Scott (Scottie) Hughes
Scott grew up in New Jersey, and began wrestling in his junior year of high school. He then went to Rutgers Prep before matriculating to Delaware Valley College in PA. In 1968 he received a BS degree in Chemistry and Animal Husbandry.
Scott began a career at Kraft Foods as a Chemist, then switched to Sales and Marketing. In 1972, Scott and his wife Tucker fulfilled a dream of purchasing a family farm. It was in Benton, PA, where Scott and his family would make a life on the farm, and begin a life in the sport of wrestling. They named the farm “Never Done Farm.” That not only described the way of life for a farming family, but it carried over to Scott’s wrestling coaching philosophy. Both endeavors are “Never Done!”
Starting in 1981, Scott began to dedicate over 37 years of coaching male and female wrestlers at the junior high and varsity levels. Scott coached 17 Benton wrestlers who became State Champions, as well as 11 wrestlers from neighboring schools who attended his club, the Benton Tiger Wrestling Club. 62 of his Benton wrestlers earned medals at states, 44 were Regional champions, while a total of 105 earned Regional medals. He coached 49 District IV Champs, and 88 total District medalists, and 91 Sectional Champs. He also coached 2 PAN-AM World Champions, and 24 wrestlers who received Division 1 wrestling scholarships. His twin sons, John and Russ, won 6 of those State Championships, and Zain Retherford won one at Line Mountain before coming to Benton and capturing his 2nd State gold there. John, Russ and Zain would all wrestle at Penn State, and collectively amass 331 wins, 4 NCAA Championships, and were All-Americans 8 times!
Scott was the Benton Jr/Sr High School Head Coach for 9 years. His teams had 8 winning seasons. They placed 4th and 8th place at PIAA Class AA Championships. He continues today as the Jr High Coach.
Scott was a volunteer Director of a PA Amateur Wrestling Federation state qualifier for 21 years, overseeing wrestlers qualifying for Freestyle and Greco-Roman state championships. Scott initiated the Benton Area School District's year-round Weight Lifting-Strength Program, open to male and female athletes, over the last 35 years. Scott has personally provided over 11,000 hours of guidance in the weight room. But he would say that work is “Never Done” - he still volunteers for Benton Wrestling Club and the weight program…while also working the family farm with this wife, Tucker.
This past season, Benton Wrestling held a celebration during a home meet to honor Scott’s and Tucker’s service to the Benton program, and focused on Scott’s being inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Awards:
Year
2022
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Award
Lifetime Service to Wrestling
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Chapter/Region
Pennsylvania
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