Remembering Kelly Glaubensklee
by Bill Kilpack

Kelly (center) with his parents.

It's with great sadness that I am informing many of you who enjoyed the friendship of Kelly Glaubensklee that he has passed away after an incident of senseless violence. He was 19. Any of you who knew him would not be surprised that he had been defending a close friend who was being hassled by some boys, which led to the horrible incident.

I coached Kelly for six wrestling seasons and he stands out amongst the hundreds of athletes I trained. He worked hard, never questioned why, just trusted in me enough to know that I was trying to help. Kelly was a good friend to my son, his teammates, and even his opponents. He did not hesitate to help his teammates, be it younger wrestlers who needed assistance learning a move, or even if it was just trying to help them focus during instruction, be it with a finger to his lips and a shush, or gripping his brother's wrist to remind him that it was time to listen quietly. I try not to treat my wrestlers any differently, one from another, but I have to admit that Kelly was a favorite. He had high expectations of himself and always pushed himself to improve. At the same time, I can't think of another wrestler who made it any more clear that he wanted to make his parents proud. I know that they are, not just of his accomplishments as an athlete, but as the fine young man he grew to be.

I had the pleasure of watching him grow from a freckled kid into that man. Kelly touched a lot of lives, leaving an impression, even if those relationships were brief. He will be greatly missed by me, my family, and coaches, past and present, and the many families in the closely knit wrestling community.

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