Pennsylvania’s 1995 wrestling state champion in the 130 lbs weight class was none other than a Pine Grove alumnus, Ted Kemmerling. Having wrestled for most of his schooling, Kemmerling graduated from Pine Grove Area in 1995 and had a full ride scholarship to Hofstra University for wrestling. He started there in the fall of 1995 and attended Hofstra for three semesters until he transferred to a school a little closer to home, Lebanon Valley College, during the spring semester of 1997. Kemmerling ultimately graduated college in May of 2000 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting.

While in college, Kemmerling continued to wrestle. During his time at Hofstra, he competed as a Division 1 athlete. While at LVC, Kemmerling did not slow down. Kemmerling was a 2 time Middle Atlantic Conference Champion. He also qualified for the NCAA National tournament 3 times and was a 2 time All-American. He placed 4th in the country as a junior and 2nd in the country as a senior. 

 After college, he went on to have a few jobs. In 2004, his eldest daughter, Lindsey was born. And in 2006, his second child, Katie was born.

After his career in wrestling began to fade, Kemmerling found a love for biking. He soon learned of a 100 mile bike race in Leadville, Colorado; his new goal was to complete that. In 2012, Kemmerling traveled to Colorado to be a volunteer at the event. Then, in both the years 2015 and 2016, Kemmerling raced in the event. He finished in under 10 hours both times, earning him a belt buckle each time. A belt buckle at Leadville is a big deal and only awarded to those who finish the race in under 12 hours. 

After Leadville, Kemmerling sort of retired from everything. He kept up biking and wrestling on the side. Now, he enjoys hanging out with his girls, Lindsey and Katie, riding his many bikes, traveling, and spending time with his dog, Ferris. His advice to kids still in high school is, “When I was in high school, I never would have dreamed that I would have had the experiences that I had. I dreamed of visiting Colorado, but never knew that one day that I would actually get there. So far I’ve been to Colorado four times, Utah, England, Scotland, and Taiwan. I learned that I don’t know where life will take me. My advice to people in high school now and what I would say to the younger version of myself is to DREAM BIG! One of my favorite quotes is from Henry Ford. He said, “Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right.”