Bigford, Elia, Koenig elected to Section 3 Wrestling Hall of Fame
Dereck Bigford, Sam Elia, Rich Koenig
By Tom Rowe
CICERO – Three former Chenango County residents associated with the sport of wrestling were recently inducted into the Section 3 Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Dereck Bigford, a graduate of Sherburne-Earlville, long-time Norwich coach Sam Elia and Rich Koenig, a Sherburne grad were three of the six 2019 honorees feted during banquet ceremonies held here Saturday night, Nov. 2 at the Lakeshore Yacht and Country Club.
Bigford wrestled four years at S-E and subsequently another four at SUNY Brockport, where he placed as a NCAA Division III All-American in 1981 (4th) and 1982 (2nd). At the conclusion of his collegiate career, he first coached at Holley High School (Rochester area) and later at S-E before beginning a 30-year tenure at Cicero-North Syracuse.
While at C-NS, Bigford amassed 334 wins, captured 10 league championships and was named Coach of the Year another 10 times. Bigford was also a member of the Syracuse Wrestling Officials Association for 25 years, and continues to coach the modified program at Phoenix Central School.
Elia, who took over the Norwich program in 1946, was the coach of the Purple Tornado for 19 years – the first six in Section 4 and subsequent 13 in Section 3. Between 1952 and 1965, his teams compiled a Section 3 record of 87-36-4 (.707), while his overall mark was 124-55-5 (.693).
During his time as a Section 3 coach, Norwich claimed the overall sectional title on two occasions in 1956 and 1959, while finishing second to perennial powerhouse Watertown four other times (1953, 1954, 1957 and 1958). Three seasons his teams went undefeated in 1952-53, 1954-55 and 1955-56; and during the first seven years of the Iroquois League were crowned champions. Elia, who also coached golf and was the NHS Athletic Director, died in 1997.
Koenig was this area’s first New York State champion when he laid claim to the 138-pound title with a 9-4 triumph over Lloyd Jerauld of Sidney at the third annual event on March 6, 1965 in Ithaca. He narrowly missed a second crown when he was decisioned 2-0 in overtime by Mark Stephens of Elmira Southside in their 145-pound final a year later at Walt Whitman High School in Huntington Station.
Following his 1966 graduation from Sherburne, Koenig wrestled at Lehigh University before finishing his collegiate career at Colgate. He later served as the assistant coach at both Colgate and Bucknell.
Joining Bigford (Cicero-North Syracuse), Elia (Norwich) and Koenig (Sherburne) as part of this year’s class were Neil Freeman (Copenhagen), Dick Meldrim (Cortland) and Derek Pfluger (Sandy Creek). Their inductions bring the number of Section 3 wrestlers, coaches and contributors to 110, since the Hall was founded in the early 1980s.
CICERO – Three former Chenango County residents associated with the sport of wrestling were recently inducted into the Section 3 Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Dereck Bigford, a graduate of Sherburne-Earlville, long-time Norwich coach Sam Elia and Rich Koenig, a Sherburne grad were three of the six 2019 honorees feted during banquet ceremonies held here Saturday night, Nov. 2 at the Lakeshore Yacht and Country Club.
Bigford wrestled four years at S-E and subsequently another four at SUNY Brockport, where he placed as a NCAA Division III All-American in 1981 (4th) and 1982 (2nd). At the conclusion of his collegiate career, he first coached at Holley High School (Rochester area) and later at S-E before beginning a 30-year tenure at Cicero-North Syracuse.
While at C-NS, Bigford amassed 334 wins, captured 10 league championships and was named Coach of the Year another 10 times. Bigford was also a member of the Syracuse Wrestling Officials Association for 25 years, and continues to coach the modified program at Phoenix Central School.
Elia, who took over the Norwich program in 1946, was the coach of the Purple Tornado for 19 years – the first six in Section 4 and subsequent 13 in Section 3. Between 1952 and 1965, his teams compiled a Section 3 record of 87-36-4 (.707), while his overall mark was 124-55-5 (.693).
During his time as a Section 3 coach, Norwich claimed the overall sectional title on two occasions in 1956 and 1959, while finishing second to perennial powerhouse Watertown four other times (1953, 1954, 1957 and 1958). Three seasons his teams went undefeated in 1952-53, 1954-55 and 1955-56; and during the first seven years of the Iroquois League were crowned champions. Elia, who also coached golf and was the NHS Athletic Director, died in 1997.
Koenig was this area’s first New York State champion when he laid claim to the 138-pound title with a 9-4 triumph over Lloyd Jerauld of Sidney at the third annual event on March 6, 1965 in Ithaca. He narrowly missed a second crown when he was decisioned 2-0 in overtime by Mark Stephens of Elmira Southside in their 145-pound final a year later at Walt Whitman High School in Huntington Station.
Following his 1966 graduation from Sherburne, Koenig wrestled at Lehigh University before finishing his collegiate career at Colgate. He later served as the assistant coach at both Colgate and Bucknell.
Joining Bigford (Cicero-North Syracuse), Elia (Norwich) and Koenig (Sherburne) as part of this year’s class were Neil Freeman (Copenhagen), Dick Meldrim (Cortland) and Derek Pfluger (Sandy Creek). Their inductions bring the number of Section 3 wrestlers, coaches and contributors to 110, since the Hall was founded in the early 1980s.
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