Eric Voelker

2009 Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame Inductee

To the casual observer, it would be easy to say that Eric Voelker was a “late bloomer.” But the two-time NCAA champion from Iowa State showed his potential as a high schooler in summer freestyle tournaments rather than winter folkstyle.

The Dallas Center-Grimes wrestler was a two-time state high school qualifier and placed third at 185 pounds as a senior. However, Voelker was also a two-time state freestyle champion. Teammates must have seen his potential as well, as he was a four-year team captain, helping lead the team to the 1984 Class A state championship.

“Looking back, I can say that the underlying thing that attracted me to wrestling was the competition. I love everything about it… the workouts, learning the techniques, setting goals and achieving them, and learning how to push myself and those around me to grow and develop… to win,” Voelker said.

Voelker noted he started wrestling as a fourth grader at the Mason City YMCA when he and his brother had a choice between learning boxing or wrestling. “We were both scared of getting hit in the face, so we wrestled… and we were both terrified of what we were getting into.” Voelker also noted that Herb Krieger, the father of Tim Krieger, was their first coach, and that his path crossed with Tim’s again when they became teammates at Iowa State. Both ended up as two-time NCAA champions for the Cyclones.

“Dad was my biggest influence. He got me into it and taught me how to get through it. He taught me how to set goals and make commitments. My whole family gave me tremendous support. We still go to a lot of wrestling events together and have a lot of fun,” Voelker continued.

Progressing to the national championship level was a work in progress throughout much of his career. Voelker started out practicing once a week and attending two or three kids’ tournaments a year before eventually training year-round at Iowa State. In high school, he was named the team’s most dedicated wrestler twice, and that was when he began setting goals for state championships and college wrestling.

“In college, I really learned how to train and focus mentally… I continued to grow physically and mentally,” he recalled.

Voelker won his first NCAA championship in 1987 when he beat Minnesota’s Dave Dean in the finals, 4–3, avenging his only two losses of the season. As a junior, Voelker was upset early in the NCAA tournament but came back with five straight wins to place third. He won the 190-pound title his senior year by defeating Northwestern’s Mike Whitehead, 7–2, after winning overtime matches in both the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds.

Eric Voelker was inducted into the Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2009, along with David and Paul Martin and Pete Bush.