Wrestling

Tom Kessler enters his 16th season as wrestling coach of the York College of Pennsylvania Spartans. In 14 years, he has led the team to a 221-89-1 dual-meet record. He has had the Spartans ranked as high as 5th in the national poll in addition to coaching one two-time national champion, 11 All-Americans, and 23 NWCA Scholar All-Americans. Kessler earned his 200th career win in the 35-12 win over Thiel on January 14, 2006. Kessler is the winningest coach in the illustrious history of the Spartans wrestling program. He led the Spartans to the school’s first Metropolitan Conference wrestling championship in 2006 and then led the green and white to a fifth place finish at the 2006 NCAA Division III National Championship tournament, the highest finish for a York College wrestling team at the tournament.

For his efforts in 2006, Kessler was named the Metropolitan Conference Coach-of-the-Year and was later named the NWCA Division III National Coach-of-the-Year.

A 1985 graduate of York College, Kessler holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and a secondary education teaching certificate, and a master’s degree in special education.

A four-year letterwinner and team captain while at York College, Kessler compiled a 75-15 collegiate record and captured numerous championships. A three-time NCAA Division III National Qualifier, he is the only Spartan wrestler to win two NCAA Division III Eastern Regional titles and in his senior year earned All-American honors when he placed fourth at 126 pounds in the national tournament.

He was also selected as an NWCA Scholar All-American by the National Wrestling Coaches Association as a result of his outstanding academic and wrestling record.

Kessler is a member of the York College Athletic Hall of Fame and also earned the Metropolitan Conference Coach-of-the-Year Award in 1996, 2004, and 2006.

Joe Dominick enters his seventh season on the Spartan coaching staff after spending 15 years as the head wrestling coach at Susquehannock High School. Dominick was also the head coach at York Vo-Tech for two years prior to his tenure at Susquehannock.

Dominick is a graduate of Bloomsburg State College and Montgomery County Community College. He graduated summa cum laude from Bloomsburg with a B.S. in education/social studies. His intense recruiting efforts have paid dividends for the Spartans as the green and white continue to climb in the national polls.

Duane Bastress enters his second year on the Spartan coaching staff after a three-year career that may go down as the best athletic career in York College history. Bastress won a pair of Division III National Championships in the green and white, winning the tournament in 2005 and 2006. Bastress completed his senior year 40-0 and his three years at York College with a mark of 97-6. Including his one year stint at Bloomsburg, Bastress compiled a college record of 114-21. He also ended his career with a 65 match winning streak. Bastress will continue to get on the mat and train with the Spartans as a coach, providing the returning wrestlers with a great example of dedication to the Spartan program.