Jeff started his wrestling career at Minnetonka High School in Minnesota. As a junior in 1975 he placed third in the Minnesota Sate meet at 167 pounds. As a senior he won the State Championship at 180 pounds. Following graduation from high school, Jeff enrolled at South Dakota State University and earned All-American honors three times while winning two NCAA II National Championships. Jeff won his two titles during his freshman (1977) and senior seasons (1981). Both championships were won in the 177 pound weight class. Jeff also earned All-American honors as a junior placing fifth in the NCAA II Nationals. Along with his three All-American titles Jeff won three North Central Conference Championships. His career record at SDSU was 88-23-1.
Jeff and his wife Genarose have two children and they live in Eden Prarie, Minnesota. Jeff is self-employed in the construction business. For the past three years he has served as the head wrestling coach at Minnetonka High School.
Rick wrestled at Watertown High School for Coach Marv Sherrill. He won four South Dakota High School State Championships losing just one match in his high school career. He was recruited to wrestle for South Dakota State University by Coach Greg Schmidt. During Rick's career at SDSU he became the schools first four time North Central Conference Champion and their first three time national finalist. As a freshman in 1976, Rick won the NCAA II National Championship at 126 pounds and was selected as the tournaments Outstanding Wrestler. Rick advanced to the NCAA II National finals two more times placing second at 134 pounds in 1977, and second at 142 pounds in 1979. His career record at South Dakota State University was 128-24.
Rick and his wife Janet have four children and they live in Pierre, South Dakota, where he teaches physical education at the junior high school and coaches football and wrestling.
Paul started his wrestling career in Perry, Oklahoma where one of his early mentors and inspirations was the legendary Dan Hodge. His high school record was 42-7-2 and he was a state runner-up as a senior. After spending a couple of years at Northern Oklahoma College and Adam State College, Paul transferred to Huron College in South Dakota where he wrestled for two seasons and received his bachelor's degree. At Huron College Paul compiled a record of 42-5, won the South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference twice and earned All-American honors by placing fourth in the 1968 NAIA Nationals.
Paul's first job out of college was at Pawhuska High School in Oklahoma. He spent four years there with a 29-13 record and earned the Oklahoma Class 2A "Coach of the Year Award" for 1972. The following year he returned to South Dakota and completed his master's degree at the University of South Dakota as a graduate assistant and assistant wrestling coach.
In 1973 Paul was hired as the head coach at Augustana College. Augustana had finished last in the North Central Conference the previous six years, but that was soon to change. In his first year at Augustana, his team was 9-8-1 in duals and he was a finalist for Amateur Wrestling News "Rookie Coach of the Year Award." In Paul's third year at Augustana College, his team placed sixth in the NCAA II Nationals and they had the schools first four All-American wrestlers. The following year his team had six more All-Americans and they were the 1977 NCAA II National Runner-Up Team. For the remaining fourteen years that Paul served as the head coach at Augustana College they were one of the elite teams in the NCAA II. Ten times his teams finished among the top nine teams at the Nationals. Forty-four of his wrestlers earned NCAA II All-American honors and three earned NCAA I All-American honors. Seven of his wrestlers were National Champions, with three winning the NCAA II Outstanding Wrestler Award and four winning the Gorrarian Award for the most pins at the Nationals. Two of his wrestlers were awarded the prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship. His teams overall dual record was 160-57-1 in eighteen seasons.
Perhaps even more impressive than the outstanding success of Paul's teams at Agustana has been his many contributions to the sport of wrestling. He served two terms as the President of the NCAA II Wrestling Coaches Association. During his terms he started a weekly newsletter with info and stats on all the NCAA II teams. He also started the individual rankings, helped start the NCAA II Wrestling All-Academic Team and put together the first coaches and media directory for the NCAA II. He is the only coach to serve on both the NCAA Wrestling Rules Committee and the NWCA Executive Committee at the same time. Paul is also very active in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He annually spends two weeks a year at their camps and events. Since 1993 he has been the director of Kendle's Athletic Outreach. It is a tax-deductible organization dedicated to sharing positive lifestyle choices with young people. He has spoken to over 10,000 students while putting on wrestling clinics.
Paul and his first wife Trisha, now deceased had two children, Todd and Tara. Paul had the opportunity to coach his son Todd to three All-American titles at Augustana College. Paul and his second wife Vickie live in Crooks, SD where he owns and operates Kendle's Auto with his son Todd.
Tom Kline started wrestling at a very young age and his first coach was his father George who had been a Pennsylvania High School State Champion. He attended Las Lomas High School in Walnut Creek, California and won four letters in wrestling and placed third in the state at 177 pounds as a senior. He was also an outstanding football player, but he decided wrestling was his favorite sport and he was recruited by Hall of Fame Coach Vaughan Hitchcock to wrestle at Cal Poly University. During Tom's four years at Cal Poly he achieved an enviable record. He was the first wrestler to ever win four California Collegiate Athletic Association Championships. During Tom's first year at Cal Poly, freshman were not allowed to wrestle in the national tournament, but he compiled a 30-0 record in winning his conference meet. During Tom's next three seasons he earned All-American honors a total of five times, placing in the NCAA College Division Nationals three times and the NCAA University Division Nationals twice. Tom's career record at Cal Poly was 123-3 with all of his losses coming at national tournaments. Two of his losses came during his sophomore year in 1967 when he lost in the semi-finals of the NCAA College Division Nationals and placed third, and his other loss came in the University Division Nationals. As a junior Tom won the College Division Nationals and placed second in the University Division Nationals. During Tom's senior year in 1968-1969 he had a perfect 35-0 record in winning championships in both the NCAA College Division and the University Division Nationals. Tom helped lead his team to NCAA College National Championships in 1968 and the 1969 and fifth and sixth place finishes in the University Division Nationals the same years. He was selected by his teammates as captain of both those teams, and he was selected to participate in the East West All Star Classic as a senior.
Following graduation Tom was awarded an NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship due to his high athletic and academic achievements. Today Tom is a very successful insurance broker. He has also authored three books and has been a record producer. His books include Three From California, Missing Persons and Steel Cigarettes. He has been the executive producer of record albums for Vanilla Ice and DJ Quick. Tom was a charter member of the Cal Poly Athletic Hall of Fame. He was inducted along with Ozzie Smith and John Madden. He has twice served as the President of Cal Poly's Athletic Alumni Association. He currently serves as the assistant wrestling coach at Vista High School, the strength and combatives coach for the Palomar College football team and the area director for girl's youth basketball.
Tom is the father of three sons Matt, Andrew and Nick, and two daughters Kristina and Kelly. They are all very involved in sports. His son Andrew will graduate from San Diego State this spring after an outstanding football career there, and is projected to be a third or fourth round pick in the upcoming NFL draft.
Jim started his wrestling career in 1963 as a junior at Milbank High School in South Dakota after his mother had convinced the school board to start a wrestling program. He was the captain and the most valuable wrestler on the team both his junior and senior seasons and was the first Milbank wrestler to earn a medal in the State Meet when he placed third as a senior. He was recruited to play football and wrestle at South Dakota State University and he was awarded the prestigious Stephen F. Briggs academic scholarship. Jim played football for one season at SDSU as the starting center on the freshman team, but was a member of the wrestling team for four years. After an undefeated season as a member of the freshman team, Jim was the varsity 160 pounder for Coach Warren Williamson's Jackrabbits for three years. All three years he was a finalist in the North Central Conference Championships, losing each year to a wrestler from the University of Northern Iowa. As a junior he helped lead his team to a third place finish in the NCAA College Division National Championships. As a senior, he was selected as the team's co-captain along with teammate Jon McNitt. He graduated with honors from SDSU in 1969.
Jim started his coaching career in the fall of 1969 as a graduate assistant under Hall of Fame Coach Warren Williamson at SDSU while he earned his masters degree. He along with his brother Dan, a graduate and outstanding wrestler at Northern State College , helped coach the 1969-70 SDSU team to a fourth place finish in the NCAA College Division National Tournament. The highlight of the season was when Jim's cousin and former high school teammate Don Trapp won the NCAA College Division National Championship at 177 pounds. Don was the first South Dakota born wrestler to ever win an NCAA National Wrestling Championship.
In 1970 at age 23, Jim accepted the position as the head wrestling coach at a new school the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He started the program virtually from scratch and is now in his thirtieth year at Parkside. In his career his teams have competed in the NCAA II Nationals twenty-two times and the NAIA Nationals twenty-eight times. His wrestlers have earned a total of 88 All-American awards with 33 of them being in the NCAA II and 55 of them being in the NAIA. Ten of his wrestlers have won national championships with two of them being in the NCAA II and eight in the NAIA. Forty-three of his wrestlers have earned Academic All-American honors with thirty of them being in the NCAA II and thirteen in the NAIA. Twelve of his teams have finished in the top ten at a national tournament with four being at the NCAA II and eight at the NAIA's. Three of his wrestlers have been inducted into the NAIA National Wrestling Hall of Fame. His teams overall dual meet record at UW-Parkside is 208-121-7.
In 1971 Jim was selected as the Rookie College Coach of the Year by Amateur Wrestling News. Six times he was selected as the Wisconsin NAIA Wrestling Coach of the Year by his fellow coaches. In 1975 he was the team leader for the first NAIA Cultural Exchange Wrestling Team that toured Japan and Korea. In 1993 he was inducted into the NAIA National Wrestling Hall of Fame. In 1994, his team won the first ever NCAA II Academic National Championship Award.
He has served the sport of wrestling and the NCAA II and the
NAIA in many leadership capacities. From 1977 to 1995 he served
as the chairman of the NAIA National Hall of Fame Committee and
over saw the induction of over seventy members to that Hall of
Fame. Since 1995 he has held the same position with the NCAA II
and helped with the induction of thirty-six members. He has also
served as president of both the NAIA National Wrestling Coaches
Association (1984-85) and the NCAA II National Wrestling Coaches
Association (1990-92). Jim was also instrumental in instituting
and establishing the requirements for the Academic All-American
Awards in both the NAIA and the
NCAA II and still serves on the NCAA II selection committee. He
has also spent several years on the ranking and seeding committees
for both associations.
Jim is single and lives in Kenosha, Wisconsin. His interests include jogging, weight lifting, picture framing, raising golden retrievers and Notre Dame football.
Kent graduated from Fort Dodge High School in 1964. As a senior in high school he won the Iowa State Championship at heavyweight. He was recruited to wrestle at the University of Northern Iowa by Hall of Fame Coach Chuck Patten. At that time freshman were not allowed to wrestle in varsity competition, but in Kent's three year career he earned All-American honors four times. As a sophomore in 1967 he placed second in the NCAA College Division Nationals at heavyweight. His next two seasons he won the NCAA College Division Nationals both years. He also placed sixth in the NCAA University Division National Championships as a senior in 1969. As a senior Kent was selected to participate in the East West College All Star Match which was held at Penn State University. One of Kent's teammates on the West squad was fellow Hall of Fame inductee Tom Kline from Cal Poly University. Kent's career record at UNI was 74-9. He never lost a match in North Central Conference competition and he won three conference championships. He was selected as the NCC Outstanding Wrestler his senior year. During his career he helped lead his UNI team to a third, an eighth and a third place finish in the NCAA College Division Nationals.
Kent graduated from UNI in 1970 with a degree in Physical Education and Health. For several years he taught and coached at St. Ansgar High School in St. Ansgar, Iowa and St. Edmond's High School in Fort Dodge. He currently is a production supervisor for Hormel Foods, Inc. in Austin, Minnesota. He and his wife Jane have two children. Their daughter Sarah is a sophomore at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and their son Michael is a freshman at Austin High School.
Brian started his wrestling career at Lincoln High School in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He was a State Runner-up at 155 pounds as a junior in 1975, and won the State Championship at 167 pounds as a senior. Brian was recruited to wrestle at Augustana College by Hall of Fame Coach Paul Kendle. During his career at Augustana College he earned NCAA All-American honors five times. In the NCAA II Nationals he placed second as a freshman and a sophomore, third as a junior, and in 1980 as a senior he won the NCAA II National Championship at 177 pounds. As a senior Brian was also selected as the Outstanding Wrestler at the NCAA II Nationals and he won the Gorrarian Award for the Most Falls in the National Tournament. As a junior in 1979, Brian also earned All-American honors by placing seventh in the NCAA I Nationals.
Brian's career record at Augustana College was 122-17-3 with sixty-nine falls. Eleven times during his career he was selected as the outstanding wrestler in a tournament. He was a North Central Conference Champion his last three years, and he placed third as a freshman. He was the Outstanding Wrestler in the North Central Conference as a junior. He was voted Augustana College's Most Improved Wrestler as a freshman, and their most Outstanding Wrestler during his next three seasons. During his four seasons at Augustana College his teams placed second, fourth, fifth, and fourth in the NCAA II Nationals.
Brian graduated from Augustana College in 1980 with a degree in history. After his graduation he was awarded the prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship due to his outstanding academic and athletic achievements. He has done graduate study at St. Thomas College, the University of Minnesota, the University of Virginia and St. Mary's College. Following graduate school his first job was teaching and coaching at New Prague High School in Minnesota. For the past sixteen years he has taught and helped coach the wrestling program at Apple Valley High School in Minnesota. In 1991 Brian was inducted into Augustana College Hall of Fame. Brian is the father of five children. One of his sons Corey was a Wrestling State Runner-up in Minnesota in 1999.
Don graduated from Fayette High School in West Union, Iowa in 1963. He placed second in the state as a junior and he won the Iowa State Championship at 165 pounds as a senior. Three times he won his conference championships in high school. He was recruited to wrestle at the University of Northern Iowa by Hall of Fame Coach Chuck Patten. At that time freshman were not allowed to wrestle in varsity competition, but in Don's three year career he earned All-American honors three times. As a sophomore Don had a very modest record of 8-8-1, but he did win the championships of the North Central Conference at 177 pounds. The next two years Don was one of the most dominant wrestlers in the country. As a junior in 1966 he posted a 23-3 record and won the 177 pound NCAA College Division National Championship. He also won his second North Central Conference title and was selected as the meets Outstanding Wrestler and won the Pinner's Award. The following year Don repeated his titles in both the NCAA College Division Nationals and the North Central Conference. He also earned All-American honors by placing sixth in the NCAA University Division Nationals. An additional honor that Don received as a senior was to be selected to compete in the first ever East/West All-Star Wrestling Meet. He earned a 5-3 victory representing the West team. Don's record as a senior was 34-5-2 and his career record at UNI was 65-16-3.
Folowing graduation Don was awarded an NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship due to his high athletic and academic achievements. He served as a graduate assistant wrestling coach at UNI under Coach Chuck Patten while he earned his Master's Degree in Physical Education in 1970. The UNI team placed second in the nationals the year that Don helped coach. After completing his master's degree Don accepted a position teaching and coaching wrestling at a high school in Oregon for three years. He returned to the state of Iowa as the head wrestling coach at Upper Iowa University from 1973-77. In 1977 Don was the Iowa Conference Co-coach of the Year as his team placed twelfth in the NCAA III Nationals with four All-Americans. In 1977 Don accepted the position of head wrestling coach, assistant football coach and teacher in the Department of Kinesiology at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. He is currently in his 23rd year as the head wrestling coach at UW-Eau Claire. His teams best finish in a national tournament was fifteenth in the 1990 NAIA Nationals. He has coached nine of his wrestlers to individual championships in the very competitive Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. In 1987 Don was selected as the NAIA Wisconsin Wrestling Coach of the Year and this season he was selected as the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Wrestling Coach of the Year.
On October 1, 1998 Don suffered a very serious neck injury when he fell twelve feet from his hunting stand and broke his neck. He currently is rehabing from the injury and with the help of volunteer students is making progress. He is confined to a wheelchair and has some use of his hands and legs. He was able to stand with the aid of his walker for his team picture this season. Don and his wife Carol are the parents of three daughters Kristen, Lesli, and Wendy.