The National Wrestling Hall of Fame Minnesota Chapter is proud to announce the induction of nine new members for the Class of 2022. Inductees for the Lifetime Service Award are Steve Carr, Bill Germann, Jim Harstad, Mike Hendrickson, Dan Jinks, Don Krusemark, Jerry Reker, Chuck Siefert, and Joel Skillings.
The Banquet will be held on Saturday, April 23, 2022, at the Austin Holiday Inn Conference Center, right off I-90, Exit 178A. The schedule includes a social hour at 12 Noon, dinner at 1:30 pm, and presentations, honoree speeches, green jacket parade, and marble plaque inductions from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm.
Register online at mn-nwhof.ticketleap.com. Contact Spencer Yohe for more information – spenceryohe@gmail.com, 320-766-1934 (Cell), 1-507-495-3213.
State chapter inductees are permanently honored at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Museum in Stillwater, Oklahoma. View all National Wrestling Hall of Fame – Minnesota Chapter inductees online at nwhof.org/state-chapters/minnesota.
Lifetime Service – Jim Harstad
Former state placewinner for hall of fame coach Jim Kiffmeyer at St. Cloud Cathedral High School… All-American and team captain for hall of fame coach John Oxton at St. Cloud State University… gave back to the sport in volunteer roles… had an outstanding professional career in teaching motivational seminars for Worldwide Dream Builders to over 1 million business owners around the world on God, family, and free enterprise… Amway Diamond Club Member and Owner of Big Time Consulting, Inc.
Lifetime Service – Steve Carr (Forest Lake)
Minnesota’s first four-time high school state champion in modern history… Broke a seven-year record with 175 wins and 99 Pins… Ws fourth as an eighth-grader… Wrestled at Battle Lake High School and Moorhead High School… Excelled at the collegiate level while at Iowa State, NDSCS, and NDSU… NCAA DII national champ… Gave back 30 years of coaching at Frazee High School, University of Minnesota-Morris, Battle Lake High School, Perham, and Mahtomedi High Schools… Served as a youth coach in the St. Cloud and Forest Lake area… Member of several halls of fame… Steve is a sales representative for Wilson Company Marketing & Promotion, Inc.
Lifetime Service – Bill Germann (Eden Prairie)
Three-time NIC Conference Champion… Two-time NAIA All-American at Moorhead State on their powerhouse teams that included an NAIA team championship… Was drafted and served in Vietnam from 1970 to 1972… Had an outstanding 32-year coaching career at Eden Prairie High School… Saw his team place third in the MSHSL state tournament in 1986… Bill had a 196-132-6 career coaching record.
Lifetime Service – Mike Hendrickson (Little Falls)
Mike was a high school state runner up for his hall of fame father, Alan Hendrickson, at Morris High School, and an NAIA All-American at UM-Morris… Becomes the third father/son combination in the NWHOF-MN Chapter Hall of Fame… Gave back 36 years to the sport… Served as an assistant and long-time head coach at Little Falls High School… Had a career coaching record of 409-125-1, including a state runner-up finish… Mike’s teams qualified and placed three times for the state dual meet tournament… Class AA State Coach of the Year in 2006.
Lifetime Service – Dan Jinks (Grand Rapids)
Dan Jinks becomes the ninth member of the storied Grand Rapids High School Wrestling Program to be inducted into this elite Hall of Fame… Dan’s a 1973 graduate of Grand Rapids High School and gave back 39 years to the sport… A three-sport standout at his alma mater, Dan is the all-time winningest coach in Grand Rapids wrestling history with a record of 416-196-3… Coached 115 individual state qualifiers, 48 individual state placers, six individual state champions, 14 conference championship teams, and eight section team titles… His team was state runner-up in 1987… The program has produced seven wrestlers that earned All-American honors at the collegiate level.
Lifetime Service – Don Krusemark (Mankato West)
Don had a storied wrestling and coaching career with successes at Ithaca and Rochester Community College… At NCAA DI Indiana State, Don shined under the tutelage of hall of fame coach Fran McCann, where he was team captain, team MVW, and was elected as Indiana State University Athlete of the year, along with Larry Bird… Don’s career coaching record of 415 career wins ranked him 15th all-time in Minnesota… Don coached 33 years and served on a number of committees including MSHSL Advisory Board and Section Rep… Was a Section 2AA Coach of the Year and his teams won the Section 2A team title in 1994 and 2006… Don was inducted into the MWCA Bartelma HOF this fall.
Lifetime Service – Jerry Reker (Rochester and Mantorville)
Jerry has given back 43 years to the sport of wrestling as a coach and official… Coached 10 years at Logan-Magnolia, IA, and Grand Meadow, MN where His teams produced 30 state entrants… Coached two-time state champ and two-time NCAA DI All-American Chris Nelson… Team records at those two settings were 70-2-1 and 33-11… From 1976-2020, Jerry served as a state and national collegiate wrestling tournament official… In numerous tournaments, Jerry was the head official… Some of Jerry’s many honors include Section 1 Official of the Year, 2016 MSHSL Distinguished Service Award, membership of the MCC Region 1 Wrestling Hall of Fame, and MWCA Bartelma Hall of Fame… Jerry has served the MSHSL and done ad hoc committee work with the MN Department of Health to develop guidelines for controlling skin infections.
Lifetime Service – Chuck Siefert (Rochester)
Chuck Siefert has given back 46 years to the sport of wrestling… Chuck wrestled at Goodhue High School for legendary hall of fame coach Bill Sutter, hall of fame coach John Philo at Rochester Community College, and hall of fame coach John Oxton at St. Cloud State, where he earned NCAA DII All-American Honors… Coached at Bryon High School and came back home to guide Rochester Technical Community College for two tours of duty as head wrestling coach… Chuck also assisted in Football at RCTC, and had an undefeated season in his only year as he had to step in as head coach… Was an NJCAA Wrestling Man of the Year honoree… Directed the RCTC Regional Sports Center for a number of years… Chuck’s many contributions include being a member of The Clash National High School Wrestling Duals organizers from 2008-2021… Chuck and wife Ruth have helped run the clothing stand for that time as well at The Clash and other tournaments. The sale of those items have led to Section I scholarships for wrestlers that compete at the collegiate level.
Lifetime Service – Joel Skillings (Minneota)
Joel Skillings had a highly successful 35-year high school coaching career… Put the Minneota wrestling program on the state mat… When Joel took over the program it was on life support… Put together a 559-17-4 career record, good for eighth place overall in the Minnesota high school wrestling career coaching history… Joel’s 2015 team won the Class A State Championship… His teams finished third in 2010, 2011, and 2012, and fourth in 1999 and 2016… Coached 161 individual state entrants, 69 individual state place winners, and seven individual state champions… Class A State Coach of the Year in 2012 and 2017… Joel’s teams were MWCA State Academic Champions in 1997 and 1998… Was selected to coach the MN/USA National Schoolboy Team (2002-2005), MN/USA National Cadet Team (2006-2009), and was a MN/USA National Team Juniors Coach… Helped direct J Robinson Summer Camps over the years.