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By Norm Palovcsik
PWCA Hall of Fame

On Saturday, May 3, 2008, the Pennsylvania Wrestling Coaches Association will pay tribute to ten individuals by inducting them into the Pennsylvania Wrestling Hall of Fame, Class of 2008. The 39th annual induction class will be enshrined at a banquet and ceremonies to be held at the Ramada Inn in State College beginning with a hospitality hour at 5:00 PM followed by the buffet meal and induction ceremonies at 6:00 and 7:30 PM respectively. The cost per person is $28.95 with checks made payable to the P.W.C.A.

Please help us by providing some media exposure in your publication. Individuals can direct any questions to: Norm Palovcsik, Chairman, PWCA Hall of Fame committee at the address and phone number listed above.

The list of this year’s Hall of Fame inductees is listed below.

The 2008 Pennsylvania Wrestling Coaches Association Hall of Fame Inductees:

Maynard L. Aungst (wrestler) – Maynard is a 1958 graduate of Lock Haven High School. He attended Bloomsburg State College. At Lock Haven, he compiled a record of 58-5. He was a three-time District VI champion, a three-time Central Northwest Regional champion and two-time PIAA champion at 95 lbs. in 1956 and 103 lbs. in 1957. At Bloomsburg he completed one year with a 16-2 record. His only losses were memorable contests with the legendary Gray Simons of Lock Haven. Maynard subsequently competed for the Lock Haven YMCA, where he won five State and two National titles. Maynard eventually relocated to Savona, New York, where he was an assistant coach at Campbell-Savona High School for six years and Hammondsport High School for two years. His teams had a 52-28 record. He resides in Savona and is retired from Phillips Lighting Company.

David M. Becker (wrestler) – Dave is a 1974 graduate of Selinsgrove High School and a 1978 graduate of Penn State University, with a B.S. in kinesiology. He additionally took graduate credits in secondary education. At Selinsgrove High School, he compiled a 68-6 record of which he was 49-1 during his junior and senior years. In 1974, he was a District IV champion, a Northeast Regional champion and a PIAA class B champion at 155 lbs. At Penn State, Dave had a dual meet record of 42-4-3. In 1975 he was an NCAA Eastern Regional champion and was champion at the Eastern Wrestling League in 1976, 1977 and 1978 at 158 Lbs. He was a four-time NCAA Division 1 qualifier, placing 5th in 1978, losing to three-time NCAA champion, Lee Kemp in the semi-finals. In 1978, he was voted Penn State team captain. In 1980, Dave assisted Rich Lorenzo at Penn State and served as a volunteer assistant from 1981-1993. He resides in State College and is a certified financial planner (CFP) for Wienken and Association in Boalsburg, PA.

Jim Clark (coach/contributor) – Jim Clark is a 1972 graduate of Bedford High School and a 1976 graduate of Penn State University with a B.S. degree in health and physical education. Jim was a three-year letter winner at Bedford High School from 1969-72 and finished his senior campaign at BHS undefeated. He attended the Altoona Campus of Penn State University for two years and finished second in the 1974 Penn State Commonwealth Campus Championships and finished second the Pennsylvania State Freestyle Championships. In 1976, he was hired as Assistant Coach at Everett High School under head coach Norm Palovcsik before taking over the head coaching duties at Chestnut Ridge in 1977. He spent the next 31 years as head coach of the Lions amassing a 342-158-3 won-loss record. His teams won 18 tournament championships and six conference championships. In 2005-2006, his Ridge team finished undefeated among his 25 winning seasons as a head coach. During his tenure at Chestnut Ridge, he coached 56 District 5 champions, 40 Southwest Regional placewinners, six regional champions, 30 PIAA Class state qualifiers, nine state placewinners including the school’s first PIAA state champion – Gary Pfahler- in 2008. His has served on the Pennsylvania Wrestling Coaches Association’s Executive Committee for the past 24 years as Past President and Secretary. He has also been a PIAA-registered wrestling official for the past 24 seasons.

Mark P. Dugan (wrestler/contributor) – Mark is a 1978 graduate of Moshannon Valley High School, Morann, PA and a 1984 graduate of University of Maryland, College Park, MD, with a B.S. in health and physical education. At Mo-Valley, Mark accumulated a record of 97-9-1. He was a two-time District VI champion, a two-time Northwest Regional champion and a two-time PIAA Class AA champion in 1977 and 1978 at 112 lbs and 119 lbs, respectfully. He was the Outstanding Wrestler for Pennsylvania in the Dapper Dan Wrestling Classic and was named to the “Dream Team” at 119 lbs. During his high school career, Mark was active in post-season competition. He was a 1973 Junior Wrestling State Champion. In 1976, he won the National AAU Elite Division championships and traveled to Turkey as part of the US Nation High School Team. Mark was both a Middle Atlantic AAU Freestyle and Greco-Roman Champion in 1978. At the University of Maryland, Mark compiled a career record of 75-24. In 1983, he was coach at Moshannon Valley. From 1994 until the present, he has been the co-editor of “Off The Mat Weekly Rankings and Results”. For the past 17 years, he has been an independent financial consultant. He resides in Morann with his wife Vicki and children Sarah, Bridget and Patrick Haney.

Alan Scott Housner (wrestler) – Alan is a 1972 graduate of Mount Lebanon High School, Pittsburgh, PA and a 1977 graduate of Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN with a B.S. in health and physical education. In 1991, he earned an M.Ed. from National Lewis College in learning disabilities. At Mount Lebanon, Alan compiled a phenomenal record of 50-1. He was a two-time WPIAL champion. In 1971, he was a PIAA runner-up at 120 lbs. and in 1972 was the PIAA champion at 127 lbs. At Purdue, Alan had a 59-17 record. In 1975, he was a Big Ten runner-up and placed 6th in the NCAA championships. In 1976, he was a Big Ten champion and was recognized with the Purdue “Walk” Award. From 1985-1991, Alan was the head wrestling coach at Hinsdale Central High School in Hinsdale, IL, where his teams logged a 40-28 mark. He remains a teacher at Hinsdale Central and resides in Woodridge, IL.

Rick LaFerriere (coach/contributor) – Rick is a 1968 graduate of Shaler High School, Glenshaw, PA and a 1972 graduate of Edinboro State College in secondary education with a Masters in social studies at Slippery Rock University. At Shaler High, Rick was a three year letterman. He was team captain in 1968 and was WPIAL Section VIII wrestling champion at 138 lbs. At Edinboro, Rick competed on the freshman team and subsequently on varsity for three years and was a co-captain in 1972. He was runner-up in the PAWF championships in 1971 and 1972 was third in the Regional Freestyle Olympic trials. In 1972, Rick returned to his alma mater, Shaler, where he served as assistant wrestling coach until 1987 when he was elevated to the helm of head coach where he remained until 2006. There in 19 years, his teams logged a 247-100-1 record. His charges have clinched four sectional dual meet championships and were runners-up on six occasions. He has coached 52 sectional champions, 11 WPIAL champions, 19 PIAA place winners and 3 PIAA champions. One of his protégés, Troy Letters, was an NCAA champion for Lehigh University. Rick’s 2001 team was the WPIAL team champions. Rick has been a member of the US Wrestling Officials’ Association since 1978 and a FILA international official since 1990. He holds a FILA level II ranking and has officiated the 2002 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo, along with 32 other international events, 38 national events including 14 Senior National championships. In 2007, Rick received the USWOA Lifetime Achievement Award. Rick is a retired teacher from Shaler School District and resides in Glenshaw, PA with his wife Nancy. He is the father of three children, Jeneane, Kristin and Michelle.

Ned McGinley (coach) – Ned is a 1961 graduate of Kingston High School (now Wyoming Valley West) and a 1965 graduate of Wilkes College with a B.S. in secondary education social studies. At Kingston High, he was a three-year letterman with a record of 44-4-1. He was undefeated in dual meets during his junior and senior years. He was a two-time District II champion and a one-time runner-up. In 1960, he was a runner-up in the Northeast Region. At Wilkes, Ned had a career record of 48-10-1 and was undefeated in dual meets in 1965. He was a runner-up in the Middle Atlantic Conference and the Wilkes Open. In 1963, he placed third in the NAIA Championships at 115 lbs. In 1968, Ned initiated the wrestling program at King’s College in Wilkes-Barre. In 39 years at the helm, his teams have compiled a record of 379-308-1. His 1996-97 squad was 19-3, while the 2000-01 team finished with a 19-2-1 mark. In 2002-03, King’s finished 11th in the Division III National Tournament and produced a pair of individual runners-up. Ned has coached 38 College Division/Division III National tournament qualifiers, 15 NCAA Division II All-Americans, 19 Middle Atlantic Conference individual champions and 29 NCAA Division III Scholar All-Americans. In 2002, King’s served as the host for the NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships. Ned resides in Wilkes-Barre with his wife Mary Ellen. They are the parents of three children, Seana, Edward Jr. and Bridget, along with five grandchildren. He remains as wrestling coach/admissions athletic coordinator at King’s College.

John C. Sefter (wrestler) – John is a 1974 graduate of State College High School and a 1978 graduate of Princeton University with a B.A. in economics. In 1986 he received his D.O. degree from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. At State College, John had an overall record of 54-6. He was a District VI runner-up in 1972 and 1973. In 1974, he won the District VI championships, the Northwest Regional championships and the PIAA Class A championships at the unlimited weight class. At Princeton, John compiled a career recorded of 84-9. He was an EIWA runner-up in 1976 and champion in 1977 and 1978. In 1978, he was an NCAA runner-up at the unlimited division. John holds the Princeton record for most falls in a career with 32. He received the Gifford Trophy in 1976, 1977 and 1978, which is awarded annually to the Princeton wrestler who scored the most points in competition during the season. In addition, he received the Treide Trophy in 1977 and 1978, which is awarded annually to the member of the Princeton varsity team, who by his spirit and sportsmanship has contributed most to the sport. From 1980-1982, John was a graduate assistant coach at Penn State. He currently resides in Towson, MD, where he is a spine surgeon in the firm of Orthopedic Associates in Towson. He joins his brother, Steve, as a member of the PA Coaches Hall of Fame.

Larry Suhey (wrestler) – Larry Suhey is a 1972 graduate of State College High School and a 1976 graduate of the Penn State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. Suhey competed for Hall of Fame coach Ron Pifer while competing as a three-year starter for State High. Suhey was a three-time District 6 and Central Northwest Regional champion and a two-time PIAA state champion at 180 lbs. in 1971 and 1972. His career record for the Little Lions was an impressive 64-3 with just one loss in dual meets. In the fall of 1972, he enrolled at Penn State where he was a two-sport letterman in wrestling and football for Hall of Fame coaches Joe Paterno and Bill Koll. Suhey is a Regional Sales Representative for the Balfour Company and resides in State College with his wife, Chris.

Don Thomas (wrestler) – Don Thomas is a 1946 graduate of Boswell High School, attended Waynesburg College from 1946-1948 before transferring to the United States Naval Academy where he graduated in 1953. Don Thomas competed at Boswell High School for Hall of Fame coach Owen “Red” Horner where he won three District 5 titles and helped Boswell to the 1946 District 5 team championships. He competed in three PIAA State Championships, winning state titles in 1945 and 1946 at 154 pounds. His combined won-loss record in high school was 23-3-2. He matriculated to Waynesburg College in 1946, where, in 1948, he earned All-America honors by placing 4th at 160.5 pounds. He transferred to the Naval Academy in 1949-50, he competed on the Naval Plebe team. In 1950-51, Thomas finished second in the Eastern Intercollegiate Tournament and earned his second NCAA medal (at two different colleges), placing third at 167.

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