Welcome to the Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame
IWHOF Class of 2019 Steffensmeier, Buzzard, Bahr, Corso, Whitmer
Our Purpose
The Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame seeks to promote amateur wrestling by honoring native Iowans.
The inaugural banquet was held in 1970. When we concluded the 50th annual awards banquet on April 08, 2019, our roster of inductees included 133 outstanding individuals for their contributions to amateur wrestling.
Join us every second Monday of April as we honor the latest Inductees into the Hall of Fame.
IWHOF News
Have news to share publicly about an IWHOF inductee? Please fill out the following form & we’ll publish it here.
Visitors from Ames!
A NEW TRADITION FOR CRESCO WRESTLING
when state champions Laken Lienhard and Carter Fousek signed their names
to the Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame mural in Cresco. The tradition of
signing the mural began last year after Fousek won his first state title
as a freshman.
Laken is the first female state champion from Crestwood while Fousek is
the first two-time state champion from Crestwood since Chuck Martens won
titles in 1982 and 1983.
The additional two state titles now has Crestwood/Cresco individual
state titles at 69, the second highest number in the state behind West Waterloo’s 89.
“The addition of autographs to the mural was done to honor the wrestler
and not be just a number in Cresco’s wrestling history,” IWHOF Chairman
Dennis Meirick said.
The last time Crestwood/Cresco High School had multiple state champions
in one year was in 1982 when Chuck Martens and Jeff Knutson won titles.
Before that in 1961 Don Henry, Omar Frank, and Tom Peckham all won
individual state titles. The year before that Richard Schmauss, Merlin
Schmauss, Tom Peckham and Alex Egorenko all won individual titles. The
1960 team also won the state team title.
“The left banner of the mural was created so visitors can gain an
understanding of why the Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame is in Cresco. It
recognizes our rich heritage and adding these two to our history is our
honor,” Meirick concluded.
Wrestling Fans visit IWHOF
G. Wyatt and Kirsten Schultz also visited the IWHOF this summer. Schultz, publisher of The Predicament, was selected as an Inductee in 2020. We are looking forward to the Induction Ceremony in April 2021 as we welcome back G. Wyatt Schultz to the Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame.
It is always a good day at the IWHOF when visitors stop by.
Search Inductees
Thank You to Our Donors
in memory of
Mary Lou Brand
Arlin, Edward, Larry
in memory of
Finn
in memory of
Dorothy Dean Marten
in memory of
Chris Flanagan
in memory of
Harold J. Nichols
in memory of
Chris
in memory of
David C. Bartelma
Geneva Peckham
by Tom, Ruth and families
in memory of
Robert T. "Bob" Mitchell
in memory of
George E. Johnson
Merlin
Cedar Rapids
