BELLAIRE — He was a state champion in high school. Now more than a quarter of a century later, Tom Donahue is a national champion.

Donahue was a four-sport standout at St. John Central, capped by a gold medal his senior year in the 1991 state track meet. He is now head wrestling coach at Bethel-Tate High School in southwestern Ohio.

Donahue is doing tremendous things with the Tigers’ mat program. This past season his grapplers achieved many a milestone, such as winning a sectional title with nine district qualifiers. Bethel-Tate also had three wrestlers qualify for the state tournament.

“We lost a ton of great seniors from a year ago. To follow up with an even better season was surprising. Our juniors really stepped up,” Donahue said. “It was probably the best team I ever had. It was a lot of fun. The kids had great attitudes and we had no troubles.”

Donahue, who took over the Bethel-Tate (about the size of Bellaire High) wrestling helm in 2007, was accorded three separate coach-of-the-year awards this past winter for his team’s impressive success.

Donahue, now age 45, however, didn’t rest on his team’s outstanding laurels. Despite not wrestling competitively for two-plus decades, he opted to enter the U.S. Open Nationals held in Las Vegas in late April.

The question is why?

“A lot of older guys and coaches in our area talked about doing it for several years. My assistant coach and I wanted to do it together but issues of some type always got in the way,” Donahue said. “It wasn’t always convenient but this year everything began to click. I didn’t have a lot of time to prepare as the tournament was about six weeks after our state high school tournament.

“But my knees felt fine and I always wrestle with my team at practice which really helped me. I did have to drop 20 pounds after the state tournament,” he added. “But the entire process we use for our high school wrestlers such as nutrition and training really helped. I was a little nervous but I felt confident going in.”

Cutting 20 pounds enabled Donahue to compete in the 70 kilos class (154.2 pounds). At St. John’s he was a 125-pounder as a senior.

“The tournament had wrestlers from all over the world….Russia, Poland, and Italy. My semifinals match was tough. He was from the Ukraine and spoke no English,” Donahue said. “He was the Greco national champ and he had me 6-0. I snapped him down to a front headlock and turned him twice before I pinned him.”

As fate would have it, Donahue beat his former high school wrestling assistant – Kipp Kahlenbeck – in the finals.

“It was pretty cool wrestling him up on the championship stage for first. It was a pretty awesome experience,” the University of Cincinnati grad said. “What was also neat was my family and a lot of coaches in our area got to watch the matches on TV.

“I was a bit nervous and had some butterflies but it was an incredible event,” he continued. “I was definitely sore for a few days afterward. I took a few days off before resuming training.”

That training is now a must as Donahue faces an even bigger challenge. His title in Vegas earned him a spot in the world championships in September in Macedonia (formerly Yugoslavia).

“It is a great honor. I am excited about the opportunity,” Donahue said. “I will have much more time to prepare for this tournament. The last time I had just six weeks,” the Bellaire native noted. “I have been running some 5Ks with my family and working out with my high school wrestlers. It’s a big challenge. One that I am embracing.”

Donahue and his wife, Trinket, have three daughters: Trinity, 16, Alexa, 13, and Janelle, 10. The girls are involved in karate and wrestling.

BUBBA’S BITS

INDIAN CREEK has named Steve Eft as its new head girls’ basketball coach. Eft replaces Jacki Rossi in that capacity.

WHEELING CENTRAL is searching for a new fulltime head softball coach. The Maroon Knight administration doesn’t have to look very far to name an ideal coach. Ed Cihy, longtime Maroon assistant and caretaker of the program, would be a great choice.

FORMER WHEELING Park star wideout Elijah Bell reported back to North Carolina A&T for summer grid workouts last week. The Randy Moss Award winner (state’s top receiver) in 2015 will be entering his junior campaign after two very successful seasons. Bell was named Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year as a frosh after landing 35 passes, eight of those being TDs. Last fall, the 6-2, 221-pounder caught 64 passes for 953 yards and a nation’s best 11 TDs.

BRIDGEPORT SCHOOL officials made a prudent choice by naming Fred Ray as the Bulldogs’ new head football coach. The former Martins Ferry and Ohio University quarterbacking star is a great fit. The Bulldog Nation nailed it.

FORMER STEUBENVILLE High grid standout Najee Murray is a cornerback for the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League. Murray started his collegiate career at Ohio State before transferring to Kent State.

PAUL “BUD” Billiard is an Ohio Valley coaching legend. He led Brooke to three state grid championships. I have always said the best way to pay tribute to someone is to name something in their honor. That has come to fruition for Billiard as the field at Brooke Memorial Stadium will now be known as Bud Billiard Field. It is a well-deserved honor.

PHIL STEELE’S College Football Preview is the Rolls-Royce of college grid magazines. A portion is donated to top NFL draft prospects by position. Former Union Local star and current WVU stalwart Colton McKivitz is rated the 18th top draftable prospect at offensive tackle. The 6-7, 310-pounder has another year of eligibility if he so chooses.

FORMER WHEELING Central hoop star David Park has opted to transfer from NCAA Tournament darling UMBC and head to Embry-Riddle. The D-II institution in Daytona, Fl., plays in the same conference as Nova Southeastern, coached by former West Liberty boss Jim Crutchfield. Park helped lead Wheeling Central to the West Virginia Class A state hoop title in 2014 to go with a pair of OVAC crowns. The two-time all-stater completed his Maroon Knight career with 1,187 points and 621 rebounds. UMBC became the first No. 16 seed to win a game in March Madness by knocking off No. 1 seed Virginia this past season.

THE WIMBLEDON tennis championships unfold Monday. My title picks are Rafael Nadal and Garbine Muguruza.