Gone, Lost & Forgotten: Their Best = Susquehanna

Located along the beautiful Susquehanna river in Selingsgrove, Pennsylvania the River Hawks of Susquehanna were a competitive wrestling program at both the NCAA Division III level & at the conference level on an individual basis.  Throughout the 80's up through when the program was dropped after the 1995-1996 season, a series of All Americans & conference finalists were produced. 

Ken Tachjy
177 lba 

Even though injury prevented him from wrestling his senior season, Tachjy was still able to rack up a record of 67-8 during his career.   He won a MAC title in 1982, taking NCAA Division III All American status with a fourth place finish. 

He later became an attorney. 

Steve Deckard
190 lbs 

Seeing that it was available to him at the time, after graduating from Selingsgrove High School, Steve Deckard decided to stay home and compete for the River Hawks.  In 1985 as a junior he racked up a record 72 takedowns in route to a MAC title & a third place finish at the NCAA Division III championships.   He won another MAC title in 1986 finishing with a 65-6 career record. 

His brother Mike won a MAC title for the River Hawks in 1984. 

Chris LaBrecque
167 lbs 

After finishing as the MAC runner-up in 1987, LaBrecque not only won an MAC title in 1988, he was named the outstanding wrestler of the tournament.  He capped off his career with a sixth place finish at the NCAA Division III championships. 

Andy Watkins
190 lbs 

Whether it was on the gridiron or it was on the mat, either way there was only one way to describe Andy Watkins, impressive. 

As a football player he racked up 289 tackles, two sacks & three blocked field goals in route to All American status.  The River Hawks went 33-6 during his varsity career, in partial to the excellent defense he provided as a middle linebacker. 

As a wrestler he made an immediate impact earning runner-up honors at the MAC championships his freshman and sophomore seasons, before winning two titles in his final two seasons.  As a junior in 1991 he finished in third place at the NCAA Division III championships.  Although injured he still managed to secure a second All American finish by placing eighth as a senior in 1992.  His career record was 81-16. 

Mike Hardy
 

Hardy won a MAC title in 1995 & followed it up with a runner-up finish in 1996. 

Bill Bryson
142 lbs 

During Bryson's time at Susquehanna the wrestling team got quite a bit of press in the schools newspaper.  That may have been because he ran it.  Also a member of the River Hawk rugby team, Bryson won a MAC title in 1981.  

He later had a career in Highway Safety.