PORTAGE, Pa. – One year before Travis Kargo accepted the position of boys basketball coach at his alma mater, Portage Area High School had one win during a 24-game season.
Kargo got busy, quickly. He instilled the same work ethic that helped him score 1,247 points at Portage from 1988 to 1991.
The coach developed a program that set goals and standards starting in the youth levels and through the varsity.
Twenty-five years, 344 victories and four District 6 titles later, Kargo stepped away from his role as coach of the Mustangs.
“Hard to believe,” said Kargo, 52. “I’ve been thinking about it for a while, but it was a little harder to turn that (resignation) in than I thought it would be – the memories. When you do something for so long, you become accustomed to it.”
Under Kargo, Portage became accustomed to winning.
The Mustangs went 21-6 this season, captured Portage’s first Heritage Conference crown and won a District 6 championship for the fourth time in the past five seasons.
Northgate connected on a buzzer-beater to eliminate the Mustangs, 71-69, in the first round of the PIAA Class 2A playoffs – four years after Kargo’s team had landed in the state final four.
“The year before I came, they had one win – 1-23,” Kargo said. “When you start at that point, there is a lot of work to do, and a lot of people helped contribute to that future success. I was fortunate to be a piece of the puzzle.
“I haven’t played a game since 1991, so it wasn’t me. It was all the players.”
Portage won a WestPAC title under Kargo in 2022. The school’s athletic program moved to the Heritage Conference in 2022-23, and the Mustangs won the league title this season.
Portage earned District 6 titles in 2021, 2022 and this season in Class 2A, and took gold in 2023 in Class 1A. The 2021 team upset District 10 power Kennedy Catholic to reach the state semifinal round.
“All the championships from the WestPAC, Heritage and District 6 are special,” Kargo said. “When I started coaching and was going to watch district championship games, you’d only hope to be there one day. I was very fortunate that we went to six district championship games and won four of them.”
Coaching three sons and a nephew, with the support of his wife, Tonilyn, Kargo stressed a family atmosphere.
His nephew Kaden Claar netted more than 1,500 points at Portage. His son Mason had 1,110 points. Claar and Mason Kargo played in the backcourt for Penn State Altoona this past season.
“He’s a most meaningful coach to me,” Claar said of his uncle. “He taught me the game from a very young age. He had the same support for all of his players. He helped them when they were young all the way through high school.”
Son Koby Kargo had a successful career on the district-winning teams and helped his father on the bench this year. Senior Trae Kargo became the latest family member to join the 1,000-point club in January and finished with 1,213 points.
“It’s nice having a coach where every player knows how much he cared for you, not only as a player but as a person,” Trae Kargo said.
“If anyone ever needed anything, we knew we could count on him.”
Mason Kargo said his father treated all of his players as if they were part of the family – years after their basketball careers concluded.
“He’ll be remembered most for the relationships he built with his players,” Mason Kargo said. “He continues to talk to his players long after they graduate. He cares about everybody on a personal level, not just a coaching level.”
As a junior in 1990, Travis Kargo helped the Mustangs reach the state playoffs. After a brief stay at Lebanon Valley College, he transferred to Penn State University and earned a degree.
Two more years of college at Indiana (Pa.) and a couple years teaching/coaching ...
