Alumni Bulletin - Fall 2008 - (Page 35)

to take his ability and maximize it. “He had an unbelievable amount of drive and desire,” then-Lehigh coach Thad Turner says. “To do what he did, as small as he was, was impressive.” At Lehigh, Weaver won a pair of Eastern championships and advanced to the NCAA tourney three times. As a junior in 1981, he finished third in the country, dropping a decision to Randy Willingham of Oklahoma State in the national quarterfinals, but fighting back to win the consolation bracket. Weaver’s collegiate success was impressive, but it paled next to what he accomplished on the international scene. In 1979, he made his first U.S. national team, and a year later, he earned a spot on the U.S. Olympic squad. Weaver was thrilled and looked forward to wrestling in Moscow. Unfortunately, the government had other ideas. The United States boycotted the Summer Games in protest of the USSR’s invasion of Afghanistan the previous December. It was a crushing blow for every athlete scheduled to compete, although Weaver looked at it differently than some of his teammates. “I was still fairly young, and I didn’t understand the impact that someone who was closer to 30 felt,” he says. “I knew I would get another chance. It was disappointing, yes, but if I had been older, I would have been very Weaver, who tore through his first three opponents, dispatching each in the first period. In the final, he pinned Japan’s Takashi Irie in 2:58 and then staged a jubilant, cathartic celebration. Weaver ran laps around the venue by himself and then grabbed his infant son, Bobby Jr., and ran some more. The crowd loved it, and it became a highlight-reel staple. “I was not surprised about the emotion,” Lori says. “It just built up over all the years of wrestling.” Thad Turner joins Leeman with 9th NCAA individual title coached (Pete Yozzo) 1987 1987 Turner celebrates final season with surprise EIWA team title (8th in 18 yrs) Tom Hutchinson is 2nd of 3 LU coaches of Pan Am Games (Sheridan, Strobel) 1990 1996 Greg Strobel hired as head coach; also Head Coach, U.S. Olympic Team Strobel again named Olympic Head Coach Teaching fuTure champions When Strobel returned from Oklahoma City, he brought Weaver’s Hall of Fame plaque and ring to a practice session for Weaver Elite, the wrestler’s club team that attracts kids from the Lehigh Valley. He presented the hardware to Weaver in a small ceremony and stepped back to listen as Weaver explained what it all meant to him. “He has an infectious personality, and he takes control of the area when he speaks,” Strobel says. “The kids listen to him, and he does a great job of teaching.” Watching him with the kids, Strobel couldn’t help but shake his head. Though Weaver teaches sixth-grade math at Phillipsburg Middle School and has been there 2000 2001 USA Today honors Grace Hall as 1 of 5 greatest college indoor venues Rob Rohn scores greatest-ever NCAA finals comeback win with 4th tourney fall 2002 2003 Jon Trenge becomes LU’s 10th 2-time NCAA finalist; 1st 2x ugrad Midlands champ All-time Lehigh record home dual meet crowd of 5,823 LU season record three dual meet wins vs. Top 4 NCAA teams “I was not surprised about the emotion. It just built up over all the years of wrestling.” disappointed. Still, I lost an opportunity when I was wrestling very well.” Weaver did get another chance, in 1984, and he capitalized. After failing to make the 1983 U.S. World Cup team because he cut down to 105 pounds too quickly and lost strength, Weaver prepared properly for the ’84 Olympic trials and made the team that would compete in Los Angeles. The Soviet Bloc returned the U.S. favor from 1980 and sat out the L.A. Games, diluting the field somewhat, but it wouldn’t have mattered much. Weaver had finished third earlier in the year in Tbilisi, USSR, against the top Soviet wrestlers—“I could have been better,” he says—and would have been one of the favorites to win Olympic gold, no matter who was there. The Olympic field was no match for 15 years, he worked in banking for 10 years after ending his wrestling career. He didn’t realize that being around children was his true calling. “I was teaching some kids to wrestle, and their parents watched me instruct them and told me I was in the wrong business [banking],” Weaver says. “They said I should be teaching.” So, he teaches. Math. Double-arm bars. Life. The kid who couldn’t beat anybody on the mats has become a champion, a Hall of Famer, and an example to all who doubt that hard work, determination, and time can combine to produce a pretty impressive product. He’s back at Lehigh, too, helping out Strobel at camps. It’s just part of the wrestling life, part of Bobby Weaver. And it always will be. LU 2005 2006 Strobel is fastest EIWA coach to earn 6 team titles (in 1st 11 seasons) 5th straight EIWA team title matches LU best of ’31-’35 as league’s best since 1917 N.Y. Times features Lehigh fans and wrestling tradition Greg Strobel moves into administrative leadership role with Athletics Department and Pat Santoro is named head coach. 2008 save The DaTe Lehigh Wrestling Gala celebrating LU’s 100th season of wrestling January 24, 2009 at Saucon Valley Country Club For more information, contact Denny Diehl at dennydiehl@aol.com or Greg Strobel 35 F FALL 2008 at gos2@lehigh.edu.

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Alumni Bulletin - Fall 2008 Contents From the President's Desk Mailbox On Campus Research Arts & Culture Sports Cover Story: The Dalai Lama at Lehigh Heart of a Champion Around the World in 80 Years Fighting for Children wth Autism Keepers of the Flame From the Publisher's Desk Alumni News The Last Word

Alumni Bulletin - Fall 2008

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