Doug Meisenhelter, at 55, decided to join his son on the Keystone Games wrestling mat.
By DAVE SOTTILE
Daily Record/Sunday News
Doug Meisenhelter and his wife, Sue, criss-crossed Pennsylvania for nearly 10 years, driving each summer from their Red Lion home to Bethlehem, Johnstown, Harrisburg and Wilkes-Barre to watch their son, Matt, compete in the Keystone State Summer Games.
A heavyweight wrestler, Matt Meisenhelter had seen his share of Keystone Games competition and hardware through grade school, junior high and senior high school.
Doug Meisenhelter, a York County District Justice, also knew a thing or two about wrestling. He competed at Red Lion High and Shippensburg University. His first job out of college was teaching and coaching the sport at Gettysburg High School.
During the summer of 2002, the elder Meisenhelter surprised his son with a strange comment.
“At the time, I was 55, “Meisenhelter said. “We were joking around, and I said, ‘Wouldn’t it be something if we wrestled together?’ Matt thought I was nuts, and so did my wife.”
Fast forward one year to Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, where Doug Meisenhelter won a Keystone Games bronze medal in the 190-pound weight class of the masters division, and his son struck gold in the 275-pound open division.
“I had a great time, because it brought back thoughts and memories that I had long since forgotten, “Doug said. “Even though I was an old man, it brought back some sweet memories of my wrestling days.”
The oldest competing wrestler during the Games made quite a splash among the other athletes.
“I’d be on the mat, and there would be kids age 7, 8 and 9 sitting around watching and cheering, “Doug said. “I was old enough to be their grandfather and I was out there rolling around on the mat. They thought that was something neat.”
The small children weren’t alone in that regard.
“It was a pretty big deal that week, “Matt Meisenhelter said. “We’re talking about someone who had wrestled at Red Lion and Shippensburg in the 1960s.
“He had a lot of support from people, including me. It was nice to be cheering him on for a change. Usually, he was on the sidelines rooting for me.”
Matt won two PIAA medals during his high school career, including a fifth-place finish to his senior season in 1997, when he was selected as a YAIAA Daily Record all-star. Overall, he went 93-11 at Red Lion and attended Lock Haven University on scholarship.
Despite an obvious age and size disparity, the father and son trained together as they prepared for the 2003 Keystone Games.
“I worked out a lot that year, and my son is built like a brick house, “Doug said. “He was 6-foot-5, weighed 300 pounds and probably had more than 100 pounds on me, but we still rolled around together.
“I was 30 years older than he was, and it was quite a rush to experience something like that.”
Neither Doug nor Matt will be competing this week as the 2005 Keystone Games continue in York County. Doug’s performance was a one-year wonder. Matt, now a Methodist minister in Waynesboro, Franklin County, is preparing for his Aug.13 wedding.
“I’m sorry I’ll be missing it, “Matt said. “We’ve driven all over the state for this thing, and now the Games are coming here. I feel really bad. Now it’s in my house and I’d like to defend my house, but I can’t this year. Maybe next year.”
Doug, now in his 18th year as a judge, said he was glad York County landed the Keystone Games, which have always been a part of his family’s routine.
His daughter, Sara, won a bronze medal in the 4-kilogram shot put in the youth female division during the 1995 competition in Harrisburg.
“I think it’s wonderful to have them in York County, “Doug said. “It’s pretty much the Olympics on a state-wide scale. You’ve got the pageantry and the competition, and it brings people from around Pennsylvania together for a week.”
Especially the 50-plus crowd, right?
“It’s great seeing all the ‘old bucks’ coming out of retirement to compete against each other, “Doug said. “I was the oldest guy competing in wrestling that year. I think the masters competition was 35 and up. Most of the guys were in their 30s, but we talked a lot about wrestling, and it brought back a lot of great memories.”
Reach Dave Sottile at 771-2063 or [email protected].
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