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As a varsity member for three years you would think that
there would be lots to say, but unlike now, we didn't have
the opportunity to go to tournaments and become a real team.
The biggest events were the cross town rivalries, especially
with KM, and the winter duals where underclassmen could earn
varsity mat time and a letter. My senior year was fruitful
in that I was the NPSL champion, but took 2nd at regional.
State was a mystery for me at Central Washington Univ. --
Wow sooooo many mats, etc.
During my first match, I busted my left big toe on a cheap
out of bounds move by the opponent, but I won. Then I
wrestled a brute from Juanita - yikes not a win! I finished
off Friday night with a Saturday-night-riding of Kennewick
and positioned my self for a good next round, then worried
for the first time about making weight after going to
Perkins and having a Banana Cream pie that night.
Saturday was interesting, as I wrestled a kid from Pasco and
head-n-armed my way into another brute from Snohomish --
well better not to talk about this one. I wound up wrestling
the same Juanita kid in the 5/6th place match and wrestled
well this time, but fell just short and out of gas. However,
I was really surprised when I was approached by members of
the Pacific Lutheran University's wrestling team and offered
a chance at a scholarship to wrestle --- WOW!
I wrestled for three years at PLU earning my varsity letter
all three years. University wrestling was much more
challenging for me, but it made me happy. I often stopped in
at KW to workout and help with my old team mates.
Unfortunately, I had to give up wrestling due to financial
reasons -- as I had to work to pay for school. So, I missed
PLU hosting the 1988 National Championships my senior year
(could I have wrestled ???? -- a regret that I'll never stop
pondering). I eventually graduated in 1990 with a BA in
History/Political Science and a Secondary teaching
certificate.
After graduating I became a substitute teacher. I then
assisted Lee Reichert and Jack Henderson at Kentwood in
1990-91, and helped to win their second of three-in-a-row
State Championships. At the end of the school year I took a
teaching job at Molokai High and Intermediate School in
Molokai, Hawaii, where I helped coach the wrestlers to their
1st Maui District Championship and had several state placers
in 1991-92, and several more in 1992-93.
In the fall of 1993 I took off for Eastern Europe to learn
about former Soviet Bloc countries and my inner self. I
ended up in Poland where I spent the next 17 years of my
life.
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Currently, I am substitute teaching in Kent, Auburn and
Federal Way. I hope to have a teaching contract for next
fall and to someday teach History at Kentwood.
I am a volunteer assistant coach for Ken Sroka at Kentwood
and hope that this will continue until I am took bent out of
shape and can no longer communicate the intricacies of
wrestling or -- when I die.
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