.
This season, Dolan went 46-2 wrestling a rugged
schedule dotted with prestigious tournaments like Ironman and Powerade and
easily captured another state title. He followed up his 6-0 win over Myers, who
was last year's 112-pound runner-up, in the regional finals with another
impressive win.
"I think I was more worried about it than I should have
been," Dolan said. "I was just wondering last week maybe he (Myers) had a bad
match and I wrestled a lot better than I normally do. So, I was worried. Once I
got out there, I knew I was in control soon as we started wrestling."
He became the 30th wrestler in the state's rich history
to win three state titles and the first from Westmoreland County to do it.
Shortly after the final buzzer sounded in the title
match, Dolan showed some rare emotion and held up three fingers.
"This year, my parents got on me because I really never
get too excited," he said smiling. "They wanted me to put up three (fingers) so
they could get a picture for the paper. So, I did it out there."
The win over Myers was Dolan's 170th career win, finishing his career with a
170-9 record.
"Out of 170 wins, he has 10 forfeit wins," Wood said.
"Most kids with 170 wins have almost a full season of forfeits. I've got decent
wrestlers behind him that afforded me to be able to move him.
"I would always wrestle him against the toughest kid.
Even in our team championships, I bumped him all the way up to 130 to wrestle
(Burrell's Jordan) Shields."
Dolan will continue his wrestling career at Missouri.
After his wrestling career is over, he wants to coach.
"I would love to coach high school or college, or
anywhere really," Dolan said. "I love wrestling, and it's just fun to be
involved in. When we do team stuff, it's fun, but in wrestling, it's just you
and the other kid. There's no excuses. If you're better, then you win. If you're
not, then you lose."
Dolan will likely take his guitar with him to Missouri
to help deal with the collegiate pressure. Is he any good at it? Could he play
professionally?
"He sang 'Happy Birthday' to me one time," Wood said.
"He's a lot better wrestler than guitar player."
The above profile was printed in the March 2007 issue of PWN.
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