Ken Whitsel is a graduate of Lewistown HS and Lock Haven University. At Lewistown, Whitsel had an outstanding four-year career that saw him qualify for the PIAA State Championships all four years and earn PIAA medals in his final three years. He posted a remarkable scholastic record of 103 wins and only five losses. Among these victories, 72 came by pin and he won all 52 dual meet matches in his career. Whitsel is a 4x District 6 champion, earning Outstanding Wrestler honors all four times. At the regional level, he mirrored this achievement with four championships and three OW awards. In 1977, as a sophomore, Whitsel finished as the State Runner-up, losing to Easton’s Bobby Weaver, a future Olympic Gold medalist, 7-5. The following year, in 1978, the Lewistown grappler finished the season with a perfect 28-0 record with 22 pins, a forfeit and three superior decisions on his way to the 105-pound state championship, beating Erie Cathedral Prep’s Jeff Sciabetta in the finals, 3-2. Whitsel finished in third-place finish in 1979, after being upset in the semi-finals by Shaler’s Kraig Nellis, 5-5, 7-1 in overtime. In freestyle competition, Whitsel won the AAU National Championship. In 1974, he took Silver at the World Championship in Santo Domingo, representing his country on an international stage. In 1978, Whitsel continued his success by winning the AAU National Championship once again. He earned a spot on the World Team and toured Europe, compiling a 9-0 record against international competitors. By 1979, At the conclusion of prep career Whitsel had become a household name asone of only four Pennsylvania wrestlers to surpass 100 career wins at that point.

Whitsel’s 103 wins placed him in elite company.