Fred Kavelak
Fred Kavelak has distinguished himself as a devoted professional writer and sports editor for the Clearfield Progress and later a sports reporter for Gant News. Throughout his writing career, Fred was an ardent friend of wrestling in central Pennsylvania,
Fred was meticulous in media tasks, going far beyond the ordinary in his wrestling coverage. He had exceptional insight into wrestling issues, consistently providing enough coverage to satisfy the appetites the avid wrestling community. His coverage included pre-match lineups and key matches, detailed post-match reports and insightful weekly opinion columns. Fred would include was a margined section of weekly box scores from local teams, and even rivals located outside the area of Progress coverage. His post season tournament coverage was extensive, featuring brackets, predictions, reporting and interviews.
Fred never misreported events or misquoted coaches in an age when technology was limited. He took pride in his work and more importantly, he was conscientious about treating people with sensitivity and fairness.
Another unique endeavor that Fred initiated was the Progress Summer Wrestling Tournament. Held at Clearfield High School, it attracted outstanding wrestlers from the entire state. Fred did most of the work of promoting and administrating the very successful tournament that had both a high school and open division. Like everything Fred does, the tournament was a class event.
Fred spearheaded the Clearfield County Region Chapter of the PA Sports Hall of Fame. He used it to recognize the exceptional wrestling achievements in Clearfield County. Being an ultimate perfectionist and receiving little assistance, Fred completely exhausted himself organizing and administering the annual Clearfield County Hall of Fame event. When Fred stepped down from his administrative role, the Clearfield County Sports Hall of Fame was permanently discontinued.
Fred has been a well-respected pillar of the Clearfield County wrestling community for decades. He’s been inducted into the District 9 Wrestling Coaches, the Clearfield County, and PA Wrestling Coaches Halls of Fame. He is retired and resides in Clearfield, married to Susan. They had one child, Lindsay. Fred also has a son from a previous marriage, Jeff. His mother died at the age of 28.
Awards:
Year
2023
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Award
Lifetime Service to Wrestling
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Chapter/Region
Pennsylvania
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