Bringing tradition back is one of Dennis Thomas’ goals in his first year as Klamath Union’s athletic director, and the first venture toward that goal will take place Dec. 1.
Thomas hopes to bring former KU wrestling lettermen to Pelican Court for the first match of the season, when KU hosts Roseburg in a Southern Oregon Conference match.
“I want the wrestling community to know I am completely behind the program,” Thomas, a basketball coach, said.
“There is absolutely no reason why a successful wrestling program and a successful basketball program cannot exist side-by-side,” Thomas added.
He knows they can.
Thomas once coached basketball at Canby High in Oregon and Camas High in Washington, schools that both have a deep tradition in both sports, not unlike KU.
What the new athletic director wants to do is invite all former KU wrestling letterwinners to the Pelicans’ match against Roseburg. Details beyond that are still be worked out.
If the effort is successful, Thomas hopes to eventually have an alumni night for all KU sports, especially those sports that lend themselves to that kind of gathering.
Thomas wants to recognize the 21 KU wrestlers who have won a combined total of 27 individual state championships. Another 31 times, a Pelican reached the finals.
KU is one of just 12 Oregon schools with at least five state wrestling team titles.
Along with the Pelicans, Benson of Portland, Salem High, Newberg, Crater, Sweet Home, Canby, Phoenix, Lowell, Nyssa, Woodburn and, joining the club last year, Burns all have five or more state titles.
Despite that tradition, only one wrestler has been named into the school’s athletic Hall of Fame, one of the few selective Halls at the high school level.
John Witte, who also played football, was added to the KU Hall of Fame in 1999, and he is one of the few multiple-state champions to come from the school.
Richard Berg, Ron Conner, Jay Dearing, Dean Johnson and Glenn Guyer also won two state titles for the Pelicans, and Conner and Dearing are among the handful of KU wrestlers to place at least three times.
KU wrestling coach Lew Stock, himself a state place winner while at Henley in 1971, wants to have his wrestlers from this year’s team to be able to interact with the lettermen who return.
Thomas has an ambitious plan, but a good one.
All former KU letterwinners who plan to attend the Dec. 1 gathering should contact Thomas at 883-4720.
Thomas also would like to gather information on former wrestlers who no longer live in the Klamath Basin to invite them to the get-together.
KU’s five state team titles came in 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951 and 1954.
The Pels also won Southern Oregon Conference crowns from 1948 through 1957, and then again in 1960 and 1961.
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