westyorkwrestlingalumni.com feature interview
by Don Lehman


∙ 1993 - West York's 189lb. Jeff Wolfe (left) in YAIAA Section Finals
versus Bermudian Springs' Garrett Forsyth.   Jeff Wolfe Photo Page

  Jeff Wolfe, a 1993 West York graduate and a 1998 East Stroudsburg University
graduate, has been living in Charlotte, NC for twelve years.  Jeff earned a degree
in Elementary Education with a concentration in mathematics.  Jeff was an all
county football player and an outstanding wrestler at West York, earning two
District III titles and a fifth place PIAA State finish.  Jeff also won three Governor
Mifflin HS Holiday titles.  Jeff went on to letter four times in wrestling at East
Stroudsburg University in the Pocono's of Pennsylvania and was a 3-time PSAC Championship medalist (4th, 5th & 6th place finishes @ PSAC's).
  ▪ Jeff is currently a...
6th grade math teacher at the very prestigious Charlotte Latin School and is
engaged to a Charlotte Latin grad - Susan Brown, whom he met at their
grandmother's retirement home in Hanover, PA in 2008.  Jeff was awarded
"Head Middle School Coach of the Year" in 2007 and his wrestling team
at Charlotte Latin has won three independent school state championships!
  ▪ Don Lehman, owner and webmaster of westyorkwrestlingalumni.com
caught up with Jeff this week.
▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪

JEFF WOLFE INTERVIEW by Don Lehman

DL - Jeff, how are things in one of my favorite places - Charlotte, North Carolina?
JW - Things are going great.  I am currently engaged to be married next year to Susan Brown and my job at Charlotte Latin School is going well.
                                                                ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪
DL - You are currently teaching 6th grade math at the very prestigious Charlotte Latin School in Charlotte, NC, as well as being an assistant varsity wrestling coach and middle school assistant football coach.  That sounds like a full plate!  Are there any differences when looking at the Northeast sports programs versus the South sports programs?
JW - Things are definitely different in the south.  Football tends to be the main event in the south, as it is in the north.  It means a great deal to do well in football.  Wrestling is different is the south.  Boys do not start to wrestle until middle school down here... but, up north, we start to wrestle as soon as we can walk!  Basketball also rules down here.
                                                                ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪
DL - You have achieved many great sports accomplishments at West York High School.  Have you shared those memories and experiences with your athletes at Charlotte Latin?
JW - You try to share the INTENSITY that you had when playing - with your athletes, but, sometimes it sounds like you are trying to prove something.  If they ask, I tell, but that's about it.
                                                                ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪
DL - What sport at West York did you look forward to the most each season?
JW - I looked forward to both wrestling and football, but for different reasons.  I think I looked forward to football the most.  There was nothing like getting ready for an afternoon Saturday football game.  We were always a very close football team.  We won and lost together and everything was very serious.  I looked forward to wrestling in a different way.  The year in wrestling was always brutal and you had a personal goal for yourself - and no one could mess that up but you!  You could go as far as you wanted to go.
                                                                ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪
DL - During your wrestling career at West York, you won over one hundred matches (101-23), won 3 Governor Mifflin Holiday crowns, won 2 District III crowns, and placed 5th at the 1992 PIAA State Championships with a fall over Ben Corbin of Fairview (4:23) in the final match.  You were also voted West York's Outstanding Wrestler - twice!  I'm sure I missed some of your successes.  And this... with 2 different coaches - John T. Toggas and Bill Luckenbaugh.  What are some of the lessons you learned from each?
JW - Coach JT Toggas was a great mentor and Phys. Ed teacher.  Coach Toggas sat my father and I down to explain that it was going to be a big jump to wrestle varsity as a freshman.  I definitely took some beatings as a freshman, but Coach Toggas told me it was going to happen.  Coach Toggas would always congratulate me on whatever I did, good or bad.  He handled me with kid gloves!  Coach Luckenbaugh then took me to the next level.  When I wrestled with Coach Lucky, no matter how good I was that night, he was three moves ahead of me.  He would always tell me that - when I couldn't score on him!  Coach Luckenbaugh taught me how to have fun and not take myself too seriously.  I learned a lot from our assistant coach, John Sprenkle, also.
                                                                ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪
DL - I also know that you hold a record at West York that might not be broken for a long time - 43 defensive points in a 1990 football game against Dover with 13 solo tackles and 12 assists!  What do you remember about that special game?
JW - I remember being too young to know anything that year and I just played football.  It helped a bunch that Dover would just run the ball up the middle, because they didn't have a great offense.  So, it was pretty easy to figure out.  That Dover contest in 1990 was a FUN game!
                                                                ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪
DL - While at West York did you compete on any YCIAA/YAIAA Championship teams?
JW - I'm pretty sure we won the YCIAA championship in football my junior year, but my senior year - we also made it to Districts.  We got beat by Northern pretty good in that game.
                                                                ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪
DL - What did you do in the off-season to prepare for your sports at West York?
JW - Coach Sprenkle had us lifting at least three times a week.  My dad, Bernie, would run with me everyday after he got off of work.  That was usually around 4:30p or 5:00p in the afternoon and it was brutal.  We put a lot of time in on the track.  I wrestled for the York County Wrestling Club and did off-season freestyle and greco-roman tournaments.  We would also go to J. Robinson's wrestling camp for two weeks.  Lastly, we would do 7 on 7 pass scrimmages.  We were very busy!
                                                                ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪
DL - You chose East Stroudsburg University as your college of choice after West York, and you lettered in wrestling at ESU - 4 years (1995-98).  Why did you choose ESU?
JW - I knew the history of West York Wrestling and ESU.  I really thought it was a good fit for me and knew that I had a chance to start as a freshman.  I didn't want to go somewhere and just be another 190lb. wrestler.
                                                                ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪
DL - 10 West York Wrestlers earned letters at ESU, the most famous being 1974 NCAA DII National Champion - Bill Luckenbaugh.  ESU was a Division I wrestling school when you were competing and an EIWA Wrestling League member.  What experiences stand out from ESU Wrestling in the PSAC and EIWA?
JW - Looking back on it, I was amazed how the competition stepped up.  EVERYONE suddenly became good.  If you did not push yourself in college wrestling, you ended up throwing in the towel.  I started out at ESU with a class of 27 incoming freshmen wrestlers.  By my fifth year, there were three of us left!  Wrestling in college was the single hardest thing I have ever done.  Wrestling at ESU gave me a work ethic that is unmatched.  I am thankful for my time at ESU.
                                                                ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪
DL - My cousin Steve Elicker - (South Western HS) was around when you first came to ESU.  Did you get to see Steve wrestle?
JW - Steve Elicker was an awesome wrestler!  Steve was a great leader, role model and captain.  I watched in awe as those older ESU guys cut weight and worked out!  They had their diets down to a science.  They knew how to work out efficiently and right.  They passed on the ESU tradition to us - and we passed it down to the younger guys.
                                                                ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪
DL - Who was your toughest college opponent while wrestling at ESU and the outcome?
JW - Man, that is a tough one.  A guy from Penn beat me 12-3 and I was bleeding out of my mouth and both nostrils at the end of the match.  The wrestler from Penn was ranked #11 in NCAA Division I (country) at the time.  I dislocated my thumb against a Navy wrestler - and he also beat me pretty good!  But, I think the toughest opponents were my ESU teammates - Angelo Borzio and Jason Peters.  Everyday - day in and day out... we wrestled during practice and both Angelo and Jason were TOUGH!  Jason Peters is currently an assistant wrestling coach at Pitt, and Angelo Borzio, who was the head wrestling coach at ESU, owns a contracting company - A. Borzio Contracting.
                                                                ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪
DL - Jeff, what do you do for fun in the Charlotte area when you are not teaching and coaching?
JW - I've got a great group of friends in Charlotte.  They are all transplants from Ohio and we always have discussions on who has the best sports programs.  We watch a ton of football during the season.  I also go to concerts, hit the beach, go to Carolina Panthers games - and work out when I can.
                                                                ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪
DL - I know your family still lives in York, and I see your brother Brandon is still playing baseball... how is everyone doing?
JW - Everyone is doing great!  My parents just visited me and we watched the Redskins lose to the Panthers for our first win this year.  My parents (Linda & Bernie) are workout machines!  I am quite impressed with them.  My brother Brandon is also doing well.  Brandon is playing for West Chester University and they made it to the NCAA Division II College World Series.  It was held in Raleigh, NC, so I went up to see him and the team.  They were excellent!
                                                                ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪
DL - It was great seeing you at the 2007 West York Golf Outing dinner at Briarwood East.  When is your next trip back to the York area, and do you ever get back to the Pocono's and ESU?
JW - I get home probably twice a year.  One time in the summer and then either Thanksgiving or Christmas.  I miss home - and would consider moving back to York, PA someday.  But, I have a good thing going on down here.  I very rarely get back to ESU.  I did get back about three years ago for a wedding and things didn't change too much.
                                                                ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪
DL - What are some of the things you have taken from West York sports that has helped you in your Charlotte Latin experience?
JW - The way I coach... is just like Coaches Luckenbaugh, Sprenkle and Toggas.  I teach the boys how to be tough (like Coach Sprenkle) and I wear out the referees like Coach Luckenbaugh did!
                                                                ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪
DL - Do you keep in touch with any of your former West York or ESU teammates?
JW - I keep in tough with Angelo Borzio the most... my former ESU teammate.  We want to get back together when the NCAA's come back to Pennsylvania.  Matt Sprenkle and Mark Buelow, both West York and ESU alumni, remain my best friends and we all see each other once or twice a year.
                                                                ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪
DL - Do you follow the Bulldogs and the Warriors these days?
JW - I have been following both West York football and wrestling.  I know the West York Bulldog football team had an awesome year in 2008 and they are rolling again this year!  I always check on West York Wrestling's Billy Randt, and he is having a great career.  I think that this might be his year... and I want to wish him the best of luck!  Since ESU decided to drop from NCAA Division I (and the EIWA) - to NCAA Division II this year, I have not kept up with them.  I did though, write a letter to the ESU AD, about the drop.
                                                                ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪
DL - If you could speak to some of the young up and coming West York Wrestlers... what would you tell them?
JW - I would tell them to train hard and listen to Coach Gross.  Also, follow leaders like Billy Randt and try to do the right thing at all times.  Like my coaches told me, a missed workout is a day that someone else got a little bit better than you!
                                                                ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪
DL - Jeff, thank you very much for your time.  I'm looking forward to seeing you soon.

▪ You can e-mail Jeff Wolfe HERE!


1993 - West York's 189lb. Jeff Wolfe (left) in YAIAA Section Finals
versus Bermudian Springs' Garrett Forsyth.



Wrestling Coaching Staff


ESU's 190lb. Jeff Wolfe (top) at Koehler Fieldhouse in 1995.
▪ Jeff Wolfe was a 3-time PSAC Championship Medalist!  HERE!

  Jeff Wolfe

 WRESTLING
 ▪ Jeff Wolfe @ the EIWA's - '95, '96, '98


1991 West York @ YCIAA Section Championships
▪ (L-R) Steve Young, Head Coach JT Toggas, Jason Abel Turnbull,
Dave Maday, Asst. Coach Bill Luckenbaugh & Jeff Wolfe (kneeling).

▪ Jeff Wolfe Photo Page