By Jeff Beshey
Eden Prairie Coach Scot Davis won his 1,000th career dual meet tonight with a home win over Columbia Heights 58-17.
Davis, who is in his 36th season as a high school head coach, is the first high school wrestling coach in the nation to surpass the 1,000 dual meet wins mark.
Davis’ record currently sits at 1000-161-4, far in front of his nearest coaching colleagues.
Second on the Minnesota career coaching wins list is Bill Sutter of Goodhue who retired in 2008. Sutter coached for 39 years and has a record of 760-181-8.
The National Federation of State High School Associations website lists two coaches with over 800 wins – Rex Peckinpaugh of New Castle, IN (840-205-3 record) and Bruce Bittenbender of Stevensville Lakeshore, MI (831-216-2 record).
When asked about what the milestone means to him Davis responded, “I think about the wrestlers that work so hard, they dedicate themselves, there’s so much determination, there are wins and losses, and heartaches and tears, and all that we’ve gone through together to get to this point.”
Davis spent the vast majority of his coaching career at Owatonna, but the opportunity to coach at Eden Prairie was intriguing to him and it has brought him closer to his roots in Bloomington where he grew up.
“This has really rejuvenated me coming to a new school like this,” said Davis. “You look around here and see state champion banners in just about every sport but not wrestling. We’ve got great facilities here, we’ve got great people, we’ve got 3,00 students, we’ve got great support from Athletic Director Mike Grant, and I’m really excited about getting this program to the point that other sports are here at this school.”
What’s the next milestone Davis would like to achieve? “I’d really like to win a state title here at some point. I think as a wrestling coach that’s what your goal should be.”
Here is a breakdown of Scot Davis’ career wins:
1 season (1976-77) at Belcourt High School (Belcourt, ND) 8-3
2 seasons (1977-79) at Bird Island-Lake Lillian HS (Bird Island, MN) 26-7-2
6 seasons (1979-85) at Hutchinson HS (Hutchinson, MN) 64-15-1
25 seasons (1986-11) at Owatonna HS (Owatonna, MN) 886-124-1
1 season (2012-13) at Flathead HS (Kalispell, MT) 12-11
1 season (2013-14) at Eden Prairie HS (Eden Prairie, MN) currently 4-1
Total: 1000-161-4