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Owls tab Whisler to coach baseball By KEVIN GOFF KLAMATH FALLS � One week after announcing the reinstatement of its baseball program after a 10-year hiatus, Oregon Institute of Technology named current South Medford High baseball coach Pete Whisler as the Owls� new head man on Saturday. Whisler will take the reigns when the sport makes its return in the spring of 2002. He is scheduled to remain as a teacher and coach at South Medford during the 2000-01 school year. "I�m excited to get back into college coaching," said Whisler, who was the head coach of the Owls during the 1989 and 1990 seasons before the program was eliminated due to Measure 5. "It will be great to get back to the program and build it back up to where it used to be." Prior to the job at South, Whisler guided Mazama High to a 113-17 record over five seasons, winning the Class 4A state championship in 1996. Whisler was also named the Class 4A coach of the year in 1996. Whisler was head coach of the Klamath Falls Falcons American Legion squad from the 1988-1998 season and compiled a 440-224 record. The Falcons made the state playoffs 10 of the 11 years under Whisler, winning the state championship in 1996 while being runner-up on three other occasions. Despite his enthusiasm for his new coaching responsibilities, Whisler still has goals for the South Medford program this coming season. "It�s still business as usual for us," said Whisler about the Panthers� program. "We have a lot of goals still to accomplish and the summer teams had great seasons. "The people at South have been great to me and we think we have a good shot at the playoffs this year." Whisler graduated from Western Oregon in 1987. While attending Western, he was an assistant baseball coach for three seasons. Whisler also played two years in the Cleveland Indians organization after being a second-round draft pick by the team in 1980. He went to OIT during the 1988 season where he was an assistant coach for a year before taking the reigns as the head coach. Under Whisler, the Owls won the Cascade Conference and advanced to the regional tournament. "We had a very successful program," said Whisler. "It was really disappointing when we were told it (OIT baseball) was over." Plans for replacing Whisler at South have not immediately begun, but according to Whisler there are a lot of worthy candidates. "There are a lot of great baseball people in the area that would make great coaches," said Whisler of his eventual replacement. "Right now it�s too early for me to even think about that." OIT Athletic Director Dan Miles was ecstatic about bringing Whisler back into the program. "We are very happy that Pete will be back with us," Miles said in a statement released by the school. "He is a fine coach and will get a chance to compete in a very good conference. "I know that OIT will be very competitive in baseball under Pete�s leadership." Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA