The Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame is proud to announce the 27th Class for induction into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame for spring of 2020. The date of the banquet is Sunday September 20, 2020, at the Hershey Lodge. Details for the banquet (cost of tickets, etc.) will be posted in the very near future on the PA Chapter website: //nwhof.org/pennsylvania/ on the PA Wrestling website: //www.pawrsl.com/pa/tebullnew.htm as well as on the Pa Chapter of National Wrestling Hall of Fame Facebook page.

Ann Peery Ritter (Board President) stated that the board is particularly proud of this year’s class. The PA Board feels that again this is a very special class for the 27th anniversary of the PA Chapter, the oldest and first State Chapter established by the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. “Each year we are amazed at the caliber of the nominees. Each year the selection process is difficult, since only a few people can be honored each year, while so many have dedicated a lifetime to service our great sport. This just shows the depth of quality of amateur wrestling in the state of Pennsylvania and the dedication of those who compete, coach, officiate or report.” Congratulations to the following members of the Class of 2020:

Lifetime Service to Wrestling Awards:

Marc Billett – Marc is a 1972 graduate of Lock Haven University and stated his coaching career at the Lock Haven YMCA youth wrestling program. He then moved on to the Greater Latrobe Junior High team and held that positionfor 19 years, compiling an overall record of 177-21-1. During those years he was named the WPIAL Coach of the Year twice, and his team posted 5 consecutive undefeated seasons, and won 12 section team championships!  In 1991 he became the Greater Latrobe High School varsity coach, and remained in that position until 2012.  His varsity coaching record was 218-104-1.  He coached 17 Westmoreland County individual champions, 40 Section champions, 71 WPIAL regional qualifiers with 25 finalists, including 8 Southwest WPIAL regional champs.  He had 29 PIAA qualifiers, 14 medalists, 6 state finalists and 1 state champion. His combined coaching record as a Head Coach in Jr Hi and Varsity was 395-125-5.

His Varsity teams won 4 Section team championships, and was the WPIAL team championship runner-up in 2011.  They were the Westmoreland County team champions 2011 and 2012.  Marc helped to coach the Pennsylvania All Star Team to their first national team title in 1999.  He was twice the Westmoreland County All Star Coach.  Marc was named the WPIAL Section Coach of the Year 3 times, and he was a Pennsylvania Wrestling Coaches Hall of Fame Inductee in 2012.

As a coach, Marc Billett was focused and dedicated on making every athlete in the wrestling room not only the best wrestler they could be but making them the best person too. Upon retiring from coaching he became the photographer for PA Wrestling magazine and continues in that role at the present time.  Marc has taken photos at the Dapper Dan and also spend time as a radio commentator for station 1480 WCNS.  Search the internet and you will find a lot of Marc’s work, as he is an active contributor to several sites and blogs.  Marc is a retired Health and PE teacher and enjoys his free time by fishing.  He is a very dedicated family man, still residing in Latrobe.  Marc and his wife Lynda have had 2 children, Suzanne and Jennifer.



Roger Crebs – Roger graduated from Lycoming College 1986 with a career record 52-13. Roger was a 3X Middle Atlantic Conference Champion and 3X NCAA Division Ill Qualifier. After graduating, Roger was head coach for five years at William Tennent High School in Warminster, Pa., and then an assistant coach under Hall of Famer Bill Racich, at Ursinus College in 1992. In 1993 Roger was hand-picked by Hall of Fame coach, Budd Whitehill to succeed him after 37 years at the helm of the Lycoming program. Roger became the Lycoming Head Coach, a position he still holds today, in his 27th year for the Warriors. From his first season, when he was recognized as the NCAA Division III Rookie Coach of the Year, to 2012 when he was inducted into the NWCA Division III Hall of Fame, Roger has kept his team in the center of the Division III national spotlight.
Roger’s teams have won 407 Dual Meets, while he has produced 51 Conference Champs, 29 All Americans and 5 national champions. He has had 7 wrestlers achieve 100 wins under his tutelage. In 2010, Roger joined Budd Whitehill as the first coaches in NCAA Division Ill history to win 300 dual meets at the same school. Has run 16-team Budd Whitehill Nation Duals each of last 24 years. In 1997, Roger was selected the NWCA Division Ill National Coach of the Year. He has been the MAC Coach of the Year 3 times. His teams have earned 5 NWCA Academic Top10 finishes. Roger is an NWCA member, a member of the NCAA Division Ill Wrestling Committee since 2015, and the was the NWCA Division Ill Academic Award Chair in 2013-14. In addition to the NWCA Division Ill Hall of Fame, Roger has been inducted into the PA District 4 Wrestling Hall of Fame. Roger had 25 consecutive winning dual meet seasons through 2010-11, and a current streak for the last 6 years. His teams have won five MAC Conference titles, finished in top 25 at NCAA Division Ill nationals 13 times, and in the top 10 twice (1997, 2000). Roger and his wife Tara presently live in Lewisburg and 2 sons Gable and Cael.



Ken Daws – Ken is originally from Toledo Ohio, and spent 10 years in the United States Marines from 1965 to 1975.  He is a retired from PECO as a Design Engineer.  Ken had an outstanding career as a wrestling official before retiring from active officiating in 2017.  He is currently performing as an evaluator and tutor to new officials. Ken has achieved the following during his career 41 Years as PIAA Official in Southwester Chapter, 6 PIAA Individual and 4 PIAA Team Championship events, NCAA Official for 38 years and Eastern Intercollegiate (EIOWA), 35 MAC Centennial and Ohio Division 3 National Qualifiers, 6 East Coast Conference and 14 EIWA Division 1 National Qualifier.  Among Ken’s many honors are 2008 -2014 Head Official at Division 3 Nationals, and an NCAA and Big 10 Video Replay Official.  He is a 2017 into the District 1 Hall of Fame, a Southeastern Wrestling Hall of Fame inductee and 2018 EIWA Hall of Fame Inductee.

Ken remains active as an NCAA evaluator for all divisions, and as an evaluator and mentor for District 1 Southeast Chapter.  He is highly respected for his hard work to develop consistent officials. Ken is the coordinator of Honor Flight Philadelphia/World War II, Korean and Vietnam Veterans and remains very active in Military Veterans Organization.  Ken and his wife Joanne reside in Glen Mills and have 2 children, Julie Shannon and Cory.



Robert Koffler – Robert has been coaching wrestling for 55+ years, and still continues today as a volunteer coach at 80+ years of age.  Robert has retired as an Emeritus Professor at the Art Institute of Philadelphia, where he taught Graphic’s Design.  He was undefeated 4 of his 5 years at the high school level, and was a 1956 District Champion and Regional Runner-up.  Robert received the High School award as the Outstanding Team Player.  Robert attended Syracuse University on a wrestling scholarship and competed at 147 thru 171 pounds.  Robert had a career record of 49-5-2 and competed at the Olympic Trails.  He broke his arm that slowed down his career and due to a knee injury which ended his wrestling career.  He graduated from Syracuse in 1559.

Robert began coaching in the early 1960’s at the Germantown Academy before becoming an assistant at Cheltenham High School.  He has been an asset to their program and holds many clinics with top known wrestlers.  During his time at Cheltenham he has be a loyal assistant to 8 Head Coaches mostly as an unpaid coach.  Under Robert’s guidance he coached several state qualifiers and had 2 State Runners-Up and has been part of a staff that had won several Suburban One League titles.  He is involved with Philadelphia’s Beat the Streets, and authored a book that had parts published in Amateur Wrestling News.  He is still a volunteer assistant coach at Cheltenham, and in 1998, he received an award from Cheltenham for his dedication to its wrestling program.

Robert not only has coached for over 55 years, but he has also maintained full time employment as an artist, participating in many art shows.  He has an impressive list of awards in his craft, such as the Ford Foundation Medical Sculpture, and the Tau Sigma Delta Art and Architecture Honorary award.  He is a board member at Cheltenham Center for the Arts and the Beckert Art Center in Massachusetts.  Robert and his wife Anny reside in Cheltenham and have 2 children, Nathaniel and Miriam; they also raised two nephews Alex and Jonas.



John Little – John was the Head Coach for 36 years at Solanco High School, where he led his teams to a stellar career record of 328-170-1. John was a 1978 graduate from Millersville State and also spend 2 years at West Chester State College before transferring to Millersville. John wrestled 118 at West Chester and 126/134 at Millersville, where he was a two-time Division III All American. While at Solanco his teams won 14 Lancaster-Lebanon Section 1 Championships, 8 Lancaster-Lebanon League Tournament Championships. He coached 44 Lancaster-Lebanon League Individual Champions, 18 District 3 Individual Champions. His teams won the District 3 Team Championship 2 times, and were Team Runners-Up 2 other years.
John coached 53 Individual PIAA State Qualifiers, 29 Individual State Medalist’s, including: 4-time State Champion Thomas Haines, State Champion Dan Neff, and State Runners-up Connor Sheehan and Shawn “Bo” Spiller. John’s team always had success at States finishing 1992 – 9th, 1993 – 7th, 2011- 4th, 2012 – 9th, 2013 – 5th and 2014 – 3rd. John coached 2 NCAA Division I All Americans, with Ronnie Perry the Runner-up in 2018. John and his wife, Tracey live in Lancaster and had 2 children, Adam and Heather.



Carl Poff – Carl wrestled at Bloomsburg University and was a two-time NCAA qualifier as a Husky. After graduating in 1979, Carl joined the BU staff as an assista nt coach from 1982-1990, before becoming the head wrestling coach at Lock Haven University. In that role, Lock Haven University became a powerhouse program and Carl became the winningest wrestling coach in Lock Haven University school history (167-62-3). His LHU winning percentage topped .720. His 2000-01 team went 21-2 and his 1996-97 team finished fifth at the NCAA Division I Championship – the highest finish in school history – behind five individual All-American performances. Carl’s teams won four PSAC titles and the school’s only EWL championship in 1997. Carl coached 80 National Qualifiers, 14 All-Americans, two Individual National Champions, 20 EWL Champions, and 30 PSAC Champions. Poff was named the PSAC Coach of the Year six times, and twice been named the EWL coach of the Year. He is also a member of the Lock Haven University Athletics Hall of Fame.
More telling than Carl’s resume was his ability to build relationships with his student athletes. Coach Poff not only served as a coach, but more importantly as a mentor and role model. The greatest compliment a student athlete can give to his coach is to follow in their footsteps. Just begin to count the number of LHU and Bloomsburg alumni in the wrestling coaching ranks: from high schools and clubs across the country, all the way to the NCAA Division 1 level. Carl’s impact on his athletes is unmatched which contributes to the ongoing growth of the sport of wrestling. His “coaching tree” feeds the ecosystem of wrestling and is his greatest victory which will be felt for decades to come. Carl’s has served as the Executive Director of the Lock Haven Foundation and is the owner of TNT Camps, that holds a clinic at Kutztown that continues to grow each year. Carl and his wife Sharon presently live in North Carolina and are the proud parents of 3 children Casey, Corey and Tanner.



Marty Strayer III – Marty grew up in Manheim. He played Basketball in 9th grade, until Hall of Fame wrestling coach Clyde “Red” Wittman, pulled him aside and said “Martin, I’ve seen you play basketball, and I believe you ought to try out for wrestling!!” That was the beginning of a lifelong love affair with the sport of Wrestling! He was a District Runner-Up at Manheim Central, but he really found himself at the collegiate level. Marty wrestled at Wilkes in 1960 and was undefeated & MAC conference champ. He moved on to Penn State from 1962 to 1965, where he forged a career record of 43-8-2. Marty placed 2nd in EIWA in 1963, and qualified for NCAA Tournament. He was a 2X EIWA Champion, and placed 5th at NC AA in his senior year of 1965, being an All-American. He was named Penn State most valuable wrestler in 1964 and 196565.
Marty was a PIAA and NCAA wrestling official for 15 years, and worked many state tournaments along with 5 NCAA tournaments. Marty is current the Chief Financial Officer at Central Penn Nursing Care. He is a Contributor to the Manheim Central, Wilkes College and Penn State Wrestling Teams. In 2008 he endowed a scholarship to Penn State. Marty served on Board of Directors at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in Stillwater for 14 years, and currently serves as a Governor’s Associate in the NWHOF. He served on PA Chapter Board for 5 Years, holding the office of President for 4 of those Years. Marty was inducted into Manheim Central Hall of Fame in 2004 and the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association Officials Hall of Fame. Marty lives in Lititz, with his wife Eleanor. They have had 2 children, Marty IV and Gretchen.

 



Rich Vetock – Rich was a 1967 graduate of Lock Haven State, but was not a member of the wrestling team there. After graduating, Rich became an Assistant Coach at Central Cambria High School from 1969 to 1971, where he helped to start the wrestling program. He then became the Head Coach at Central Cambria from 1971-1977. He retired from coaching in 1977.
Rich developed one of the first Individual high school wrestling web sites in the United States in 1990, and later that year, it was named the Number One high school website in the US! Rich was named the District 6 Man of the Year in 2004, and USA Wrestling Man of the Year Man of the Year in 2008. Rich is a member of District 6 Coaches Association, and in 1989, Rich developed and still maintains The District 6 Wrestling website. He also designed and maintained the Pennsylvania Football website. Rich has served as a Scorekeeper at the PIAA State Tournament for several years, and has served as Real Time Website Scoring Coordinator from 1990 to present. Rich continues to serve as Seed Points Coordinator for the District 6 Dual Meet Tournament and the District 6 Individual Tournament. Rich has been a nationwide leader of Internet based wrestling information pages and systems for nearly 30 years that GREATLY support the sport of wrestling and its rich fan base and coaching organizations – not to mention governing organizations. Rich Vetock is the currently the Co-Owner/Partner of Specialty Promotions, Inc. in Ebensburg. He and his wife Sally reside in Ebensburg and are the parents of Barry and Amy.

Outstanding American Award

Steve Capoferri –

Steve is a 1990 graduate of Elizabethtown College. He coached wrestling for 20 Years at Millersville University (4 years), Elizabethtown College (7 years), York Suburban High School (8 years) and Susquenita High School (1 year). Steve retired from coaching in 2006. During his coaching career he was twice named the East Regional Coach of the Year and once the MAC Coach of the Year. He coached 9 Division 3 and 14 Division 1 National Qualifiers.
Steve is currently on the Board of Directors for Snider Hockey Foundation and the Chairman of the Fund Raising Committee for the Bowers Center for Sports Fitness and Wellness Center at Elizabethtown College. He is a member of the Elizabethtown College Leadership Council and assisted fundraising for Elizabethtown College to establish a full-time wrestling coaching position. He continues to support the wrestling program.
Steve is the CEO of River Rock Academy and Day Treatment which serves at-risk youth. He founded River Rock Academy in 2005. River Rock Academy currently serves students in grades K-12 with emotional and learning needs. The program serves more than 70 School Districts in Central Pennsylvania and has eight campus locations. Giving back is one of the highest and most noble character traits. Steve practices it well as he continues to hire employees who have wrestling back grounds including Troy Sunderland (former PSU coach), Tristan Warner (PIAA runner up from Cumberland Valley), Rusty Barrick (PIAA runner up from Mechanicsburg), Rob Bozart (Elizabethtown College wrestler and former high school wrestling coach), Todd Roberts (former Millersville University head coach) and Charlie Jacobs (former Dover High School head coach). Former River Rock Academy employees include Duane Bastress (NCAA Division Ill Champion and current head coach at York College}, Steve Borja (PIAA champion and current assistant wrestling coach at F&M), Neil Barnes (PIAA champion, and Eric Walker (NCAA all American and current head wrestling coach at Elizabethtown College). Steve and his family are supporters of the USA Women’s Wrestling Program. Steve and his wife Wendy reside in Lancaster and have 3 children Lauren, Taylor and Sarah.