2025 Awards Banquet

CRESCO – A total of 150 enthusiastic wrestling fans gathered at Heritage Event Center in Cresco on April 14 to witness the induction of five new inductees into the Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame including: Keith Abens (inducted posthumously), Bob Hallman, Perry Hummel, Keith Massey and Brad Smith. Jason Passmore, Cresco Chamber of Commerce Director, served as the Master of Ceremonies for the 54th Annual Awards Banquet. After welcoming all the guests to the banquet, Passmore gave a brief history of the Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame, which began with the idea of hosting a ‘stag banquet’ in 1965 to honor Iowans who support wrestling. In 1970, the first banquet to induct members of the IWHOF was held. The first five inductees included: Chris Flanagan, Spade Harmon, Robert Hess, George Martin and Dr. Harold Nichols. “Tonight, with the five new members going into the Iowa Wresting Hall of Fame, the total number of inductees with grow to 152 outstanding Iowans,” Passmore noted. Passmore led the invocation, which was followed by the meal presented by McAllister’s Catering. After the meal, Passmore recognized several area wrestling coaches and past inductees present at the banquet. Coaches in attendance included: Keith Anderlik and Jerry Steffen of Crestwood, Dave Williams of Charles City, Dave Mitchell of Luther College, Brent Jennings of Osage, two coaches from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and former University of Northern Iowa Coach, Don Briggs. Passmore also acknowledged several former inductees in attendance, which included former University of Iowa Coach and Gold Medal winner Dan Gable, former ISU Coach Jim Gibbons and Jim Miller, all of whom served as presenters during the banquet.
Gibbons presented the first inductee of the evening and the 148th overall inductee, Keith Abens, who died in 2023 and was posthumously inducted. Abens was a three-time State Champion for Humboldt before becoming a two-time NCAA All-American for Iowa State University.  Accepting the award for Abens was his wife, Jo. She began her speech by thanking the Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame Selection Committee. “Having Keith inducted into the Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame means a lot to everyone in our family,” Jo noted. “Shortly after Keith died, we hosted the Keith Abens Memorial (Golf) Tournament, which set a record for raising money. “Keith and I married after our freshman year at Iowa State. We were both at a social gathering in Ames with other wrestlers when one of them came up to talk with Keith, who told me this story later on. Keith said, ‘Dan Gable came up to me and told me he was going to steal my girlfriend (Jo). I told him, ‘Too bad, I married her last weekend.’ “Keith loved to coach at wrestling camps. One of Keith’s favorite guys, Rummy Macias, was someone he met at one of the camps. One night, Rummy convinced Keith to go out to a bar with them so they could dance with women. When they were at the bar, Keith started talking with one of the women who asked him, ‘Aren’t you Jo Aben’s husband?’” Jo concluded her speech by introducing her two sons, Tyler and Ben and daughter Tracy for attending. “I really want to thank the selection committee and board on behalf of Keith,” Jo Abens said.
Jim Miller introduced the 149th inductee, Bob Hallman, who was a three-time State medalist at West Des Moines Dowling in the late 1970s and early 1980s. “Bob told me that Kaitlin Clark was the second most famous athlete to come out of Dowling,” Miller said with a big smile. “I first met Bob in 1979 when I was coaching Charles City High School. Bob wrestled one of my wrestlers at Charles City, Scott Thomas, in the State Finals that year.  Thomas was leading 5-4 in the third with under 45 seconds left before Bob took him down late to win the match. After high school, Bob wrestled at UNI, where he was an NCAA runner-up in his senior year in 1984.” Hallman opened his speech by noting the beautiful setting where the banquet took place. The Heritage Event Center is the former Assumption Church in Cresco. “Having this banquet in a former Catholic Church is spectacular!” Hallman beamed. “I want to thank the committee for selecting me. I am glad to be a small part of the Hall of Fame.” Hallman introduced his family members present including his wife, Melissa; sons, Taylor, Brad, and R.J; sisters, Kay and Karen; and brothers, Tom and Dave. He also recognized his former teammate in attendance, former Cadet Coach Keith Carman. “I am proud that I am the first Dowling wrestler to be inducted into the Hall of Fame because I am speaking before Perry Humpal (who also graduated from Dowling),” Hallman said. “Wrestling didn’t come easy for me. I started wrestling at 89 pounds at Dowling and got stuck in 19 seconds during my first match.  “I had a great coach at Dowling who told me the danger is aiming too low (for your goals), so I set my goal to be a three-time State Champion. After one loss, my mom told me I had to do 100 pushups. So each night, I did 100 pushups. “I ended up being a three-time place finisher at Dowling. My coach at UNI told me when you say ‘shoulda, coulda, woulda,’ you are making excuses. Don’t do that. Wrestling taught me to stop making excuses. I learned to take responsibility for my own actions. I tell people now to set their goals high and dream big,” Hallman said.
Jim Gibbons introduced the 150th inductee, Perry Hummel, who was a two-time State Champion at west Des Moines Dowling in 1977 and 1978 before he earned All-American honors three times at Iowa State. “I met Perry in 1978 at Iowa State,” Gibbons said. “His desire and ability were always on display. Perry had great heart and tenacity. I asked Perry what I needed to do to be successful and the next year I was a National Champion.” Hummel began by thanking the Hall of Fame committee. “Wrestling has blessed me,” Hummel said. “I went to Dowling originally to play football. Wrestling was not on my mind when I started school. After my sophomore year, I decided not to go out for football as a junior but instead to dedicate my life to wrestling. I told the football coach I wanted to be a State Wrestling Champion. “After I won State as a senior, I went to Iowa State, which was a big transition for me. I didn’t have a takedown for my first three months, but I had a good experience at Iowa State. If I didn’t wrestle in high school, I wouldn’t have gone to college,” Hummel said.
Jim Miller introduced the 151st inductee, Keith Massey, who was a two-time State Medalist at Council Bluffs Lewis Central. After college, he coached Lewis Central to State Team Titles in 2000 and 2001. “My story includes a lot of thank yous,” Massey said. “I want to thank the Selection Committee, Dan Gable for his inspiration and Jim Gibbons was my hero growing up. I want to thank Kyle Klingman and Jason Christenson for their work with IA wrestling. I am thankful to Jim Miller, who I stole some (wrestling) tricks from. I also want to say thanks to all the other inductees here.  “I really want to thank my mom and dad. My dad wouldn’t let me quit and my mom has been my biggest cheerleader at events. My parents made many sacrifices for me. “I want to thank all my coaches, especially Don Briggs, who did a lot for UNI wrestling. I wanted to quit wrestling, but he didn’t let me quit. Once I changed my attitude (about wrestling), this led to it being more fun for me. I also want to thank all my teammates at Lewis Central and UNI. “One things I’ve learned from wrestling is that once you buy in 100 percent, great things happen. I’ve tried to keep all the life lessons I’ve learned from wrestling. God has used me to show me my inner strength,” Massey said. He closed by thanking all his family members in attendance and the Hall of Fame Board Selection Committee.
Dan Gable introduced the 152nd inductee, Brad Smith, who is the only high school coach to surpass 700 career dual wins, posting 720 wins in 46 seasons during his time at Lisbon and Iowa City High. Smith also won the an NCAA title in 1976 at the University of Iowa. Gable began by praising Cresco. “I want to thank Cresco, Iowa for motivating me throughout my career,” Gable said. “Coach Bob Siddens knew Cresco and talked about it a lot. My career included wrestling for Dr. Harold Nichols of Cresco, coaching with Gary Kurdelmeier of Cresco and as a wrestler, I looked up to Tom Peckham of Cresco. “In Iowa, no other sport has a better following than wrestling. People around the country know about the Wrestling Hall of Fames in Cresco and Waterloo. “Getting back to Brad Smith, I was a young coach at the University of Iowa when Smith came to Iowa. Smith was a self-made guy. I gave Brad Smith a task – I told him two or three days per week, I was going to take him about 10 miles into the country and have him run back to where we started, and he ran pretty well. “Brad won an NCAA championship and then became the best high school coach in Iowa. He used his career to make a difference in people’s lives,” Gable said. Smith was quick to praise Gable for his guidance. “If it wasn’t for Dan Gable, I wouldn’t have become an NCAA champion,” Smith said. “It’s a great honor to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. I want to thank the Selection Committee.    “I give thanks to my wife, Connie, who has always had my back. Coaching is not an easy job. I have a great family and family has always been number one to me. “The 10 miles Coach Gable made me run helped me with my mental toughness. One thing that is great about wrestlers is that they have great careers after their wrestling career is over. “I’ve learned several things about coaching over 46 years including: the need to have a game plan, the need to work for your goals, don’t be complacent, see how practices go and then review them, don’t just wing it, build a culture of winning in your program and give 100 percent. “I’ve been fortunate to be around great coaches and good people. I knew I needed to get along with the custodian staff and administration at schools. I learned when to push my wrestlers at times and when to back off.  “It’s an honor to be here with everyone. I want to thank the great committee here in Cresco,” Smith said.

Article courtesy of Nate Troy, Cresco Times Plain Dealer