Editor's Note: Last month, Chaminade's George Dlugonowski recorded his 500th win as the school's wrestling coach. Former Chaminade student Steve Dalton submitted the following letter letter to Patch congratulating him.

Levittown resident George Dlugolonski recently notched his 500th win as the varsity wrestling coach at Chaminade High School, becoming the first coach on Long Island to do so. Coach “Dugo” has coached 39 seasons at Chaminade and also currently serves as the Chairman of the Physical Education department.

Dlugolonski is beloved by wrestlers (both current and former) and alumni, and greatly respected by coaches from other schools. The spacious wrestling room in Chaminade’s new Activity-Athletic Center is now even referred to as “the Dugo Dome.” Coach Dlugolonski instilled in his young men—be it on the wrestling team or just in gym class—the importance of personal responsibility and character; as a result, in addition to the 17 Catholic State titles and 17 Catholic High School Athletic Association (CHSAA) titles that line the hallways at the school, the team has won the league’s sportsmanship award. Coach Dlugolonski was inducted into the New York State Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2007 and the New York State CHSAA Hall of Fame in 2008.

From my first day as a freshman, he would drive by as I waited for my bus and wave as he made his way to Fred’s Deli for his morning coffee, though it would have been nice if he offered a ride. In the five years since my graduation, Coach Dlugolonski has gone from being my gym coach to being my friend. Thankfully, he no longer tells me to do the “coordinator exercise,” but I wanted to make sure that his community knows what a dedicated and decent man he is.

If I know Coach Dugo at all, I am sure that while he is humbled by his 500 wins, he is prouder of the several hundreds of boys he helped grow into mature young men fit physically, mentally, and spiritually. What’s more, I am sure he’s only just begun.

Congratulations, Coach!