The Section IV Athletic Hall of Fame has recently announced it’s latest induction class. Among the names on the list were two Chenango County coaching standouts, Don Kovalchik (Norwich) and Steven Burghardt (Whitney Point and Greene). Both were officially inducted this past Saturday, Feb 27, at the Floyd L. Maines Arena in Binghamton.

•Don Kovalchik was born in New York City, and raised, educated in first employed in New Jersey before joining Section IV and Norwich.

At the time of his retirement Kovalchik was Norwich High Schools all time winningest coach.

After he was hired as an English teacher in 1969, he became an assistant coach for two seasons, before taking over the Tornado’s reins for the next 30-years from 1971-to 2001.

During the course of those 30 campaigns, Kovalchik led Norwich to the pinnacle of the wrestling worlds successes. His teams compiled an impressive 271-124-5 (.686) dual meet record.

Along the way, the Tornado laid claim to six class championships and six more STAC division titles, breaking Johnson City’s stronghold on the overall STAC Crown in the 1990-91 season when Norwich claimed that honor.

Some other accomplishments were his Norwich wrestlers were New York State Winners 10 times, won 13 section IV titles, 37 class crowns, 29 individual STAC first, and 89 runners-up for the Tornado Matman.