Garden Spot Mat Club, home of Garden Spot Wrestling

Keith Musser began wrestling in the third grade, and continued even through graduation in 1986.  He and his brother Cordell (’84) trained together at Garden Spot under Coach Hale and later Messiah College in Grantham, PA.

The brothers were no strangers to overcoming adversity with a champions attitude.  From early childhood, Cordell learned to walk, run, and wrestle in spite of the loss of his right leg below the knee.  As a Spartan wrestler, he advanced to the State Championship three times.  Keith knew adversity as well and is remembered as a hard worker who loved the sport of wrestling.

“He often ran into hardship and obstacles in his path” his brother reflects.  “But Keith approached his illness and his life the same way he approached the challenges of this sport...  with determination.”

A Spartan team captain and leader, Keith was optimistic, friendly or rarely had a bad word or mood around friends, family and teammates, even during the long nine month battle with cancer that claimed his life in 1989.

“Wrestling is a very hard sport that requires much physical and mental conditioning – like life.  You don’t always have a team to fall back on.  You get out of wrestling what you put into it.”  Cordell explains the relationship between wrestling and life and the essence of the award he presents each year in honor of his brother Keith.

As brothers, Keith and Cordell were two years and weight class apart.  Rivals, yet close, they roomed together in college, wrestled through school and were always pushing each other.

Keith was a consummate “coachable athlete”.  He was all state soccer player, league MVP in baseball and section Champion his senior year of wrestling.  Former GSHS soccer coach Ray Stern once said that if he could pick an athlete for his own son to aspire to... it would be Keith Musser.  He demonstrated the condition of mind and body for the challenge of sport and life.