Waynesburg’s Headlee to retire following season
After four decades of coaching, Ron Headlee is calling it a career.
Headlee, who turns 62 next month, will retire at the end of this wrestling season as head coach of Waynesburg University’s wrestling team. His retirement ends a coaching stay in the area that began in 1982.
“I’m going to do some traveling,” said Headlee, “and spend time with my grandkids. I have three of them. I just see a lot of people don’t do it and their health turns bad. I’m in good health now and I want to spend time with my family.”
Headlee burst onto the wrestling scene in the late ’80s and early ’90s while coaching at Jefferson-Morgan High School. He was in the corner when Cary Kolat won four PIAA championships, becoming the seventh wrestler in the history of the state tournament to do so.
Headlee coached the Rockets to three WPIAL Class AA team championships in the four years Kolat wrestled at J-M (1989, ’90 and ’92). He would win another in 1995.
From 1988 to 1997, he compiled an impressive 111-25-1 record. Headlee also coached 24 WPIAL champions, 15 state place winners and seven state championships.
Following his stay at J-M, Headlee served as a junior high coach and assistant coach for the Waynesburg Central High School wrestling teams.
While with the Raiders, he helped coach Coleman Scott to three Pennsylvania state championships. Scott would go on to become a four-time NCAA All-American and national champion at Oklahoma State.
“That was good times, fun times then,” said Headlee. “There have been good times (at Waynesburg University). I’ve been truly blessed.”
Headlee came to Waynesburg University from his alma mater, Waynesburg High School. He and John Yates were hired at the university in February 2008.
“I had great coaches who made my job easy,” said Headlee. “Just seeing guys’ progress. It thrills me when one of my wrestlers reaches his goals.”
At Waynesburg University, during winter 2018, then-junior Jake Evans pulled off several upsets en route to taking the heavyweight crown. Evans graduated as a two-time All-American (7th in 2017) and his 185 total wins are the most in all divisions of NCAA competition.
Other notable individuals who have competed under Headlee’s leadership include 2014 graduate Anthony Bonaventura, who placed second at 174 pounds, and 2015 graduate Luke Lohr, who became a two-time All-American after accomplishing the feat in 2013 and 2015. Lohr was also a three-time national qualifier and a four-time PAC champion. For his efforts, Headlee has been named PAC Coach of the Year on six separate occasions and was honored as the 2017 NCAA Division III Mideast Regional Coach of the Year.
Headlee’s wrestlers earned 10 regional individual titles, 43 PAC individual titles and taken home five PAC Outstanding Wrestler trophies. Among those honorees is Nick Garber, who was a three-time Midwest Regional champion and three-time national qualifier.
Last year’s 12-4 overall record is part of a 127-87-1 overall mark posted by Headlee. He has also led the Jackets to the best Presidents’ Athletic Conference dual record (22-4) over over his 12 years as head coach of any league team.
During summer 2016, Headlee added to his already impressive résumé by being inducted into the Southwestern Pennsylvania Wrestling Hall of Fame.