The Seneca Valley wrestling program is by far the oldest and most storied in Butler County.

The proof lies in the program's all-time win total.

It's not often that a single win can tie together 41 years of history, but that's what the Raiders' 62-11 victory over Knoch on Jan. 17 did, giving the program its 450th triumph.

SV became the 17th WPIAL school to reach that many victories.

"It's nice to be part of a great tradition and a strong program," said senior Pat Coyne, who tallied a pin at 145 pounds in the historic win.

"The past and present wrestlers should be proud of what this wrestling program has been able to accomplish over the years," said SV coach Lee Mullett, who has coached the Raiders to an 11-7 mark this year, giving the program a current total of 454 wins.

So many people, from wrestlers to coaches to the program's supporters, can claim a share of the milestone.

But it all started with Ken Lockey.

After wrestling at Philipsburg-Osceola High School and Clarion University, Lockey, now 64, came to Seneca Valley as a social studies teacher in the mid-1960s.

He wanted to expose his students to the sport that had been such a big part of his life.

And, in 1966, he got his wish.

"When I held that first practice, the kids all thought that it was going to be like professional wrestling," Lockey said. "They wanted to know when we were going to bring the ropes out.

"I asked the kids who had ever seen a high school or college wrestling match to raise their hand, and nobody did. That's what we were starting with."

But it didn't take long for Lockey's wrestlers to catch on.

After a 4-7 mark in 1966, Lockey never again coached a losing team before retiring in 1999. He walked away with a career dual-match record of 392-163-13.

Joe Montalbano, Mark Angle and Mullett have followed as head coaches at SV.

In all, the wrestling program has put up some impressive numbers, including six section team titles, nine individual WPIAL champions, 88 individual section champions and one state champion: Rich Barron in 1982.

It's been almost eight years since Lockey stepped down, but his legacy lives on with the Raiders.

Mullett wrestled for Lockey before graduating from Seneca Valley in 1996.

"To be able to go through the program and continue what Ken started means a lot," Mullett said.

"Coach Mullett is always praising Coach Lockey and what he did here," said Coyne.

Lockey has remained close with many of his wrestlers.

"Some of them still come by to visit sometimes," he said. "And I go hunting and fishing with a lot of them. Some have even worked for me at my painting business."

One impression that Lockey tried to make on all his wrestlers was that the team always came first.

"You can get lost in the individuality of wrestling," said Dave Gerrich, who also wrestled for SV and is now the junior high coach. "But Coach Lockey always stressed the team concept. Every match, he would talk to us as a team."There are so many people who have been part of the 450 wins," added Gerrich. "And now that I'm a coach, I have a greater appreciation for it."One of those people is Tom Barron, a long-time elementary coach in the district."He was my coach when I was growing up," said Gerrich. "He's been instrumental in the development of young wrestlers."Another person with strong ties to the program is Bill Hufnagel, who has worked as a statistician for the team since the very beginning."That first year, my wife, Mary, did the stats, and she taught Bill how to do it," said Lockey. "And Bill's been there ever since."Bill can remember a match that happened 20 years ago," said Lockey. "And he'd come up to me and expect me to remember it, too. I'd tell him, 'Bill, after it happens, I just let it go.'"Lockey started the Seneca Valley Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1985. It currently has 45 members, and he became one of them after retiring.He's also enshrined in the Pennsylvania State Wrestling Hall of Fame, the Southwestern Pennsylvania Wrestling Hall of Fame and the Butler County Sports Hall of Fame.Yet Lockey attributes his personal success to other people who made it possible."We had a lot of good kids and that's why we were so successful," he said. "And a lot of that goes to the parents. They were the nucleus and were always a big part of our wrestling family."I always told the kids that if they went out and gave 100 percent, nobody can come back at you. We had a lot of fun together."The Raiders finished 6-3 in the section standings this year and just missed the WPIAL Class AAA playoffs.Mullett sees a bright future for the program."We are starting to rebuild the program," he said. "And we're getting wrestlers with a lot of experience."