Roger Lamens
Roger Lamens was one of the most successful wrestlers to ever come out of the Chestnut Ridge wrestling program.
Known as one of the top pinners in the area, he found his success not only at the high school level, but he also went to two different colleges and his success continued there.
As a senior in high school, Lamens had a 16-2 record and recorded 13 falls. He won the 165-pound weight class in District 5, but did not make it out of regionals. He was also on the Lions' football team.
He took his talents to Keystone College, which was a junior college located near Scranton. The program was coached by Larry Fornicola, a two-time NCAA champion at Penn State, and Lamens bloomed at Keystone.
Lamens was 10-1 at Keystone and all 10 of his wins were by pinning his opponent. That included three wins with three falls at the NJCAA Regional Tournament, and three more pins at nationals. He had his only loss of the season to the wrestler that took third at nationals.
However, he caught the eye of the West Virginia University wrestling program, and he earned a scholarship to take the mat for the Mountaineers.
Lamens continued to be successful in Morgantown. He compiled a 62-11-1 record for the Mountaineers with an astounding 56 falls in his career.
His senior year, Lamens was named a captain of the team, and was given the team's Outstanding Wrestler Award that season.
However, West Virginia did not participate in post-season tournaments during the Vietnam War, so Lamens and his teammates did not get to wrestle in the NCAAs or any other qualifying tournament.
After college, he returned home and was an assistant coach at Chestnut Ridge, and he helped coach the Lions to the District 5-AA team championship in the 1982-83 season.
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Roger Lamens was one of the most successful wrestlers to ever come out of the Chestnut Ridge wrestling program.
Known as one of the top pinners in the area, he found his success not only at the high school level, but he also went to two different colleges and his success continued there.
As a senior in high school, Lamens had a 16-2 record and recorded 13 falls. He won the 165-pound weight class in District 5, but did not make it out of regionals. He was also on the Lions' football team.
He took his talents to Keystone College, which was a junior college located near Scranton. The program was coached by Larry Fornicola, a two-time NCAA champion at Penn State, and Lamens bloomed at Keystone.
Lamens was 10-1 at Keystone and all 10 of his wins were by pinning his opponent. That included three wins with three falls at the NJCAA Regional Tournament, and three more pins at nationals. He had his only loss of the season to the wrestler that took third at nationals.
However, he caught the eye of the West Virginia University wrestling program, and he earned a scholarship to take the mat for the Mountaineers.
Lamens continued to be successful in Morgantown. He compiled a 62-11-1 record for the Mountaineers with an astounding 56 falls in his career.
His senior year, Lamens was named a captain of the team, and was given the team's Outstanding Wrestler Award that season.
However, West Virginia did not participate in post-season tournaments during the Vietnam War, so Lamens and his teammates did not get to wrestle in the NCAAs or any other qualifying tournament.
After college, he returned home and was an assistant coach at Chestnut Ridge, and he helped coach the Lions to the District 5-AA team championship in the 1982-83 season.
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Class of 2012
Bedford County Sports Hall of Fame
Bedford County, Pennsylvania
Bedford County, Pennsylvania