Ron Seibel receives highest award

Former ML wrestling coach named national coach of the year

MOSES LAKE — Ron Seibel missed coaching wrestling in his first year removed as head coach of the Moses Lake wrestling team, but wrestling didn't miss giving him honors.

The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association made the submission and the National Federation of State High School Associations made Seibel the NFHS National Wrestling coach of the year. He was also given the NFHS Section 8 coaches award.

"On behalf of the WIAA, I can say, without hesitation, that you represent the true meaning of the spirit of coaching our youth through interscholastic activities," Mike Colbrese, executive director of the WIAA, told Seibel in a letter announcing the recognition. "You are most deserving of the honor of this recognition and have made all of us in the state of Washington proud."

Seibel called it a lifetime achievement award after coaching the at the Moses Lake High School for 28 years and recording nine state championships and seven runnerup finishes over the course of his career.

He also coached 26 individual state champions, recorded a 408-32-2 win-loss record and led Moses Lake to 25 district titles. An accolade, Seibel said the state felt deserving of submission.

Seibel said the WIAA approached him about submitting his name mainly for recognition purposes.

"(They said) we would like to do it because we would like our state to be recognized," Seibel said.

During Seibel's career with Moses Lake, he was approached once about going to the college level to coach, but during his time frame, he watched the number of colleges supporting wrestling drop to only two at the present, both of which are junior colleges.

To make the jump to the college level today would require him to make a move out of state, something hard to do after he made Moses Lake his home.

"I have been involved with this program since 1959," Seibel said.

Since retiring, Seibel said it was difficult to sit in the background and watch someone else do the coaching in his stead. Now, he has been traveling to other schools to put on clinics and has found a new setting in the sport that fits his present situation.

"I am not going to do it next year and I am out of coaching," Seibel said. "I am going to do some clinics and some camps."