(Lock Haven, Pa.):  Clarion's Wade Schalles, widely recognized as one of the top wrestlers of all-time and in 2005 by the NCAA at its 75 Year Celebration as one of its top 15 wrestlers of all time, will be presented with the PSAC's top honor, the “Award Of Merit”, on February 19, 2012 in ceremonies held at Clarion University it was announced today by PSAC Commissioner Steve Murray.  The ceremonies will be held during the Clarion – Lock Haven wrestling match, Feb. 19^th at Waldo S. Tippin Gymnasium beginning at 2pm. The event is open to the public.

                The “Award of Merit” has previously only been presented to four athletes in the PSAC and they were Bruce Baumgartner (Edinboro) and Steve Spence (Shippensburg) in 1992, Clarion's Kurt Angle in 1997 and Bloomsburg's Chuck Daly in 2002.

                In 2012 the PSAC will be presenting the “Award of Merit” to five individuals with ties to the PSAC. Along with Schalles they are former Cheyney men's and women's basketball coaches John Chaney and C. Vivian Stringer (SRU grad), former Bloomsburg field hockey and softball coach and East Stroudsburg graduate Jan Hutchinson, and West Chester graduate Cathy Rush, the former women's basketball coach at Immaculata College who was recently depicted in a Hollywood film, will all be presented with the award on their respective campuses. 

            “All I can say is I'm very much humbled to be thought of by my peers in this manner,” said Schalles. “Over the years I have always tried to give back to others in the same way as I was so graciously given during my days at Clarion. This honor, being an Award of Merit recipient, belongs more to the Golden Eagle staff and administration than to any single individual. For achievement is always a team effort;  those who go before you sharing their experiences, ideas and ideals,” added the former Golden Eagle great.

            Schalles, a native of Hollidaysburg, Pa., wrestled at Clarion University from 1971-74. He had an unbelievable career record of 153-5-1, which is a winning percentage of 96.5%. He won NCAA Division I Titles as a sophomore in 1972 at 150-pounds and as a junior in 1973 at 158-pounds and was voted the NCAA's Outstanding Wrestler after winning his first NCAA Championship in 1972. His top seasons were 40-0-1 in 1974, 39-1 in 1972 and 37-0 in 1973. Wade holds the NCAA record for most career pins (106) and was well known exciting wrestling fans with countless pinning combinations. He had a career dual meet record at Clarion of 64-1-1. Wade was also a 4-time PSAC Champion winning titles at 158 in 1971, 167 in 1972 and 1973 and 177 in 1974. He is the only wrestler in PSAC history to win the “OW” all 4 years. Unable to wrestle at nationals his senior year because of a transfer ruling, Schalles nevertheless pinned three NCAA Division I Champions that season including Bloomsburg's Floyd Hitchcock in the PSAC finals at 177-pounds, after moving up two weight classes earlier in the week. Hitchcock went on to win the NCAA D-I title and “OW” that year.

            Wade was inducted into the National Wrestling “Hall of Fame” in 1991 and was one of only 15 wrestlers named to the NCAA's 75^th Anniversary All-Time Team in 2005 in festivities held in St. Louis, Missouri. Wade is pictured below signing autographs in St. Louis. Schalles was an inaugural inductee to the Clarion sports Hall of Fame in 1989.
            Once dubbed “the most exciting wrestler to ever walk onto a wrestling mat” by Sports Illustrated, Schalles is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the most wins and pins of anyone who has ever wrestled.

            Wade and wife Debra currently reside in Bethesda, Maryland. The family includes four biological children - Jacob, Kristy, Ryan and Tara -  And two adopted Chris and Adam. Chris (Marshall) – wrestled at Clarion in 1996 and 97 – had a career record of 58-18 (8 falls) and was a 2-time NCAA Qualifier, EWL and PSAC champion (1996, 97).
 
            CLARION NOTES: Schalles was part of the great Clarion teams of 1971, 72, 73 and 74 coached by legendary head coach Robert “Bob” Bubb (1967-92). … The Golden Eagles were 6^th as a team at the 1972 NCAA D-I Nationals and had 2 champions including Garry Barton and Schalles … Placed 4^th at nationals in 1973 with 3 champions including Don Rohn, Schalles and Bill Simpson… The 1974 team was 11^th at nationals and could possibly have challenged for the team title with Schalles … Clarion had a dual meet record of 11-2 in 1971, 11-5 in 1972 (PSAc Champions), 15-1 in 1973 (PSAC Champions) and 24-2 in 1974 (PSAC Champions) … The Schalles Award is named after Wade and is presented annually by the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) and WIN Magazine to the collegiate and scholastic wrestlers with the most pins.

                PSAC AWARD OF MERIT NOTES:  Baumgartner , former Edinboro wrestling coach and current A.D., won 4 Olympic gold Medals … Spence, former Shippensburg runner, won a bronze medal at the 1991 World Track & Field Championships, won the  marathon at the 1992 U.S. Olympic Trials, and finished 12^th in the marathon at the 1992 Barcelona Games.  …  Angle, former 2-time NCAA wrestling champion at clarion University and also recognized by induction to the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and one of the top 15 collegiate wrestlers at the NCAA's 75^th Anniversary in 2005, won an Olympic gold Medal in 1996 in Atlanta … Daly, a Bloomsburg grad, was an outstanding NBA coach with a 519 – 342 career record, led the Detroit Pistons to NBA Titles in 1989 and 1990 and coached the first Olympic “Dream Team” in 1992. …

WADE SCHALLES – CLARION (SEE BIO ABOVE)
 
JOHN CHANEY, Cheyney
Prior to going on to have a successful coaching career at Temple Chaney began his coaching career at Cheyney in the 1970s.  Chaney coached the Wolves' men's team from 1972-82, compiling a 225-59 record and making eight NCAA Division II Tournament appearances, which included winning the national title in 1978. That remains the only national championship ever won by a PSAC school in men's basketball. After leaving Cheyney for Temple, he led the Owls to 23 postseason appearances in 24 seasons as head coach, including 17 trips to the NCAA Tournament, five of which resulted in Elite Eight appearances. He compiled a 516-253 record at Temple, and his wins are the most in school history. Chaney was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2001.

C. VIVIAN STRINGER, Slippery Rock/Cheyney
Stringer, a 1970 (Bachelors) and 1973 (Masters) graduate of Slippery Rock, where she is a member of the Rock Alumni Hall of Fame, coached the Lady Wolves from 1971-83, compiling a 251-51 record at Cheyney. In her second-to-last season at Cheyney in 1981-82, she guided her team to the inaugural NCAA Division I national championship game, where the Wolves finished as national runners-up. Prior to that, the Lady Wolves also appeared in two AIAW Tournaments. Stringer was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009, where she was presented by Chaney at the induction ceremony. After her 12-year run as head coach at Cheyney, Stringer went on to coach at Iowa from 1983-95 and at Rutgers from 1995-present. Entering the 2011-12 season, Stringer has compiled an overall record of 863-308, which ranks third on the Division I all-time wins list. She was the first coach in men's or women's basketball history to take three different schools to the Final Four. In addition to Cheyney in 1982, she led her Iowa team there in 1993 and has appeared in the national semifinals twice with Rutgers in 2000 and 2007.

CATHY RUSH, West Chester
Rush, a 1968 (Bachelors) and 1972 (Masters) graduate of West Chester, gained fame as the head coach at Immaculata College (now University) from 1971-1977.  She coached just six seasons but won three consecutive AIAW national championships from 1972-74 and compiled a 149-15 career record (a .909 winning percentage). In each of Rush's six years as head coach, the Mighty Macs appeared in at least the semifinals of AIAW tournament, which was the predecessor to the NCAA women's basketball tournament. They made five straight appearances in the national championship game, finishing as the runners up in 1975 and 1976. Rush also coached the U.S. wome's basketball team at the 1975 Pan American games, leading the team to a gold medal finish. She was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008. Rush's first season as the head coach at Immaculata was depicted in a recently released Hollywood film entitled The Mighty Macs.

JAN HUTCHINSON, East Stroudsburg/Bloomsburg
Hutchinson, a 1971 (Bachelors) and 1979 (Masters) graduate of East Stroudsburg, coached field hockey and softball at Bloomsburg for 32 and 33 seasons, respectively. She compiled a total of 1,806 wins in both sports before retiring at the conclusion of the 2010 softball season. As the field hockey coach, she posted winning records in 31 of her 32 seasons and a career record of 591-75-20, winning 16 national championships, including four straight twice, as well as 16 PSAC titles. As the softball coach, she compiled a record of 1,215-288-2 and made an NCAA record 28 consecutive trips to the NCAA tournament. She ranks first on the all-time Division II wins list and sixth on the all-time NCAA wins list, regardless of division. She guided the Huskies to the 1982 AIAW national title and to two NCAA national runner-up finishes while playing in the NCAA championships round nine times. Her teams won 15 PSAC championships. In 2006, she was honored with an award named for one of her fellow Award of Merit recipients – the C. Vivian Stringer Award - by the U.S. Sports Academy.