Knop's Knotes Coker University coach 'can always count on' Ferndale graduate Korenoski
Feb. 29—Coker University wrestling coach Robert Parland wasn't sure exactly what he was getting when Ferndale Area High School graduate Noah Korenoski agreed to wrestle at the Division II school in Hartsville, South Carolina.
Korenoski was a two-time junior-college national qualifier at Garrett College in Maryland and a two-time academic All-American, but Parland didn't know what kind of character and mental toughness Korenoski possessed.
He found out quickly in one of the most difficult ways possible.
Korenoski's father, Justin, died a little more than two weeks after Parland was hired. Korenoski was far from home for the first time in his life.
He was grieving his father and trying to balance the rigors of college along with being an athlete.
It would have been easy to look for excuses or shortcuts, but he didn't do that.
"A lot of guys in a similar situation would have gone home and said, 'I can't do this,' " Parland recalled Wednesday as his team prepared for the Super Region II tournament at Lander University. "For him to look to that situation and build on it in honor of his dad (was inspiring). He fought through everything. Guys in a situation like that, they can tuck tail and run, but he saw something bigger."
Korenoski still sees something bigger in his future. He'll graduate with a criminology degree in May, but he's probably going to stick around Coker for graduate school — possibly to obtain a master's degree in management and leadership — before pursuing his ultimate goal of becoming an FBI agent.
"Having the wrestling background, you work hard to get the results," Korenoski said. "Why lower my standards? Just keep it rolling and go for the best of the best."
Korenoski is also looking for one more season on the wrestling mat, and Parland couldn't be happier about that.
"Having him back is big for us," the Cobras coach said. "He's someone that everybody can look up to. I don't need to worry about what he's doing outside of wrestling. He does all the right things. He gets good grades."
Korenoski is also a solid contributor on the mat, where he has been a two-year starter at 157 pounds.
He's 12-9 this sea son wrestling in what might be the toughest weight class in the region.
Korenoski will not be a high seed at the postseason tournament, but that doesn't worry him. After all, he made a serious run at a PIAA medal his senior season wrestling for Westmont Hilltop despite being the fourth seed in a District 6 Class 2A bracket that included future Division I wrestlers Erik Gibson, Gage McClenahan and Cooper Warshel as well as another one — Tristan Pugh — in the Southwest Regional tournament.
"I pretty much came through District 6 as a dark horse," Korenoski said. "I understand that I'm going to be the dark horse.
"Guys aren't going to respect me, but you can catch someone off guard if you use heart and hard work."
Parland wouldn't be surprised if Korenoski finds a way to qualify for the NCAA Division II tournament in Wichita, Kansas.
"He can beat anybody in that weight class. If anybody's prepared for it, it's always Noah," Parland said. "He's someone I can always count on, not just in wrestling, but in everything."
Whether or not Korenoski reaches the NCAA tournament, he knows his family will be proud, and he expects his father, who helped get him into the sport when he was young, to be smiling down upon him.
"Losing him was tough, but I always knew he was proud of me," he said. "Being a college athlete is tough. Picking up some wins at this level is tough, and I've been able to do that. I know he's proud of me."
Eric Knopsnyder covers college wrestling for The Tribune-Democrat. Follow him on Twitter at @KnopsKnotes.
