Bio

Under the guidance of head coach Jare Klein, the 1983-84 wrestling team finished the season with an 18-2-1 overall record and captured the 10th Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) wrestling championship in school history. During the regular season, Olivet’s only losses were a 21-19 to University of Notre Dame (Ind.) and 17-15 to Wabash (Ind.) College, and the tie was 22-22 against Malone (Ohio) University.

Led by MIAA Most Valuable Wrestler Dan Pantaleo at 142 pounds, the Comets had seven individuals earn All-MIAA honors. The other six wrestlers were Mike Pantaleo (126), Richard Goodman (134), Dale Sharrard (150), Bob Kintz (158), Dave Labrecque (167) and Sam Hargrove (unlimited).

Five of the seven All-MIAA wrestlers qualified for the 1984 NCAA Division III National Championships in Binghamton, N.Y. Backed by Dan Pantaleo’s championship at 142 pounds and Labrecque’s fourth-place finish at 167 pounds, Olivet was ninth in the final team standings. Across all men’s sports at Olivet, the ninth-place performance is the highest team finish in school history at a national championship and Pantaleo is still the only individual national champion in school history.

The remaining members of the team were Robert Allen, David Bacon, Scott Bloom, Michael Browne, Patrick Byers, Darrell Ettleman, Douglas Fashbaugh, Larry Fry, Alonzo Gomez, Michael Lewis, Jeff Mathie, Mark Reynolds, John Rothwell, Travis Rudd, Scott Sandborn, John Sebesta, Thomas Spagnuolo, Michael Sulewski, Gary Tietz, Russell Tousley and Mark Wheeler. Assistant coaches were Ron Schultheiss and Larry Towe.

Olivet honors the team and is proud to induct it into The University of Olivet Athletic Hall of Fame on this 20th day of October, 2023.