Ledyard — Two wrestlers getting ready to have their photos taken Saturday were from the Class of 1970, Bob Catlow and Pete Wagner, who became Ledyard High School's first two individual wrestling champions on the same day.

The other two were Mike Sullivan and Bo Nguyen, Class of 2017, the most recent winners from Ledyard's championship-laden history.

But other than the 47 years that separated the graduating classes, they were equals. Equals in the respect with which they introduced themselves to each other with a hearty handshake. Equals in the respect they have brought to the town's tradition-proud wrestling juggernaut.

Saturday marked a 50th-anniversary celebration for the Ledyard wrestling program, owner of a record 22 state team championships.

The party was held at Colonel Ledyard Park on a day the Colonels' wrestlers of all-time came together as one.

“This is a great event,” said current Ledyard coach Steve Bilheimer, headed into his 15th season. “I'm so thankful. I feel fortunate just to be a part of Ledyard wrestling. It's something that's hard to do in any sport, but the program has been pretty good since the beginning.

“It's caused me a lot of stress personally; I want to keep things going. I came from a college program with history, too. Springfield College has had wrestling for over 100 years. But (maintaining a level of success at Ledyard) is on your mind. What I get out of coaching is to help kids work hard, push themselves to learn the value of hard work, mentally hard work and physically hard work.”

The team's wrestling room will be named after Ledyard's inaugural coach, the late Rod Leyland, prior to a home match Dec. 12.

Leyland, inducted into the Connecticut chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2004, coached from 1966-80 with a record of 165-20-3, with 57 Eastern Connecticut Conference champions and 22 state champions. There was a 77-match winning streak from 1973-78. And that was just the beginning of Ledyard's cumulative record book.

The first season, Ledyard was 7-5.

“He was very intense, very disciplined and expected nothing but greatness from every single wrestler,” said George Murray, Class of 1974, speaking of Leyland. “And you were only as good as the wrestler behind you who pushed you. He infused a spirit of winning and an esprit de corps.”

Leyland's son Kevin, of Colchester, was a guest Saturday. He joked that his brother Terrey was the only one of three brothers to wrestle for his father because “we drew straws and he lost.”

“My dad was a math teacher, he was a constable of the town, plus he was a coach. He was also a football coach. We had him everywhere,” Kevin Leyland said with a smile. “… But the fact (the wrestling program is) still going on, there's still big stuff going on, it's a legacy.”

Catlow, who now lives in Orland, Maine, was asked by Rod Leyland to join the inaugural team as a freshman to fill the 97-pound weight class. He won at 130 pounds in 1970 and Wagner finished first at 137 a few moments later.

“(Saturday's celebration) brings back a lot of memories, excellent ones,” Catlow said.

“There was something about (Leyland's) personality, his love for the sport,” said Wagner, who resides in Uncasville, as to what made the sport catch on at Ledyard. “He had the ability to get people to give 110 percent. He loved it. 'Blood, sweat and tears,' that was his favorite saying.”

Bilheimer, who has won nine state championships as coach, including the 2017 Class S title, arrived at Ledyard to take over for coach Rob Murphy, with the program coming off one of its best seasons in program history with seven State Open place-winners.

Bilheimer's reaction of “wow, look at this place,” when he first saw the Ledyard wrestling room, also known as the “bomb shelter,” wasn't necessarily one of awe. There was also a depth chart hanging up that day which featured a grand total of 10 wrestlers.

“It's Ledyard. You'd think there'd be four guys at each weight class,” Bilheimer said. “We didn't have a top program that year but we were respectable until we started taking off again.

“We've done OK in wrestling over the years. There's been other successful sports, too, football, softball in the '90s, track and cross country … but hopefully one of the things they still think about is the Ledyard wrestling program.'

v.fulkerson@theday.com