Thiel College and head wrestling coach Craig Thurber will be recognizing the school's storied mat program's 50th anniversary Saturday when the Tomcats host Baldwin-Wallace College at Beeghly Gymnasium for a dual meet set to get under way at 6 p.m.

On hand to take part in the celebration will be professional wrestler Kurt Angle, Olympic gold medalist and former two-time national champion at Clarion University.

Over the years names like John Tomlinson, Paul Saternow, Rod and Roy Wilt Jr., Don Valesky, Dana Spires, Dave Weiland, Mike Lewis, and more recently Corey Murphy and Kyle Brown, have put the Tomcats on the map as one of the more successful Division III programs in the country. But prior to those greats, two individuals — Mel Berry and Robert Olson — gave the program the foundation it has been on ever since. 

Prior to the arrival of Mel Berry, recognized as the college’s first varsity wrestling coach, the sport was tried on several occasions at the college without success. Berry arrived at Thiel as a part-time coach in 1958 with over 20 years of high school coaching experience, while Greenville High School (1938-1956) served as his proving grounds in the interscholastic ranks.

At Greenville he posted a record of 102-30-2 and recorded seven District X titles, seven undefeated seasons and at one time won 68 straight matches. Tom Seiple won a PIAA individual state championship under Berry in 1952. 

At Thiel Berry enjoyed a 20-year career (1958-1978) and finished with a pair of Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) team championships (1963, 1964), 22 individual conference championships and a four-time PAC champion in John Tomlinson (heavyweight, 1966-1969). 

He concluded his time at Thiel with a 142-73-5 record. Berry is also a member of the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Division III Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the Mercer County Hall of Fame in 1978.

Early during the fall semester of 1957 Bob Olson, then a strapping sophomore, approached athletic director Joe DeFebo about introducing the wrestling program into the varsity sport ranks. DeFebo, a friend of Berry, asked the Greenville coach for help in starting a successful program at Thiel. Also in the fold to get the program off of the ground was Bob Delett, who wrestled for Berry at Greenville. Delett competed for the Tomcats during their initial club season (1957-1958), but graduated in 1958 and didn’t compete during their first intercollegiate season of competition. After graduating Olson served as Berry’s assistant for 13 years (1965-1978). 

Neil Lineman and Robert Loveless followed Berry’s reign as head coaches until 1982, the year Mark Vennis assumed the head coaching position. Over his 18-year coaching career Vennis posted a 148-56-2 dual-meet record, won 11 conference titles (and 11 conference coach of the year honors), had 15 Division III all-Americans, 19 NWCA Scholar-Athletes, and 45 national qualifiers. 

During his tenure Vennis served on the NWCA Board of Directors and was a member of many association-wide committees aimed to aid and assist in the betterment of wrestling. For his efforts, the NWCAawarded him with the 25-Year Service Award in 1998. In 2004 Vennis was selected as a member of the NWCA Division III Hall of Fame. Olson also served as a Vennis assistant from the mid-1980’s to the early 1990’s.

Current Tomcat head coach Thurber understands the wealthy history of the program and aims to continue building upon the ground work laid by those before him. He is well on his way, already winning four conference titles and coach of the year honors. Thurber has helped eight of his wrestlers advance to the Division III National Championships with three of them earning all-American honors. Kyle Brown ’07 was also selected as a NWCA Scholar-Athlete on three occasions.

“Thiel wrestling over the past 50 years has been very successful and it is quite an honor to be mentioned with the legendary coaches of the past,” said Thurber. ”This year is unique in the fact that Dr. Olson is one of the founding fathers of Thiel wrestling and is currently serving as the College’s interim President. He spoke to our team about the history of the program and our coaching staff and current team members are really looking forward to adding to the already rich tradition of Thiel wrestling.”

The program has also produced several outstanding coaches including Reynolds HIgh coach Brian Hills, who has led the Raiders to several state team titles.

Angle, a graduate of Mount Lebanon High School in Pittsburgh, won a gold medal at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta in the Freestyle Heavyweight 100-kg Division. Angle went on to wrestle collegiately at Clarion University for head coach Robert G. Bubb. Angle collected four Eastern League titles and was a three-time Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference champion. He won NCAA titles in both 1990 and 1992 and set a Clarion record with 355 takedowns in dual meets and posted a 116-10-2 career record. Angle will talk briefly prior to the dual meet about his Olympic experience and climb to the top of the wrestling world.

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