The stroudsburg wrestling program will be saying goodbye to head varsity coach Mr. Matthew Kleinle. Ai?? A coach since 2001, Kleinle assisted legendary coach Mr. Ron Spinner for four years. Ai??After his retirement, Kleinle took over as head coach for 11 years.

Kleinle has coached the Mounties to an impressive 133-72 record in his 11 years as head coach and this year he capped off a great run by helping guide senior Jake Jakobsen to a state title. Ai??Jakobsen became the first wrestler from Monroe Country to achieve this feat.

ai???The last four seconds before Jake won his state title has to have been my most exciting moments as a coach,ai??? said Kleinle.

Kleinle has produced 42 district place winners, 18 regional place winners, and four state place winners. This is better than any other wrestling coach in Monroe County in the past eleven years.

ai???Iai??i??m not worried about leaving the program,” said Kleinle. Ai??”Thereai??i??s a strong underclass that is returning and a lot of support throughout the community for the wrestling program. The program will do fine without me,ai??? he added.

Jakobsen still believes the program will continue to be successful.Ai??ai???I donai??i??t think there will be a great impact when he leaves. Yes the program is losing a terrific coach, but he will still be involved in some ways. As long as the program hires the right guy, the program will only go up from where it is,ai??? said Jakobsen

Kleinle has also led the Mounties to five Mountain Valley Conference Championships (MVC). ai???Winning that first MVC championship was something special to me and will always be a highlight for me,ai??? said Kleinle.

Even though Kleinle closes this chapter in his book, he looks forward to watching the program grow and keep on winning.

ai???He {Kleinle}always had a personal connection with the kids he coached and always wanted what was best for them in not just wrestling but life,ai??? said senior Jake Jones.

It is not known who is going to be the head coach next year, but whoever it is will have some big shoes to fill.