Hall of Fame
Already a high school coaching legend when he arrived on the hilltop in 1961, George Kovalick founded the Hilltopper wrestling program that year while also serving as head baseball coach and assistant football coach. He assumed the head coaching reins for football the following year and promptly led West Liberty to a 7-1 mark. His 1963 team picked up where his inaugural squad had left off, going 7-1-1 to claim the West Virginia Conference title.
Kovalick, who had led tiny Bridgeport High School to a 1959 Ohio state wrestling title before moving into the collegiate ranks, wasted little time putting the Hilltopper wrestling program in the national spotlight. Bobby Douglas, who had won two Ohio state championships for Kovalick at Bridgeport, became West Liberty's first national champion in any sport when he won the 130-pound championship at the 1962 NAIA Nationals.
Kovalick was just as successful on the diamond. His 1963 and 1964 baseball teams were unbeaten in conference play, earning back-to-back titles, and the 1964 team won the NAIA World Series – the first national championship for any West Liberty team!
A native of Nokomis, Ill., Kovalick was a football and baseball standout at Kent State University. A six-time letterman, he was a third-team football All-American as a senior and was a three-time All-Ohio college selection at guard. Kovalick is a member of the Kent State Hall of Fame, the Ohio Valley Athletic Conference Hall of Fame, the National Wrestling Hall of Fame's West Virginia Chapter and the National Wrestling Hall of Fame's Ohio Chapter.
