Ken Lockey’s imprint on Seneca Valley’s wrestling program — and the high school’s athletics entirely — can’t be overstated.

“He put Seneca Valley wrestling on the map in the WPIAL,” said Wayne Bloom, who wrestled for Lockey and the Raiders from 1976-78. “I also think the school as a whole and the sports programs and the athletic department as a whole, people knew who Seneca Valley was because of his success.

“He broke the ice. He set the standard.”

Lockey died Wednesday at 83 years old. He was Seneca Valley’s head wrestling coach from the program’s inception in 1966 until 1999. Upon his retirement, his 392 dual-meet victories were the most in WPIAL history. That record included a pristine 15-0 mark during the 1977-78 season.

Bloom lauded Lockey’s attention to detail with technique and conditioning. The longtime coach expected “modesty in victory. He didn’t ... want us to show up our opponents,” Bloom said.

Joe Montalbano, a former assistant of Lockey’s, had the tough task of following his footsteps. With Lockey’s backing and following two seasons helping out, Montalbano took over as the Raiders’ coach from 2000-02.

After just three seasons at the helm, Montalbano said he “hit a wall, with my kids being young.”

“That was a big commitment and big shoes to fill for a guy that ran it that many years and had the run that he did,” Montalbano said. “The guys over the years prior, too, all had an admiration for him.”

Montalbano returned to coaching Seneca Valley wrestling on the youth scene in 2008. He followed a young group to the high school ranks and wound up winning four consecutive section crowns.

“I still always had that commitment to want to finish what I started and that’s why I got back in,” Montalbano said. “I didn’t have to be the head coach, but I wanted to raise the program. ... That was all (to) give back to him for backing me to do the job.”

Lockey’s calm demeanor also stood out to many.

“He didn’t have a whole lot of highs and lows. He was a real even-keeled personality,” Montalbano said. “He was a good mentor to the kids because he was strong and direct with them, but in that old grandfather style.”

“I think I can speak for my teammates and most everybody else that wrestled for him. His personal style, he was the type of man that you did not wanna disappoint,” Bloom said. “You gave him your best effort.”