Several wrestlers, coaches, and officials were honored at the Dave Bartelma Hall of Fame banquet held at Augsburg College on April 29, 2006.
Eight new members were inducted into the Hall of Fame: Ron Ackerman, Al DeLeon, Pat Dorn, Dennis Kaatz, Mark Krier, Larry Lyden, Pat Marcy, and Clay Nagel. Many Hall of Fame members were in attendance.
The MWCA selected Saint Michael-Albertville’s Gregg Greeno as State Head Coach of the Year. Selected as State Assistant Coach of the Year was STMA’s Dan Lefebvre. Mike Thorn, also of Saint Michael-Albertville, was named MWCA Mr. Minnesota of Wrestling. All three represent Minnesota as The National Wrestling Coaches Association’s State award winners.
MWCA Dave Bartelma Hall of Fame 2006 Inductees
Inductee – Presenter
- Ron Ackerman – Don Meyers
- Al DeLeon – Margaret Lehman
- Pat Dorn – James Carr
- Dennis Kaatz – Norm Gallant/Mike Kenney
- Mark Krier – Jimmy Krier
- Larry Lyden – Alan Rice
- Pat Marcy – Nancy Marcy
- Clay Nagel – Travis Nagel/Matt Nagel
Ron Ackerman – Contributor
Ron wrestled at Pipestone High School for coach Dick Rohrer, graduating in 1964 with a 70-9-2 record. He was a three time state entrant, placing 2nd and 4th at 95 lbs. He attended Gustavus Adolphus College, graduating in 1968 with a BA in Math. While at Gustavus, he was MIAC champion at 123 lbs in 1965. He wrestled on the only three MIAC championships teams in Gustavus wrestling history.
Ron began refereeing in 1968 and has been officiating for 38 years at the high school and college levels. He has officiated 17 state tournaments. Ron was on the board for Metro Wrestling Officials that started in 1970. In 1980 he helped form Gold Country Wrestling Officials Association and is still serving as president. He has served as a MSHSL Rules Clinician and the supervisor of officials for the state tournament the past 14 years.
He started the first Wrestling Officials Clinic in 1993 and it continues today. Ron is also a regular columnist for The Guillotine (Officially Speaking). He continues to work hard at recruiting new officials while at the same time teaching good mechanics of officiating. Ron served on the board for the Gopher Takedown Club the past three years. Ron is living in Fridley with his wife Karla, and they have three children: Grant, Greg and Gina.
Al DeLeon – Athlete
Al earned three state titles (1955, 1957, 1958) and a was third place finisher (1956) at the Minnesota State Tournament while wrestling for Blue Earth High School. He achieved a record of 151-4-1, owning a string of 62 continuous wins in that time span.
After graduating high school in 1958, Al went on to wrestle at Mankato State, where he was a two-time NCAA Division I All-American (4th at 130 lbs. in 1961 and 2nd in 1962). After graduating with a degree in Spanish, he continued his wrestling success in freestyle. He was an AAU regional champion in 1960 and 1964. He was a Greco-Roman regional champion in 1964, and he was a finalist in the 1964 Olympic Trials.
Al continued his successful ways while serving as head wrestling coach at West Hancock High school in Britt, IA for 33 years, where he amassed a record of 273-138-15. His teams were state champs in 1971, 1972, and 1973. They were runners-up in 1966, 1970, 1974, 1975, 1986, 1987, and 1992. They were third in 1987. He has coached three three-time state champions, six two-time state champions, five High School All-Americans (John Hagen, Mark Stevenson, Brent Hagen, Don Finch, and Pat Kelly), and 3 High School All-American Honorable Mentions. (Cliff Howlett, Jeff Stevenson, and Jeff Kelly)
He is a published author, and he has been inducted into the Iowa High School Wrestling Hall of Fame and the Mankato State University Hall of Fame. In 1995 he was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame with a Lifetime Service Award. In 1996, Al was selected as the National High School Wrestling Coach of the Year.
Al continues to reside in Britt, Iowa today. His wife’s name is Lois, and they have three children: Marlene John, and Justin.
Pat Dorn – Athlete
Pat was a five time state entrant for Adrian High School in the Minnesota State Tournament, winning state titles his junior and senior year. He finished his prep career with a record of 161-18-5. He helped his team advance to the state tournament in 1981 (3rd), 1983, 1984 (4th), and 1985 (3rd). He was a member of the Minnesota All-Star team in 1985, and he was also a First Team Academic All-Star in 1984 and 1985.
Upon graduating from high school in 1985, Pat continued his wrestling success at SDSU. Here he achieved a record of 100-33-3. He was a three-time NCAA Division II All-American, winning the National Championship twice. He was also crowned an NCAA Division I All-American in 1988.
Pat earned his Physical Education degree and began teaching and coaching at Tracy, MN in 1991. He returned to his alma mater (Adrian) in 1995, where he currently serves as assistant coach of the wrestling team.
Pat was not only an outstanding wrestler, but he always displayed great sportsmanship on and off the mat. He continues to give back to the sport today by coaching and serving as tournament director of four little kid tournaments held in Adrian. His wife’s name is Cammie and they have two children: Jacob and Kendra.
Dennis Kaatz – Coach
Dennis is a 1965 graduate of Enderlin, ND High School. He went on to earn a Social Studies degree from Moorhead State University, graduating in 1969. Dennis taught and coached at Wadena-Deer Creek High School for 36 years. He was the head wrestling coach from 1986-2005, achieving a 256-82 dual meet record. His team earned four state tournament appearances in 1992, 2000, 2001, and 2002. He coached six state champions and over 30 state place winners. He was chosen as Section Coach of the Year four times and in 2001 was selected as the MN Class AA State Coach of the Year.
Dennis will long be remembered for being a great coach and ambassador of wrestling. He taught his wrestlers life skills as well as wrestling skills. They learned how to compete and how to be the best they could be. Dennis was selected as the Wadena-Deer-Creek Teacher of the Year in 2000. He is active in his church and in the Wadena Lions Club.
In addition to his wrestling success, he has made quite an impact in high school baseball as well. From 1981-2005 his high school baseball teams won 339 games and made three state tournament appearances.
Dennis currently resides in Bemidji and is the assistant wrestling coach at Concordia College in Moorhead, MN. His wife’s name is Dorothy and they have two daughters, Ann and Jane.
Mark Krier – Athlete
Mark was a four time state entrant for Plainview High School, placing third as a freshman and winning three consecutive titles in 1983, 1984, and 1985. He had a high school record of 145-9.
Upon graduation Mark attended Augustana College, where he amassed a record of 82-40. He continues to give back to the sport of wrestling through coaching. He has coached at Augustana College and at Byron, MN. He is currently serving as an assistant coach for Owatonna.
Mark is regarded as one of the best wrestlers ever to come out of Southeastern MN. His aggressive style and his great sportsmanship left a very positive impression on Minnesota wrestling. Mark’s wife name is Sara, who is a RN at Mayo. They have been married for 6-1/2 years. They have two sons: Luke (4) and Jack (5 months).
Larry Lyden – Athlete
Larry graduated from Mounds View High School in 1961. He was a state champion as a junior and a runner-up as a senior. He wrestled every weight class in high school from 95 lbs. to heavyweight! It is interesting to note that all five of his losses his senior year came to the same wrestler, Jim Olson. Larry’s accomplishments earned him membership into the Mounds View Athletic Hall of Fame.
Larry emerged as one of Minnesota’s best Freestyle and Greco-Roman competitors of all time. He was a double state champion in Freestyle and Greco-Roman from 1965-1971. He was a member of the 1968 Olympic team, the 1969 World Team (placing fifth), and the 1970 team. He was a five team national champion in 1968, 1970, 1971, 1972, and 1974. He was 2nd in the Olympic Trials in 1984. He was a United States All-American in 1967, 1968, 1969, 19780, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1976, and 1984.
After his competitive years he continued to coach younger wrestlers who benefited greatly from his experiences and technique. He is remembered today for being an incredible wrestler and also an incredible role model.
He is dedicated to his family: his wife Karen, daughters Tina and Tiffany and son Larry and nine grandchildren: Michael, Reid, Bryan, Dalton, Jake, Hunter, Wyatt, Lyden Elizabeth, and Jordyn Elizabeth. He is not only a great wrestler, but a terrific all-around athlete, husband, father, grandpa, and a loyal friend. He is an outstanding person in whom the sport of wrestling can take great pride.
Patrick Marcy – Athlete
Pat was a 1968 graduate of Hopkins High School. He was a two-time state entrant, winning the state title in 1968. Pat attended Augsburg College, and was Augsburg’s first N.A.I.A. National Champion in 1972. He was a four-time National Greco-Roman Champion, being voted the tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler twice.
He was a member of three U.S.A. World Teams (1974, 1975, and 1977) placing as high as 7th in the world. He won the Pan-American Games gold medal in 1975. He was a member of the U.S. Olympic team in 1976, where he placed 10th.
Pat continues to give back to the sport of wrestling through coaching. He coached at Eden Prairie High School and currently coaches at Hopkins High School. He coached many years in youth baseball and football as well. He is a member of the Augsburg Athletic Hall of Fame. He was successful in all three styles of wrestling (folkstyle, freestyle, and Greco-Roman.) and was an exciting performer on the mat.
Pat and his wife Nancy have three sons: Christopher, Peter, and Joseph.
Clay Nagel – Coach
Clay graduated from New Salem High School (ND) in 1977, having earned two state titles. He attended Bismarck Junior College and Dickinson State, graduating with a degree in Physical Education. He was a three-time NDCAC champion and a two-time All-American in college.
After graduation he coached in Beach High School (ND) from 1982-1987 and at Frazee High School from 1988-2004. He is currently coaching at Concordia College in Moorhead, MN.
Clay’s accomplishments are many; he was selected as Section coach of the Year in 1987, 1989, 1991, 1995, 1999, 2000, and 2002. He was the Minnesota State Class A Coach of the Year in 1999. He started a U.S.A. Regional Training Site at Frazee in 1995, allowing area youth to work on their skills. His teams have placed 5th in 1989, 2nd in 1991, state champs in 1992, 4th in 1994, 7th in 1995, 3rd in 1997, state champs in 1999, 2nd in 2000, 3rd in 2001, and co-champs in 2002. His high school coaching career is 314-69-2.
He has helped coach the Minnesota Juniors National Team in Greco-Roman wrestling. He has coached 137 state entrants, 64 state placers, 32 state finalists, 17 state champions, and seven high school All-Americans. He was inducted into the ND Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2002. People who have coached for, coached against, or wrestled for Clay regard him as “a class act” and a great ambassador to Minnesota Wrestling.
Clay’s wife is Lori, and they have three children: Travis, Kalli, and Matt.