The man behind the first Saint Ignatius state championship has passed away.
Mark Avcollie passed away two weeks ago from natural causes associated with his deteriorating health. Avcollie was 64 years old.
A prominent figure at Saint Ignatius in the 1980's and early 1990's, Avcollie served in a number of roles. Most notably, Avcollie helmed the Wildcats' wrestling program from the 1979-80 season through the 1990-91 season. Avcollie also coached the running backs for the Wildcats under Coach Chuck Kyle '69. Avcollie taught physical education and health at Saint Ignatius through 1992.
Following his time at Saint Ignatius, Avcollie served as Firestone's head wrestling coach from 2000-2015. Avcollie served as a mentor for countless young men, including two-time state wrestling champion Jonathan Vaughn '93, now a Lieutenant colonel in the United States Marine Corps.
A Connecticut native, Avcollie starred on the football field and wrestling mat for Holy Cross High School. Avcollie taught at Rhodes High School before coming to Saint Ignatius.
Wildcats fans will never forget Avcollie's 1988 state championship wrestling team. Joe Collins (152 pounds) and Marty Collins (160), and Mike Buddie (171) helped to capture the school's first-ever state title on March 12, 1988. The evening will live on in Saint Ignatius lore, including the story of Buddie winning his match, 10-3, despite breaking his arm 10 seconds into the title bout. Now the athletic director at Furman, Buddie is in the Saint Ignatius Athletic Hall of Fame.
Avcollie coached another Hall of Famer in Rick Hartman, the first Wildcat state champion individual. Hartman claimed state championships in 1983 and 1985, the first of 5 Mat Cats to win two titles.
Avcollie also served as a member of the Saint Ignatius football coaching staff. Avcollie coached the running backs, playing a significant role for the Wildcats' coaching staff in the program's first state titles.
"The kids always had fun with him, as far as coaching. In football, he was on the varsity staff for the first couple of championships. He worked mostly with the running game. He did a very nice job," Kyle said. "He was upstairs in the press box most of the time, diagnosing what was happening and what the other team was doing. He helped Nick Restifo and myself. Those were the early years when we hadn't even been in the playoffs before, so as a coaching staff, we were trying to figure it out."
Off the field, Avcollie was also a fascinating character.
As Coach Kyle tells it, Avcollie was a man of many talents.
"He was very intelligent and well-read. He was a brilliant pianist. He shocked me once. We were over in the student center, and of course, the plays were there back in the day, so there was a piano. We were doing something, and all of the sudden, we hear this brilliant piano playing. And there's Mark Avcollie up there banging the keys. And he said, 'Oh yeah, I play the piano.'
"He was a good friend and a good man. He was very popular with the kids, which is very important," Kyle concluded.
Countless former student-athletes connected with Avcollie and learned lifelong lessons from him. They are now teachers, lawyers, businessmen, entrepreneurs, servicemen. One of his mentees happens to be the principal of Saint Ignatius, Dan Bradesca '88.
"Mark Avcollie was the very first person from Saint Ignatius I encountered as a freshman back in the summer of 1984, as he was my freshman football coach. As a coach, teacher and friend, Mark was responsible for many of us, myself included, making it through Saint Ignatius in one piece," Bradesca said. "Many of us were 'a handful.' In wrestling in particular, Mark was gifted at finding ways for us to see the value of hard work and sacrifice in practice as transferable to our academic and adult lives. He was one of a kind and will truly be missed."
Services for Avcollie will be held on March 16, 2019 at Adams Mason Funeral Home, 791 E. Market Street, Akron, OH 44305. The services are tentatively scheduled from 1-5 pm.