A Featured Lehman
Interview Project
2003
NCAA
Championship
Finals
-
Jon Trenge of Lehigh
(right)
ties up the legs of Minnesota's Damion Hahn. Hahn won 5-4.
"No
other
sport...
will
push an
individual
(click)
to
their
limit
in
such
a
short
period
of
time
as
Wrestling"
(above Jon Trenge)
●
- 9/14/12 from Jane Burkins Yasenchak WY -
'75...
"Don, I just spent a few minutes walking down memory lane
reading and
looking at the pictures. WY sports were such a big part
of my life during
my years at West York. Being in the Marching Band meant
I got a front
row seat
(literally) since I played
flute at all of the football games. But,
then the weather forced us inside for wrestling and I
signed up to be a
Mat Maid. We had a great time supporting our team
because we knew
how hard everyone worked in training and competing.
Your website is
a great resource for Alumni to be able to relive and visit
with their old
friends. Thank you for the hard work in putting
together such a great
site!"
note: Jane
and her husband Mike live in Italy on the grounds of
a WWII American Cemetery. Jane... stay safe and
a big THANKS!!
Don
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The
Interviews!
by Don Lehman '73
|
...To
All West York Wrestling
Alumni:
Thanks,
to all the Alumni
I saw and had fellowship with at the
1/12/12
dual meet with Kennard Dale!
Gary Narber, Tom Hoover,
Dave Carley,
Mark Einsig, Stanley Martin, Brian Kuntz,
Randy Blasdell,
Steve Toggas,
Dave Toggas,
Todd Reynolds,
Jared Haas,
Dave Stram, Eric Lehman,
Dave Lehr, Terry
Weaver, Gene Shorts, Wilmer Pressel, Brad Pope,
& others... including Coach John T. Toggas & brother Sam Toggas!
Don
*ps - it
was also JK
Images photo night... Kevin D. will be sharing
shots.
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MARK BUELOW checks in...
1/13/12 - I received an e-mail from '94 West York Wrestling Alumnus,
Mark Buelow, who also wrestled at ESU ('99 graduate). Mark lives in
Ewa Beach, Hawaii (past 10 years)... and is the Head Wrestling Coach
@ James Campbell High
School
-
Campbell
Athletics Website. Mark is
also a teacher @ Campbell HS. At West York, Mark had a career
record of
105-16 & was a PIAA State qualifier in '94 @ 130lbs. At ESU, Mark
was a
three-year wrestling letterman & a PSAC podium medalist in '97 @ 142lbs.
Thanks, Mark... and good luck w/your Campbell team!
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www.westyorkwrestlingalumni.com
▪
Dr. Bill Welker
Interview w/Don Lehman - USA Wrestling Mag!
Some Very Nice Quotes About WYWA!
"Don... Your pictures were fantastic - truly!! I felt as though I was there
and I just loved how you got all of the different angles and shots
-
and, it
was just AWESOME! Your website ROCKS!! Thank you for ALL you give to
this... The Greatest Sport!!" 11/17/12
--
Chance's visit to
WY
Open Mat.
∙ Suzanne Marsteller (Chance Marsteller's Mom).
"Don... I love your web site and had been keenly aware of West York
Wrestling's history even before your web site was launched.
Thanks
so much for the time, effort and passion that goes into it!"
Mark B.
∙ Mark Bowersox - former
South Western HS
Head Wrestling Coach.
"Don...Glad you are still doing the West York site!! It is
GREAT!" Tom
∙
Tom Elling of...
PA
Wrestling & PA
Football News &
PFN
Scoreboard.
"Don...Just wanted to let you know you do a great job with the website!
Thanks for all the work you do on it. Keep up the
good work!"
∙
Perry
Tallman DPT, SCS, OCS, ATC
&
West York Wrestling '78 Alum.
"Hi Don...Just took the time to once again visit the site. It
really is a great
website. So much information!! Just wanted to
let you know that because
sometimes we don't tell people how much their work
is appreciated."
∙
Kevin Drawbaugh -
photographer/owner of
JK
Images.
"Just
want to mention again that you do a great job with this website...
∙
Bill "Kat" Katinowsky - Reading HS '73/ESSC
'77
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www.westyorkwrestlingalumni.com
WY Alumni Night 2013
1/3/13 - The West York Wrestling Alumni line-up!
(R-L)
-
Coach John Toggas walks by Gary
Narber, Ted Turnbull, Mike Stambaugh,
Donald Lehman,
Skip Martin,
Randy Blasdell, Thomas Toggas, K.C. McCleary,
David Toggas,
Mitch Spangler,
Wilmer
Pressel,
Robert
Narber, Eric
Lehman,
Chad
Gardner,
Justin
Wilkins...
& Kyle Stauffer. "not in picture" was
Cody Martin & Barry Gay.
photo by Kevin Drawbaugh -
JK Images (order a photo!).
What
Are
They
Doing
Today?!
www.westyorkwrestlingalumni.com
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A Note From Thomas Bauer, MD - WY Class of 1984...
▪
02/15/15
(e-mail to Don Lehman @ westyorkwrestlingalumni.com)
I graduated from West York in ’84. I first met all the coaches in ’78
and wrestled under them until I graduated. I spent countless
hours with Coach Toggas,
Sprenkle and McCleary during my years in junior high and high school.
I remember very
fondly checking my weight and hanging in coach Toggas' office during study
halls. I
wanted to reach out to all of them and thank them for their investment.
While I never
wrestled after graduating West York, I did focus on college and medical
school. I am
now the Medical Director for Thoracic Oncology for Meridian Health in NJ and
Chief of
Thoracic Surgery at Jersey Shore University Medical Center. Having not
wrestled for 32
years, I was training for an Ironman Triathlon and my kids' school decided
to start a
wrestling program. I ended up coaching for three years, wrestling and
training with our
guys. It was amazing to me exactly how much wresting was ingrained in me -
the training,
drills, mental, etc. All of it was there waiting to be used. It was all of
that training that
got me through college, medical school, ten years of surgical training, two
Ironman
competitions and 28 years of marriage to a girl I met in Junior High at West
York.
I wanted to pass that on to Coach Toggas, Sprenkle and McCleary.
I love the website and it is a great trip down memory lane. I also wanted
to point
out though that the impact all of you have had far exceeds the
accomplishments
mentioned on the website. You shaped so many guys and all of us went out
into
the
world to shape many many other young men over the years. It would be
staggering to
comprehend how many lives have been shaped both directly but also indirectly
through your previous wrestlers.
From my stand point the many guys that I coached, the many medical
students
and surgery residents that I trained, my two kids and my wife wanted to
say thank you!
I still have some of my old wrestling pictures in my study - not for any
specific
accomplishments, but for all that I learned during that time in my life.
Your impact is firm in my person and will always be there.
Please pass this on to Coach Toggas, Sprenkle and McCleary for me if
possible.
Thank you...
Tom Bauer
West York ‘84
1983-84 West York
Wrestling Team
▪
WY Head Coach Kevin McCleary
(not pictured)... Record (7-11).
Front Row (L-R) Chris Platts, Billy Linker, Gene Shorts, Andy Sowers,
Todd
Gerace,
Troy Ketterman, John Clauser.
Back
(L-R)
Tony
Hoffman,
Chad
Toomey,
Tom
Bauer,
Rodney
Neiman,
Brett Kohler, Bob Narber, Chuck Shaw, Mitch Spangler.
(not pictured -
Wilmer Pressel...who had a top record of 17-11 in 1983-84)
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www.westyorkwrestlingalumni.com
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2007 West York Graduate - Chris Gailey
photo - Millersville University Football
Millersville University's #53 - 6'3" 320lb. OG Chris Gailey
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I
asked 2007 West York HS
graduate and wrestling alumnus, Chris Gailey... to update me
on his status these days after seeing Chris at a West York Wrestling match in
December.
Chris was a three-year wrestling/football/track letterman... and finished his
mat career
with a 3-year overall record of 55-39, a Brandywine Heights Invitational
Tournament win
and a 4th place at the 2007 YAIAA AAA Sectionals under coach Josh Millard.
Chris also
wrestled in the 2007 YAIAA All-Star match (gaining a 3:43 fall) and was named
the 2007
West York HS Outstanding Wrestler. Chris was also a YAIAA All-County
football player.
Don Lehman
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• Hello, alumni!
My name is Chris Gailey... and I wrestled heavyweight at West York for
three years ('05-'07). West York Wrestling contributed so much to
who I am today. Not
just from an athletic standpoint, but in a life perspective. The three
season's of West York
Wrestling taught me toughness, leadership and the ability to grind out today's
challenges.
I am a fifth-year senior at Millersville University and plan on graduating in
May of 2012 with
a Bachelor's in Communication (an option in Public Relations) along with a minor
in Political
Affairs. I also play football at
Millersville and it is my dream come true! Since I was young,
I always wanted to play college football and I am living my dream. This
game has opened
up so many doors and opportunities for me... it would take days to list them!
I can attribute
so much to the great sport of wrestling for helping me in football.
Things that a wrestler goes
through in a season... the workouts, the dedication, the dieting (well, not for
me!!) and the
pure "beating" your body endures over that period for a chance at greatness SETS
this sport
far apart from the rest. Wrestling is "man on man" and you can't
blame the goalie for not
making a save... you can't blame the pitcher for giving up a home run, or the
wide receiver
for dropping a ball. It's you versus him - and that's all there is to it.
I want to thank the sport
of wrestling and all of the people that come watch the matches and support our
current
West York teams! This West York program is coming back to what it was... I
can feel it when
I see the younger kids competing. I cannot wait to attend more West York
matches in the
coming years
and see the progression of the wrestling program. GO DOGS!!
Chris Gailey '07*
* Chris also added that he
loves the Alumni Website! Thanks Chris...and good luck!
Don
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www.westyorkwrestlingalumni.com
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An E-mail from '99 Alumnus -
Brock Mathison... 1/31/11.
∙ Mr. Lehman, Greetings from the beautiful Great Rift Valley and Kijabe, Kenya!
My family is living here and we are serving at
Rift Valley Academy.
I was just yesterday reading an article about the dual meet between Penn State
and Iowa, and I thought PSU might pull it off, but it didn't happen. But,
that got
me thinking back and I got to searching for West York Wrestling and WOW!
Your
website is fantastic! It was great looking back over the pictures and
facts... and
also to see my neighbor, Josh Kukorlo on the front page with his recent
tournament
1st place finish! I took a BUNCH of time this afternoon "clicking around"
on the site
and loved it! I really should be preparing to teach tomorrow, but I had to
check
almost everything out on the site. Thanks for doing this for us...
the alumni and
everyone else as well. As I was looking at the College Wrestlers Page, I
wanted
to add that I wrestled at Messiah College for one year under a great coach, Neil
Turner from 1999-2000. That was before I transferred to Lancaster Bible
College.
I saw the requirement was at least one full year on the team, and that is what I
had - just one year of college wrestling, but I thought you might want to note
that.
I MISS the sport of wrestling like crazy! I was real excited to take a
"look back" at
the website and
I enjoyed it quite a bit! Thanks again for all of the time
putting it
together for us. Sincerely, Brock Mathison
'99, Kijabe, Kenya.
Brock's e-mail
Note from the webmaster: Brock
Mathison is a 1999 West York
Wrestling Alumnus/Grad
and was a member of the 1998-99 Championship Team. Brock had a career
overall record
of 72-30, was a
1999 PIAA State Qualifier... and
was awarded the 1998
George Sterner
Award. Brock's dad, Jerry is a former West York Wrestling Coach &
1977 Section Champ.
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www.westyorkwrestlingalumni.com
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Another E-mail from '74 Alumnus -
Greg Henry... 1/31/11.
∙ Hi Don, My mother who
still lives in York, PA turned me on to your website.
I just wanted to tell you how great it is to see some of those old names and
faces!
What a
GREAT
website! I was ALWAYS proud of our West York Wrestling team
and
was lucky to a part of that for a few years. I hope you keep doing it.
I'll be checking
in once in a while now that I know it exists. Greg Henry
'74 Greg's
e-mail
Note from the webmaster:
Greg Henry was a superb
lightweight wrestler for West York
when I wrestled. At the
1973 YCIAA Sectionals... (my senior year), Greg placed 2nd
and qualified for the '73 District III Tourney at the Harrisburg Farm Show
Arena.
Greg's senior year... he was undefeated in dual meets (13-0)...
posting 62 team points.
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WEST YORK WRESTLING ALUMNI
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