Jim Duschen

2016 Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame Inductee

His wrestling history dates back to 1953, when, as a youngster, he watched his uncle Jack Smith win a state title for the same high school he later wrestled for. Now, Jim Duschen is known as the “Dean of Nevada Wrestling.”

While his high school career wasn’t spectacular, Duschen went on to excel in college and post-graduate competition before becoming a very successful and respected coach.

“I graduated from high school when I was 17 and hadn’t really matured,” Duschen recalls. “I wrestled behind a couple of state champions at East (Waterloo). I won more matches than I lost, and then, when I was a senior, I qualified for state where I faced the defending state champion in the first round. Back then, it was one and done.”

Better times followed when, two years after graduation, Duschen enrolled at Iowa State. “Bob Buzzard took an interest in me, and he got me started at Iowa State. I was a walk-on,” Duschen recalled. Duschen then nearly duplicated Buzzard’s records at Ames as he became a two-time Big Eight Champion, a Midlands champion, and a one-time All-American.

Duschen credits his passion for the sport and a competitive spirit for his success. “I hate losing more than anything. After all you put into wrestling, you just have to hate losing,” he said. He also noted he was known for his strength in his prime, and while much of that was genetics, he was ahead of his time when it came to weight training.

After college, Duschen continued wrestling, winning a national AAU Greco-Roman title and a USWF Greco-Roman title while finishing second in the Olympic Trials. He also placed second in the USWF National Freestyle Championship and was on the USA 1973 World Championship team. During those years, Duschen was a graduate assistant at North Dakota State and Colorado State universities.

Memorable matches for Duschen included the bouts that won him his two Big Eight titles. “My senior year I won the title in Ames in the Armory there. That was pretty special. Another great match for me was at the Great Plains Freestyle tournament when I beat Oklahoma State’s Fred Fozzard. The next year, he won the 180-pound World Championship,” Duschen recalled.

Duschen then went to Grinnell High School and coached for two years before making his move to Nevada. “I was helping at a Dan Gable camp in Mason City when the UNLV coach approached me and said he would help me get situated to coach out there. The next year, I was hired at Basic High School in Henderson. I coached there from 1978 through 2007.”

Duschen’s teams won two state team titles, while he coached 21 state champions and three High School All-Americans. He was named Southern Nevada Coach of the Year three times. He still does substitute teaching.

Duschen was inducted into the Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2016 along with Rick Caldwell, Tim Johnson, and Mark Reiland.