Port Angeles High School picks next head football coach

PORT ANGELES — The Port Angeles School District didn’t have to look too far to find the high school’s new head football coach.

Tom Wahl, an assistant to outgoing coach Dick Abrams last fall, was already on the Roughrider sideline.

District Superintendent Jane Pryne today announced Wahl was selected as Port Angeles’ head football coach for the upcoming fall season.

He will take over a team that is coming off its first winless season in 11 years.

Wahl teaches social studies and physical education at the high school and holds a doctorate in education from Walden University. He replaces Abrams, who resigned earlier this spring after just one season in Port Angeles.

“We are thrilled to have Dr. Wahl lead our football program,” Pryne said in a news release.

“We are confident in his abilities to lead the Roughriders, and we look forward to the program’s future success.

“Dr. Wahl was the unanimous choice of the interview committee; however, all of the candidates were well qualified.”

Wahl has also received a Masters in Sport Science from the United States Sports Academy and a Bachelors of Arts in education from Pacific Lutheran University.

He was head coach at Palmer High School in Alaska for four years and with the Department of Defense Schools in Germany for three years prior to arriving in Port Angeles in September 1999.

Wahl’s appointment will be placed on the June 14 School Board meeting agenda for the expected confirmation.

The meeting will be held at the Central Services Building, 216 E. Fourth St. He begins his stint as head coach of the Roughriders immediately upon board approval.

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