Tim Andrekovich when he was interviewed for the school paper in 2017. 

By Jillian Pikora From Daily Voice

A longtime Bellwood Antis School District teacher and wrestling coach has been sentenced to prison after a jury found him guilty of failing to protect students during a sexual abuse investigation, Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday announced on Monday, Aug. 25.

Timothy "Tim" Andrekovich, 59, was sentenced to 3 to 23 months in prison after being convicted of felony endangering the welfare of a child, according to the attorney general.

A Blair County jury returned the guilty verdict on Tuesday, July 8, following a two-day trial. Prosecutors said Andrekovich oversaw the district’s wrestling program when he was notified in December 2019 of an investigation into junior high wrestling coach Ryan Blazier. Instead of enforcing a district “safety plan,” Andrekovich allowed Blazier unsupervised access to students.

“As head wrestling coach, the defendant was supposed to be looking out for his wrestlers. Instead, when notified of a potential threat, he abdicated his responsibility to protect those students,” Attorney General Sunday said after the conviction. At sentencing, Sunday added that Andrekovich’s “lack of action directly led to sexual abuse of one of them.”

Blazier was convicted of sexual assault and sentenced to decades in prison in June 2023.

Andrekovich was a fixture in the Bellwood-Antis community. According to a 2017 profile in the school’s student newspaper, he taught seventh grade World Geography and eighth grade history, spending 30 years in the classroom. He also coached wrestling at multiple levels, from junior high to varsity, and was described by students as “a lot to handle in the wrestling room.” In the feature, Andrekovich said his passion was helping kids progress over the years and grow stronger through the sport.

By April 2021, Andrekovich announced his resignation after more than three decades with the wrestling program. At the time, he cited nearing the end of his teaching career and highlighted his pride in taking wrestlers to regionals and states, calling those moments “really special.” He said he planned to continue supporting the program in a reduced role.

Instead, just four years later, he now faces prison for abandoning the duty of care expected of him as head coach.

The case was prosecuted by Deputy Attorney General Julia van Leeuwen and Senior Deputy Attorney General Lauren Eichelberger of the Criminal Prosecutions Section