Robert Lewis (R.L.) and Arlene Lail have dedicated their lives to scholastic, freestyle, and Greco-Roman wrestling for over 40 years. R.L. started wrestling in 1967 as a member of the first wrestling team at Hickory High School where he was team captain and a state qualifier. R.L. was recruited to play football at Mars Hill College, where he met Arlene. Arlene and R.L. married in 1971.  In 1973, R.L. started a wrestling program at Pisgah Elementary before returning to Hickory in 1974.  At Hickory, R.L. coached both the Junior High and High School teams until moving to South Carolina in 1975. At this time, R.L. started a wrestling team at Bennettsville where both Arlene and R.L. would become active in USA Wrestling. R.L. would serve as the South Carolina State Chairman and take the first South Carolina National team to the nationals in Iowa City. From Bennettsville, the Lail family moved to Charleston where R.L. coached football and was the head wrestling coach at John’s Island High School from 1978 to 1982. While at St. John’s, R.L. coached five state champions and 11 state place-winners. In 1984, they moved to Asheville where they continued working with USA Wrestling.  In 1985, R.L. started a program at Hayesville High School.  In order to be closer to family, the Lails returned to Hickory in 1986 where R.L. helped created the Catawba Rasslin Club.  Both R.L. and Arlene joined the USWOA in 1989. Together they have worked a total of five international and Olympic events, 142 national level events, 88 regional events, and hundreds of state events. R.L. and Arlene have both reached the highest ranking of pairers in the country, earning the rank of P1 Extraordinaire.  In 2016, they are the only two people in North Carolina who held this ranking.  Additionally, R.L. is a Bronze certified coach through USA Wrestling. From 1992-1993, R.L. would serve as state chairman for NC USA Wrestling while Arlene was the state’s pairings director.  In 1993, R.L. led a youth team from North Carolina to compete and train with clubs in St. Petersburg, Russia.  In 2013, the Lails retired after 38 years in public education as teachers, coaches, and administrators.  The Lails have passed on their passion for wrestling to their daughters Shannon and Robyn (both pairers) and their son Robbie, a wrestling coach.