Dave Ripley

2013 Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame Inductee

Building a wrestling program, making it successful, and then sustaining it is a task few coaches achieve. Riceville’s David Ripley did just that—and took it a step further by doing it for over three decades.

Typically understated, Ripley explained his ties to wrestling: “I wrestled without great skill, but I do have great pride in being a part of wrestling. I always thought team first, and that the individual comes out of the team. Any awards received must be shared with the wrestlers, school personnel, assistant coaches, and my family.”

Dave Mitchell, Luther College wrestling coach and former Riceville wrestler, added insight to the Ripley story, saying, “What stands out to me about him was his ability to take below-average wrestlers and make them into a very successful team. Besides that, he got the community excited about wrestling.”

In addition to coaching at Lamont for two years and serving one year as an assistant coach, Ripley built the Riceville program from the ground up starting in 1966. In his 33 years at Riceville, Ripley’s teams won both the state dual and traditional team championships in 1994, while also placing second to Lisbon in the 1980 state tournament. In 1987, his squad again placed second to Lisbon in the first-ever dual meet championship. His 1980 team included three individual state champions. His 1994 squad was ranked 16th in the nation by USA Today.

One of Riceville’s seven state champions, Jim Lenth, summarized Ripley and his program succinctly: “Wrestling in Riceville is Coach Ripley.”

At Riceville, Ripley compiled a dual meet record of 319–90–1 (333–102–1 overall). His Wildcats won 24 Corn Bowl Conference championships, 17 sectional titles, and 8 district championships. His squads never had a losing season. His 1970 and 1994 teams went unbeaten, while five other squads finished with just one loss and 12 others with only two losses.

While Ripley insists the program was never about himself, he was honored many times. His accolades include two-time Coach of the Year (1970 Class 2A, 1994 Class A), induction into the Iowa Wrestling Coaches and Officials Hall of Fame in 1994, the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Lifetime Service to Wrestling honor in 1999, and induction into the Upper Iowa Hall of Fame in 1993.

The numbers speak for themselves. During his tenure, Ripley coached 95 individual state qualifiers and 51 state placewinners, including seven state champions.

Dave’s son, Darren—who has coached wrestling for over 25 years—simply stated, “It is incredible how he coached the entire program from grade school to junior high. I think that was really the key to his success… he even drove the bus!”

David Ripley was inducted into the Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2013, along with Robert Kenny, Tolly Thompson, and Jason Kelber.