This column originally appeared in the Dec. 12, 2011 edition of The Mercury.

Tom Hontz has a good memory — or at least you'd think it.

This past weekend, he was asked if there's any one win or any one match that stood out above all others in his 22 years as Upper Perkiomen's head coach.

"Obviously, the match with Nazareth in the semifinals (of the 2006 PIAA-Class AAA Team Duals) out in Hershey," Hontz said, recalling Chris Sheetz's last-second miracle move that helped the Indians stun their District 11 rival, 27-26. "And earlier that same season (Dec. 23, 2005), when Easton came down to our place. We had like seven pins (in the 49-26 rout), and Easton coach Steve Powell said he couldn't ever remember any of his teams being pinned that many times in a match."

Funny, Hontz forgot to mention Saturday afternoon's 44-25 whipping of Wyoming Valley West during the second round of the Quakertown Duals.

It was the 300th of his career.

So much for the short-term memory.

"Oh, it's kind of a neat milestone," he said.

It isn't every day, or year for that matter, when a wrestling coach sits in on 300 matches let alone has the opportunity to win 300. But Hontz did on Saturday, joining Boyertown's Bruce Hallman and Pottstown's Jim Tsakonas as the only area coaches to reach the "neat milestone." Hontz actually added two more wins Saturday to move into a tie with Tsakonas (302), and if the Indians are able to get by North Penn and Perkiomen Valley this Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, he'll not only move ahead of Tsakonas but Hallman (303) as well to become the area's winningest coach.

And he'll have done it quicker than both Hallman (24 seasons) and Tsakonas (26).

"I would think that means we've done some good things consistently through the years," Hontz said.

That Upper Perkiomen, or Hontz, to be more specific, has done.

But no one in their right wrestling mind would've thought all the wins, all the Pioneer Athletic Conference championships and all postseason titles the Indians have accumulated were possible when Hontz took over the program in 1990.

"We struggled at first," Hontz said, his memories of those early years as vivid as any other. "One of our first goals was to put out a full lineup. In the beginning here we were forfeiting four or five weight classes. Sometimes we were beat before we even started (a match).

"It took a while. But we had some good people running our midget programs, guys like Brian Berlanda and Ken Gaugler. Everyone, at all levels of our program, started getting together and working together."

Don't think Hontz didn't welcome the help, or the support. He was, after all, just out of Duke University, only 22 years old and getting his feet wet in his first job as a teacher and coach.

"I had absolutely no idea what I was getting into," he explained. "The only coaching experience I had was being around other coaches (during his wrestling career at Quakertown High School and Duke). I was kind of copying what they did.

"I was very inexperienced, and pretty foolish in regards to having any kind of experience working with kids. I didn't understand that at first. So it's pretty amazing how all that evolved."

Hontz initially drew on what he learned from his former coaches: Dave Evans at Quakertown and Bill Harvey at Duke. As years passed, he didn't hesitate to pick up a few pointers from two of Pennsylvania wrestling's best: Nazareth's Ray Nunamaker and Powell.

"They say the best teachers are those who steal from other teachers," Hontz said, breaking into a laugh. I've been around some of the best. But what we do isn't all that much different from anyone else. We stress fundamentals, emphasize hard work. We want everyone on the same page."

For longer than some care to remember, the Indians have been just that: on the same page season after season after season.

After a rather uneventful start, Hontz guided the Indians to a record nine straight Pioneer Athletic Conference championships (1998-2006), a string that would've extended to 10 in a row if not for a wrestler's residency violation that eventually erased six of eight league wins and 16 others that season. He already owns a league-high 133 wins going into Thursday's PAC-10 opener against Perkiomen Valley.

And beyond all the section, district and regional team titles, Hontz has guided Upper Perkiomen into the state spotlight. He owns five district duals titles, the 2006 team following up that memorable win over Nazareth with a 46-19 rout of Easton for the state championship.

Five of District 1's seven winningest wrestlers, including state-record holder Zack Kemmerer (199 career wins), have been part of Hontz's program.

"I've been fortunate," he said. "For a number of years there we went on a magical ride with some amazing kids. And we feel it's still that way. We have a lot of great kids."

Enough to keep Hontz's mind occupied and busy creating some new memories.

"We had some rough times there and we didn't always know how things would work out," he said. "But it's been fun. I'm pretty sure I'll be back next year, but after that we'll sit down and evaluate things like we always do."

Hontz teaches a social studies gifted humanities class for 9th and 10th graders and 11th grade history at Upper Perkiomen. He has also been involved with the football program for 16 years, six at the high school and the last 10 at the junior high.

Hontz is the 17th coach in District 1 to pass the 300-win plateau. Up next after Hallman and West Chester East's Mike Colley is C.B. East's John Tomlinson and Hatboro-Horsham's Ralph Wetzel, who are tied for 12th on the list with 307 wins apiece.

The only District 1 coach to reach 300 wins quicker than Hontz was Pennsbury's Joe Kiefer, who retired following last season after 25 years and 411 career wins.