A graduate of nearby Austintown Fitch High School (class of 1975), Dane Stilgenbauer wrestled for the Penguins from 1975-76 to 1978-79 under Head Coach Tom Cox (1975-76 and 1976-77) and Norm Palovcik (1977-78 to 1978-79)
As a scholastic grappler, Stilgenbauer began to leave his mark when he placed fourth In the O.H.S.A.A (Ohio High School Athletic Association) Division I 145-lb. Wrestling championships as a senior.
He accepted a scholarship to wrestle at Youngstown State University and for the next four years, left a legacy with the mat program that not many individuals will equal.
The team posted a 31-41-0 overall mark (19-7-0 his senior season under Palovcik) while he posted an 84-26-2 individual career slate.
A four-time qualifier for the NCAA Division II wrestling championships, he was a top eight finisher all four trips to the elite tourney. As a senior during the 1978-79 season, he earned All-America Honors in the 158-lb. class.
He earned his BS degree in Education from Youngstown State University in 1979, majoring in Physical education while minoring in Driver Education.
He is currently teaching Physical Education, Health, Driver Education and Drug/Alcohol Awareness at Kennedy Christian High School (Hermitage, PA) where he also serves as the head Wrestling Coach. As the Wrestling Coach, he led his teams to the section II AA championship (1987-88), district 10 AA championship (1988-89 and 1989-90), the N.W. Regional Runner-Up crown (1988-89 and 1989-90) as well as a Pennsylvania State AA Tournament third place (1989-90) and fifth place (1988-89) finish.
He has coached 12 Sectional individual champions, 12 District champions, three N.W. Regional champions, six state place winners, as well as three state runner-ups.
He is the father of two children, Dane (5) and Anna (4).
