NEWBERRY, S.C. - Newberry College director of athletics Andy Carter announced today that Jason Valek, present head wrestling coach at Newberry High School, has been hired to lead the Indians' wrestling program effective July 1.  The team will participate on the club level in 2004-05, and will compete as a NCAA Division II varsity program beginning in fall 2005.    "I am very pleased that Jason is joining our team to start this very exciting new program," Carter said. "He brings a wealth of relationships and contacts in the state of South Carolina and burning desire to succeed. As a head coach, Jason brings a tremendous amount energy to this program. I am confident that the Newberry College wrestling program is in good hands under the leadership of Jason Valek."    In his first season as head coach at Newberry High, Valek was voted the Region III-AAA Coach of the Year and received Honorable Mention for South Carolina Wrestling Coach of the Year.  Under his tutelage, the program at Newberry High jumped from one win the year before Valek's arrival to an 11-8 season in 2003-04.  He coached a state champion and a state runner-up this past season.    Prior to his time at Newberry High, Valek served as an assistant coach at two Columbia-area schools, A.C. Flora High School and Irmo High School.  From 2000-2002, he worked as a volunteer assistant with national qualifiers in the state to prepare them for the high school national tournament in Cleveland, Ohio.  During that span, Valek worked with nine state champions, five state runners-up, and three third place finishers.    "I am extremely excited about the opportunity to start the wrestling program at Newberry College," Valek said.  "The opportunity that is being presented to me is one of which I only could have dreamed. I feel that the direction of Newberry Athletics is on the rise, and I am excited to be a part of the program. The challenge of the job is one that I embrace and I am very excited to begin.    An accomplished wrestler in his own right, Valek is a former South Carolina state wrestling champion and national high school All-American participant while at Dutch Fork High School.  Valek is a 1998 graduate of Clemson University with a bachelor's degree in sports management.  Newberry College is a proud member of the NCAA Division II and the South Atlantic Conference, a league comprised of eight colleges and universities in North and South Carolina and Tennessee.