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A Route To The Title

Penhollow’s State Championship Road Starts At Home

By Jay Young 6 min read

When greatness is achieved on the basketball court, football field, baseball diamond, ice rink or any other athletic venue there is rarely a need for a sportswriter to dig around to find a captivating story.

Athletes who succeed at the highest levels always tend to have a trail of interesting supporters, individual hardships and family connections following them along to be mined for narrative material.

But, every now and again, there is a champion who carries a fully-formed story along the way to their achievements with no mining necessary.

Just look down at your feet and there it is.

Robbie Penhollow's 2019 New York State Public High School Athletic Association Division II 195-pound wrestling championship season is that rare find.

Anyone who has spent time around competitive wrestlers understands that their communities are tightly-bound, dedicated groups of families and friends who are often as close, if not closer, than blood relatives. Tradition abounds in this sport where sons follow their fathers footsteps, grandparents cheer on generations of children and grandchildren, and cousins compete with one another for bragging rights on the mat.

The tradition that built up to Penhollow's dominant run toward a state title this year begins on Route 380, the county road which travels from Falconer to Sinclairville and the school district that now adjoins the Golden Falcons' program--Cassadaga Valley Central.

Before merging programs in 2014/15, the two schools were dedicated rivals.

"They were our arch enemies," John Penhollow, Robbie's father, recalled of Falconer.

If it were just the history that connects John's own wrestling career to his son, that would be quite special on its own.

A 1990 graduate of Cassadaga Valley, John Penhollow finished the 1989 season with a second-place finish at the state tournament while competing at 177 pounds. Throughout the course of his wrestling career, Robbie's goal was always to follow in the footsteps of his father, while taking things one step farther to the top of the podium.

But that connection is just the final chapter of a longer story, where page one begins 45 years ago on Route 380.

"It all started 45-plus years ago with my cousin, John Beichner at Cassadaga Valley," said John Penhollow. "John went and decided he was going to be a wrestler."

John Beichner was quickly joined by his cousin, Tom Beichner, on the wrestling mat for the Cougars, kicking off a lineage of great wrestlers living along the same road that the Penhollows and many others still call home.

"There have just been so many great wrestlers on Route 380 that all went to the state tournament, and a lot that took second, John Penhollow said.

The first of many strong performances from this pedigree of grapplers came in 1982, when Jim Beichner claimed second in the state as a senior, completing a career that included three NYSPHSAA qualifying seasons. The Cougars finished with a pair of second-place medals that year, as future Cassadaga Valley head coach Terry Norris took home a silver medal as well.

Also hailing from Route 380, Norris went on to spend time as a coach with Falconer as well.

John Penhollow's brother, Steve, a 1985 graduate of Cassadaga Valley, was a two-time state representative before attending Clarion University, along with Jim Beichner, who eventually earned a pair of All-American honors with the Golden Eagles while wrestling all four years, along with Steve Penhollow.

In 1986, Cassadaga Valley graduated another extremely talented grappler hailing from Route 380 -- Marty Nichols. A New York State place finisher as a senior, Nichols went on to become one of just 10 three-time All Americans with the Ithaca University wrestling program, where he is now head coach. Nichols is in his 23rd year with the Bombers, and led Ithaca to its highest finish at the NCAA Championships during his tenure in 2017-18.

As you might expect in the world of wrestling, it did not take long for this pursuit of a state title to move on to the second generation of grapplers with roots on that same stretch of county road.

Steve Penhollow's sons, Brad and Jake, both earned state place finishes in the early 2000s.

"When Robbie won it, he knew the history, all the way back 45 years ago with our family, and this is our first state champ," said John Penhollow. "This has been a journey, and when Robbie won it there was just so much emotion because of the history and the experience. We were all chasing it."

Following this entire journey from start to finish have been Ralph and Virginia Penhollow, John's parents and Robbie's grandparents. Their memories of watching friends and family pursue glory at the state championships stretch back decades, finally culminating in 2019 when the pair watched their grandson walk away with his hand raised.

"Just tears of joy for grandma and grandpa," said John Penhollow. "My mom and dad were at so many state tournaments over the years. We watched my brother and my cousin, Jim. Went in 1986 to watch Marty Nichols, went to watch Brad Penhollow, went to watch Jim Beichner."

Even those who were unable to make the trip to the Times Union Center in Albany for Robbie's high school finale found a way to be there in one way or another.

Jim Beichner, who spent 18 season at the helm of the University at Buffalo wrestling program, is currently the director of athletics at Penske Racing.

"Someone Facetimed Jim Beichner who was at Atlanta Motor Speedway watching Robbie wrestle. My cousin, Jim, was so emotional, that is the signification of wrestling in the family. This whole thing has been about the journey. It's been about the story, it's been the highs, the lows. It does such good things for you as a family, as a community."

When Robbie Penhollow had his hand raised for the final time in his high school career, finishing with a 49-1 season and a 167-30 career record, he was achieving victory for more than just himself and his family.

The win brought closure to a whole host of some of the best wrestlers that the Southern Tier has ever produced, and is sure to inspire some of the greatest yet to come.

Some of those may even call Route 380 home, and may go on to earn the same honor as this year's Post Journal Wrestler of the Year.

Starting at /week.