6 individuals, '76 wrestling team to enter hall of fame
6/23/2010TEMPERANCE - The Bedford High School Alumni Association Hall of Fame will grow by six individuals and an entire wrestling team.
"We got some great candidates," Gene Stock, association vice president, said. "We are looking for members of that 1976 team. We haven't even started contacting them yet."
For the second consecutive year, the alumni association committee has selected a sports team for induction into the hall of fame.
The 1975-76 wrestling squad that won the state championship, the first of back-to-back state championships in the sport, will be inducted into the hall of fame during a dinner on Oct. 23.
"They were the first … to win a state championship in anything," said Bill Regnier, the school's athletic director, who coached the team.
The 1966 football team - winner of the Great Lakes League championship - made the hall of fame last year. Mr. Regnier, who is retiring next week after 45 years with the district, was a coach on the team.
Mr. Regnier, who was wrestling coach from 1965 to 1995 and was inducted in 2004 into the National High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame, said the 1976 squad was a group of outstanding individuals.
"That was a team championship achieved through individuals. Tom Joseph was state champion, and his two brothers, Chuck and Richard, were also on the team," Mr. Regnier said.
Mr. Regnier said winning the state crown pumped enthusiasm into wrestling at Bedford. The program grew from about 40 boys to more than 150 in the 1976-77 school year.
Others who will be inducted into the hall of fame are:
• Richard Harley, a high school math, calculus, and science teacher who retired in 2009. A teacher for 36 years, "He epitomizes an exceptional teacher at Bedford High School," Mr. Stock said.
• Doug Harper, a 1985 graduate and wrestler who the first at the school to capture three state titles. He won back-to-back championships in the 98-pound and 103-pound weight classes.
• Shayna Munson, who graduated in 1999, was regarded by her high school volleyball coach as one of the top volleyball players in school history. She was a member of the 1998 Michigan Class A volleyball championship team.
• Michael Morris is being inducted into the hall of fame for accomplishments after high school. The 1964 graduate is president and chief executive officer of American Electric Power Co. He took over the Columbus, Ohio-based utility after serving as president and CEO of Northeast Utilities System. He is a former executive with Consumers Energy.
• Arnold Strzelecki, class of 1951, was an outstanding track and field athlete for Bedford High School in 1949, 1950, and 1951.
• Matt Wiederhold earned membership into the hall of fame as an outstanding theater arts student and for his accomplishments after high school. The 1987 Bedford graduate is executive director of Main Street Medina in northeast Ohio. From 2001 to 2003, he was program manager with UpTown in Toledo.
The new class of inductees is to be honored at halftime during the Bedford football game on Oct. 22.