Death takes a number of active college wrestlers, former coaches in 2014

[TomM]

Death takes a number of active college wrestlers, former coaches in 2014
http://www.examiner.com/article/death-takes-a-number-of-active-college-wrestlers-former-coaches-2014

This year, the college wrestling community lost a number of individuals who made the mark on the sport. In 2014, College Wrestling Examiner paid tribute to more than two dozen individuals who had wrestled, coached or otherwise contributed to the growth of the oldest and greatest sport. While the loss of a human being of any age is devastating to family and friends, more than a half-dozen who passed away this year were active wrestlers, or had completed their mat careers in recent years.

Three wrestlers who died in 2014 were members of the Case Western Reserve University mat squad, killed in a private plane crash the evening after their first day of classes in late August. The trio of Spartan wrestlers – Lucas Marcelli, 20, and 18-year-old freshmen Abraham Pishevar, and John Hill, along with the pilot, 20-year-old William Felten, their friend and classmate – had planned a nighttime sightseeing trip over Cleveland when their plane crashed moments after takeoff from Cuyahoga County Airport. The accident is still under investigation.

At least two other wrestlers who lost their lives had yet to compete in college. Brandon DuMont, 18, listed as a 141-pound redshirt freshman on the 2014-15 season roster at Montana State University-Northern, an NCAA Division II school in Havre, passed away in late September from undisclosed causes. In early August, 18-year-old LaVon "Xavier" Woods drowned while swimming in Georgia's Oconee River with his new teammates, having just completed his freshman orientation earlier that afternoon at Brewton-Parker College. Woods' passing came weeks after the drowning death of another college wrestler, Virginia Tech junior Darren Hankins, 21, who lost his life cooling off with friends in an abandoned quarry just a few miles from campus.

A trio of wrestlers died under mysterious circumstances that made headlines in their communities and beyond. Dammion Heard, who had just completed his freshman year wrestling for Western State Colorado University, was found hanging from a tree on Federal land eight miles west of campus. While authorities have determined the former Texas high school state champ's death to be a suicide, his father is leading an investigation to clear his son's name. Kosta Karageorge, 22, a walk-on for the Ohio State football team who had completed his wrestling eligibility as back-up heavyweight for the Buckeyes in March, went missing in Columbus over Thanksgiving weekend... then his body was found in a dumpster near his home a few days later, with a gunshot wound to his head, widely reported as self-inflicted. Karageorge had complained to his family about concussions. Daniel Kelly, 25, a New Jersey high school state champ who had earned a scholarship to Harvard, was found dead in a home in nearby Pennsylvania. The Bucks County coroner issued a statement that, upon an initial investigation, all signs pointed to a heroin overdose as cause of death.

In 2014, a trio of mat athletes was taken in the prime of life. Ty Moore, 43, was a four-time Pennsylvania high school state champ who went on to wrestle at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill... while Brad Ahearn, a former Central Michigan University wrestler who made a name for himself in Greco-Roman competition, passed away at age 33. Skyler Holman, 2002 NCAA All-American for Oklahoma State, was taken by cancer at 35.

Death also took a Big Ten champ, a B10 runner-up, two former NCAA champs, along with a wrestler who broke the color line at the NCAAs 65 years ago. Ralph Bahna, 71, was a 1964 Big Ten conference champion at the University of Michigan whose name graces the school's Bahna Wrestling Center. A heavyweight for the Iowa Hawkeyes in the late 1940s, Bob Geigel, 90, was an NCAA All-American and Big Ten finalist before making a name for himself as a pro wrestler, manager and promoter. Bill "Elbows" Simpson, a 1973 NCAA titlewinner for Clarion University, died in February at age 62. Charles Hetrick, Oklahoma State wrestler who won a national title and Outstanding Wrestler honors at the 1949 NCAAs before embarking on a successful high school coaching career, passed away at 93... while San Diego State's Harold Henson, who made history at the 1949 NCAAs as the first African-American to wrestle at the nationals, died in January at age 90.

A number of former wrestling coaches passed away in 2014. Dave Icenhower, who had served as College of New Jersey head wrestling coach for 35 years until his retirement in 2011, lost his battle to cancer in October at age 66. Dave Hengsteler, wrestling and boxing champ at UC Santa Barbara who went on to a successful coaching career at El Camino College in California, died this summer at age 95. Dale Ketelsen, 78, was an NCAA finalist for Iowa State who went on to lead the wrestling program at Louisiana State. Dick Torio, 84, was a University of Toledo wrestler who returned to his alma mater as an assistant coach.

Some coaches who left us this year were notable for launching wrestling programs. Eric Beardsley, 89, founded the wrestling program at Central Washington University 55 years ago, then led the Wildcats to two NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) titles. Edor Nelson, a multi-sport athlete at Minnesota's Augsburg College in the 1930s who established the now-famous Auggie mat program in 1949, died just days after his 100th birthday. Joe Patacsil, 86, Big Ten and NCAA champ for Purdue 65 years ago, installed wrestling at Indiana's Logansport High School in the late 1950s.

Among the deaths this year were those who made unique contributions to the sport of wrestling, including Setrak Agonian, 2003 USA Wrestling Man of the Year, who was active at the New York Athletic Club, the Metropolitan Wrestling Association (MVA) and in many other wrestling-related organizations... and Al Hipps, 65, father of InterMat owners Jeremy and Andrew Hipps, and avid sports fan who penned the amateur wrestling website's "UFC Monster" column which previewed major mixed martial arts events.