2023 Awards Banquet Recap

CRESCO – A near-capacity crowd of more than 200 people were treated to a special evening of good food, fine company and inspiring stories during the 52nd Annual Awards Banquet hosted by the Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame at the Cresco Country Club on Monday, April 10.
Four new members were inducted into the Hall of Fame, which increased the total number of inductees to 141. The newest members included: Jason Christenson, Ken Gallagher, Dan McCool and Cliff Moore. Dan’s wife, Diane McCool, accepted the award on his behalf. Dan died in 2020.
Master of Ceremonies Dennis Meirick, who is also a member of the Hall of Fame Board of Directors, welcomed everyone to the banquet. Meirick said that Cresco is unique when it comes to wrestling because of its history with the sport. He noted that 12 Cresco natives have been inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, six are in the Minnesota Wrestling Hall of Fame and a total of 33 representatives of Cresco are in various Halls of Fame throughout the country.
Hunter Slifka, who is a member of the Board of Directors and the Crestwood boys’ wrestling assistant coach, thanked all the inductees for their contributions to the sport before he gave the invocation.
Following the dinner, Slifka acknowledged the Cadet wrestlers and coaches in attendance including Owen Parker, Ben Jackson, Drew Jackson, Sierra Hansmeier, Chyann Bullerman-Yu, Odessa Nibbelink, Tierney Perkins, coach Larry Trende, coach Keith Anderlik and coach Keith Slifka, who retired as the head coach following the 2022-23 season.
Meirick gave kudos to the board members including Jerome Hruska, Merle Sovereign, Justin Sovereign, Jason Passmore, Tom Fye, Cindy Butikofer, Hunter Slifka, Jim Turvold and Mike Galvin.
Bill Roths, a retired official and current member of the selection committee, talked about the criteria the committee uses each year to choose new inductees. Meirick followed by recognizing past inductees present at the 2023 banquet including: Chuck Yagla, Jim Miller, Jim Gibbons, Scott Morningstar, Arlin Severson and Marv Reiland.

Kyle Klingman introduced the 138th inductee – Jason Christenson. Klingman told the crowd that Christenson created a championship culture as a coach at Collins-Maxwell-Baxter, Oskaloosa and Southeast Polk.
Christenson began his speech by thanking everyone in attendance.
“Thirty-two years ago when I started coaching, I wouldn’t have believed I’d be here (being inducted into the Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame),” Christenson said. “This is the most meaningful night of my life. I’m excited to join the Hall with the other inductees. I remember a quote from Greg Lonning, ‘There are two roads in life – the easy one and the hard one. Choose the hard road because it leads to success.’
“When I went to Southeast Polk High School (in 2001), they had produced only three State Champions in their school history. I needed to find a way to create success and change the culture. I knew I needed to change the way people thought (about wrestling), and then success would follow.
“I wanted the kids to value participating in wrestling, have the kids realize what it takes to be successful and I wanted to put the kids first. We went from having 32 athletes when I started to having 117 total athletes 15 years later. My message was simple – everyone on the team has the same opportunity (to succeed). I gave responsibility to the athletes and coaches alike, and I asked them to humbly take the hard road.
“When I came to Southeast Polk, coach Jep Evans demoted himself to the Junior Varsity level. However, because of Jep, the JV team went from derogatory to celebrated.  Jep’s JV team focused on kids showing improvement and developing. Our goal was to be the deepest team in the country. I realized that if you give people ownership and credit, they will accompany you on the hard road,” Christenson said.
He noted that much of his success was because of his assistant coaches and his stellar athletes.
“I was most proud to see three of my former wrestlers become coaches and physical education teachers,” Christenson said. “I’m proud of the team success that Southeast Polk has achieved, which included nine State Place Winners in 2023. I also want to thank my college coaches, parents, wife, son and the support I’ve received from all of the parents of the athletes. I’m blessed that I had a chance to impact so many lives.”

Jim Miller presented Ken Gallagher as the 139th inductee into the Hall of Fame. Miller noted that Gallagher had good role models in school, which included NCAA and Olympic Champion Dan Gable.
Gallagher thanked the Hall of Fame Selection Committee for choosing him. He also gave kudos to all of his family members in attendance, which included his wife, children, grandchildren, mother-in-law, brother-in-law, aunt and uncle.
“I like to talk about fun things because I’m retired,” Gallagher said, with a laugh. “My parents, Bob and Pat, grew up near Cresco, and it’s fun to come back here. It means a lot to me to have so many family members and friends here tonight.
“When I was in second grade at Sacred Heart School in Waterloo, an adult, Bob Bosen, told me that I had to go out for wrestling. I was friends with a lot of kids (in school) because I grew up with them. If I didn’t show up for wrestling, they would come and get me.
“I learned a lot about wrestling from Dan Gable and Jim Miller. Even after you’ve stop competition, wrestling is with you the rest of your life. You use it every day. I was on some great teams, which made wrestling fun.
“Now I live in Florida and play pickleball. It can be a competitive game, but you can also make it fun. Thank you for inducting me into the Hall of Fame,” Gallagher said.

Bill Roths introduced Dan McCool as the 140th inductee.
He noted that McCool covered wrestling at the Des Moines Register for 30 years, and he also traveled thousands of miles to report on USA wrestling for many years. He also wrote a book called, ‘Reach for the Star,’ which chronicled high school wrestling in Iowa going back to 1921.
Dan’s wife, Diane, posthumously accepted the award for Dan, who died in May 2020.
“I have the least knowledge about wrestling compared to anyone else here,” McCool said. “I want to thank the Hall of Fame for chosing Dan. It’s an honor to be here with all four of Dan’s brothers.
“I miss him the most because he was a better speaker than I am. Dan didn’t wrestle in high school, but he grew to love the sport when he was growing up in Clarion. Dan and his brothers would race to the Clarion gymnasium to watch wrestling meets.
“He also loved to take high school wrestling photos. He worked at the Des Moines Register as a photographer and writer for 30 years, which is where we met. All sports were important to Dan, but wrestling was always number one.
“He really enjoyed talking to coaches. Dan had his own rating system for wrestling, and he was proud when his ratings matched the State results. He also covered the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta and wrote six stories per day sometimes.
“For Dan, wrestling was all about the stories, which he loved to tell. He was an expert on wrestling, and he was happy to share his knowledge,” McCool noted.

Chuck Yagla introduced the 141st inductee – Cliff Moore.
Yagla liked the fact that the Hall of Fame Banquet program referred to Moore as ‘a man among boys on the mat,’ because that was an accurate description.
Moore posted an impressive 139-2 record at Dubuque Hempstead High School, which included three State Championships. He tallied a 109-24 mark at the University of Iowa, which included an NCAA Championship and being named an NCAA All-American three times. He is currently an assistant coach at West Virginia University.
Moore congratulated the other Hall of Fame inductees.
“I’m not used to speaking in public,” Moore said. “When I come back to Iowa, it’s usually to hunt, farm and drink. I’m not a guy who lives in the past, but when I think about my past experiences, they’ve been good.
“I’ll never forgot the first time I met Dan Gable at the Five Flags Center in Dubuque. My dad told me to get an autograph from Gable, so I asked him to sign my shirt.
“When I was growing up, I traveled with my dad to a lot of wrestling meets. We traveled almost every weekend for wrestling, but it was fun. My dad thought I could be a good wrestler if he pushed me. I wrestled because it was my purpose; that’s what I did.
“I also want to thank my older brother for allowing me to work out with him when I was in junior high. I lifted a lot of weights, which made me stronger. I never thought about the wins and losses. If I felt good, I knew I could win. It’s what you do with your preparation that matters the most,” Moore said.
He thanked his college coaches, Terry and Tom Brands, for helping him develop as a wrestler.
“For me, life is hard; wrestling is easy,” Moore said. “If you want to be good, everything is hard. There are many small moments which help to define you. The losses and wins don’t define you; wrestling defines you. I really appreciate the honor of being inducted into the Hall of Fame.”

Meirick concluded the banquet by thanking everyone for attending and the sponsors for their support.

Click here to view the entire Banquet.
Just want to view an Inductee speech? Go to their page under Inductees.

 

Article courtesy of Nate Troy, Sports Editor, Times Plain Dealer