Who was Ray Westberg?
Ray Westberg was a coach, a teacher, a writer, a friend, and a father figure to many.
Ray Westberg, longtime wrestling coach and teacher at Ellensburg High School, died Thursday.
Westberg, voted the 1995 Washington wrestling coach of the year, led the Class AA Bulldogs to consecutive undefeated seasons and the Mid-Valley League championship the past two seasons. The Bulldogs have won nearly 30 consecutive home dual meets, and several wrestlers have placed at the state meet under Westberg's tutelage.
Westberg, 47, collapsed in his classroom shortly before 10 a.m. Thursday, complaining of intense pain in his chest and legs. He later died after being transported by ambulance to a local hospital.
Westberg, a Vietnam veteran and graduate of Pullman High and Washington State, was first hired in the Ellensburg School District 23 years ago as an English teacher at Morgan Middle School. Westberg moved to the high school and began assisting the wrestling team about 15 years ago, said Roger Krening, Ellensburg's athletic director who had known Westberg for a dozen years.
Westberg also was Ellensburg's head football coach for four seasons (1983-86).
Respected by his students and peers, Westberg was voted Teacher of the Year by Bulldog students the past four years.
Recounting Westberg's achievements is difficult, Krening said, because Westberg rarely shared his accolades with others.
"He's one that never bragged about his success, and if he did (win awards), he kept those things to himself," Krening said. "It was a privilege for me to know him and he bettered my life."
Daily Record News Article- Ray Westberg's influence still carries weight and inspires all
Jan 20, 2020
Rodney Harwood
Before there was Ray Westberg, the wrestling tournament, there was Ray Westberg the man.
He was an educator — a U.S. Marine who served his country in Vietnam. He was a coach, a lover of the sport who loved life and pushed his students to that same standard of excellence. He held people accountable.
And as long-time coach and educator Nip Tucker said Saturday afternoon at the wrestling tournament in his memory, Ray was all things Ellensburg.
“Ray was the reason you wanted to live in Ellensburg. There’s the Ellensburg Rodeo, Jazz in the Valley and Ray Westberg,” said Tucker, who was in Westberg’s sixth-grade class in 1974. “He was a marine and a no-nonsense kind of guy.”
“He held people accountable in a positive way, and I think that’s what I admired about him most,” Tucker said. “Yeah, he was a fine coach, but if his kids weren’t working hard in the classroom, they didn’t participate. Didn’t matter how good they were, if they had one of his classes they towed the line.”
Westberg, a popular Ellensburg High School teacher who barely survived the Vietnam War, collapsed in front of students during a morning class on Sept. 4, 1997. The English teacher and longtime wrestling coach was 47 when he died of an apparent heart attack.
He had been an athlete, mountaineer, soldier, educator and author. He was known for his intelligence and quick wit, according to an Associated Press story. The revered educator had evolved from the horrors of the Vietnam War, which was testament to his character. Critics feared him. His students worshiped him.
Ellensburg head coach Jeremy Wolfenbarger was in that classroom that tragic day and later went to the hospital where he, along with Westberg’s close friends Dr. Bill Pace and Patt and Sandy Stevenson, were there when Westberg passed away.
“He’s the reason I am who I am today,” Wolfenbarger said. “I was in the class that day, we (the wrestling team) all were. It was devastating. But he made us better. He was the kind of guy you wanted to work hard for because he believed in you and helped you believe in yourself.
“He held you accountable, made you stand for something. It wasn’t all about sports. Yeah, he’s the reason I am who I am today.”
Bulldogs assistant coach Jeff Rinehart wrestled for Westberg in 1994. He remembers a man fair in his assessment and straight forward in his delivery.
“No matter how good you were, he would always put school work first. It was a shock when he died. It was tough because he’d been around forever. So to name this tournament after him is special,” he said.
The year of Westberg’s passing, senior Marcus Mays dedicated the season to his former coach. Mays went 34-0 and won a state championship. Westberg was a major influence in the lives of the Stevenson brothers, Sandy and Jason, both of whom went on to All-American recognition at Central Washington University.
On Saturday, the tournament crowned three champions from Ellensburg, including lower weight most outstanding wrestler Christian Davis (120), Lorenzo Gonzalez (160 pounds) and Fransisco Ayala (132).
“To win the championship at the Ray Westberg means something,” said senior Henry Rinehart, who won the 182-pound championship the year before. “I placed third this year, but to wrestle well at this tournament means something to all of us.”
Additional settings for Safari Browser.
