Learn about the latest Minnesota Wrestling Coaches Association David Bartelma Wrestling Hall of Fame Inductees. The 2026 Induction Dinner will take place on Saturday, April 11th, in Benson, Minn. Inductees will be Joe Block, Dustin Darveaux, Luverne “Tuffy” Hoard, Kevin Jensen, Tom Lamphere, Josh McLay, Robb Moser, Rich Pohlmeier, Werner Family, Tom Youngblom, Paul Conrad, and Alan Rasmussen.
CLICK HERE for tickets and more information about the Induction Dinner.
Dustin Darveaux (Athlete)
Dustin Darveaux graduated from Pipestone High School in 1998, where he participated in football and wrestling. In wrestling, he qualified for the state tournament three times, placing 2nd in 1996, 3rd in 1997, and 3rd in 1998. During these three years, his only losses came to Lee Hiltner of Paynesville and Justin Staebler of Perham.
Dustin also competed nationally in freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling. In 1997, he placed 2nd in Freestyle and 3rd in Greco-Roman to earn All-American honors. In 1998, he again earned All-American honors, placing 6th in Freestyle and 2nd in Greco-Roman. He continued his athletic career at St. Cloud State University, playing football for two years and wrestling for four. Dustin was a four-time NCAA Division II national qualifier and a three-time Division II All-American, placing 7th in 2001, 4th in 2002, and 2nd in 2003. He was also named an NWCA Academic All-American in 2000. Dustin graduated from St. Cloud State with a degree in Finance, Insurance, and Real Estate.
Dustin is currently a Senior Operations Leader at Lockton Re, a subsidiary of Lockton Companies. He lives in Maple Grove, Minnesota, with his wife, Lindsey, and their children, Paisley, James, Bennett, and Charlie.
Joe Block (Coach)
Joe Block attended Le Center High School. He participated in football, wrestling, and track. Joe was a four-time state entrant from grades 9-12. His high school record was 167-27-5. He was crowned a state champion as a sophomore at 126 lbs. in 1987, placed third at 132 lbs. in 1988, and won a second state title at 135 lbs. in 1989. Joe was selected to participate in the Minnesota-Wisconsin All-Star Classic. He won national titles in Freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling in 1987 as a Cadet. Joe won numerous Northern Plains Regional titles in both Freestyle and Greco-Roman.
Upon graduation Joe attended Drake University to pursue a degree in Elementary Education. In college Joe won over 100 wins. He was a NCAA National qualifier in 1993 and earned the Drake Wrestling MVP as well. Joe graduated from Drake in 1994. He later obtained his Masters in Education from St. Mary’s University.
Joe taught at Le Center from 1997-2000, and then took a job at Prior Lake, where he coached from 2001-2025. Joe’s high school coaching record stands at 394-309. He coached 106 state entrants, coached 60 state place winners, twelve of whom were state champions. Joe was named Section Coach of the Year 8 times, and named MN Coach of the Year 4 times. His teams achieved a silver/gold academic award all but three of his year at Prior Lake. One of the parents in the Prior Lake wrestling program wrote “Joe was able to connect with the community and draw external coaches to come in to the program. He had that special gift that made us all feel welcomed and special.” A wrestling official wrote “Many of Joe’s athletes have moved on to have successful lives and careers. Joe built a positive culture and athlete-centered approach among his teams. He had the ability to get the best out of the student-athletes and the people he worked with.” One of Joe’s assistant coaches commented “Joe stood by me in some hard times and gave me a second chance, and I never wanted him to regret that. I never wanted to let him down.”
Joe continues to teach in Prior Lake. Joe and his wife Donelle have two kids, Teagan and Terin. They reside in Prior Lake.
Luverne “Tuffy” Hoard (Coach/Contributor)
“Tuffy” Hoard attended Grand Rapids High School, graduating from there in 1966. He was a 4-time Region 7 champion under Head Coach Skip Nalan. As a wrestler Tuffy amassed a record of 68-12. He placed 3rd in 1965 at 95 lbs., and was a state runner-up in 1966 at 95 lbs. After high school Tuffy enlisted in the U.S. Army, serving his country fighting in Vietnam until 1969. Tuffy settled in Cohasset, MN working as a carpenter and raising his family with his wife Linda. Tuffy started coaching for Skip, going right to work developing an elementary wrestling program. Tuffy later started a local wrestling club that is still in existence today. Tuffy organized the first open tournament that Grand Rapids hosted. The Grand Rapids Open is now called The Tuffy Hoard Open. Tuffy served as the first assistant to the head coach for 20 years under 3 head coaches, Shane Holm, Dan Jinks, and Mike Schauer. Tuffy helped his teams recorded over 300 wins, 4 section titles, 5 conference titles, 33 state place winners, and 3 state champions. Tuffy helped hundreds of young athletes become young men. Tuffy retired from coaching in 2019. A colleague and head coach commented “Men of great integrity laid down a foundation of excellence: Jack Willhite, Glen Swenson, and Skip Nalan. With over 50 years of service as an athlete, contributor, and coach, Tuffy Hoard truly holds a place among those legends.”
Kevin Jensen (Contributor/Official)
Kevin Jensen attended De Lasalle High School where he participated in cross country, wrestling, and track He started wrestling as a freshman at De Lasalle and was a varsity wrestler for three years. After graduating from high school in 1968, Kevin enrolled at St. Cloud State University where he earned a degree in Physical Education and a few years later obtained a degree in Math Education. He wrestled for four years at 134 lbs. under Head Coach John Oxton. Kevin’s first teaching job was in Wynot, Nebraska. While there Kevin taught mat as well as serving as the assistant wrestling coach. After 2 years in Wynot, Kevin went to Manly, Iowa where he taught math as well as working as the assistant wrestling coach, as well as coaching football and track. Kevin started teaching and coaching in Le Center in 1979. His career spanned 19 years (1979-1998) He compiled a record of 215-111-2 record. He had 4 Section runner-up finishes and 4 Section titles. His 1990 team finished 3rd. Kevin had the privilege of coaching 6 state finalists, 3 of whom were state champions. He coached 55 state qualifiers and 18 place winners. Kevin’s team finished first or second in the conference from 1985-1998. Kevin was selected as Region Coach of the Year 3 times, and was MN State Coach of the Year in 1991.
In the fall of 1998 Kevin took a math position at Simley High School in Inver Grove Heights. Kevin retire from teaching in 2012 but continued to serve as the middle school wrestling coach thru the 2018 season for a total of 19 seasons with Simley.
Kevin started the Le Center Freestyle Club in 1986 and has been a referee for both Freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling since that time with the highest national ranking as an M-1 official and 7 years as an international FILA official (now called UWW). Jensen has officiated in the MSHSL State Tournament 3 times. He worked as a Folkstyle wrestling official for 50 years and a Freestyle/Greco-Roman wrestling official for 43 years. He served as the MN/USA Wrestling Cultural Exchange Director from 1990-1995 and served on the MN/USA Board of Directors for 8 years. Kevin served as Section coordinator for 4AA Section tournaments for 9 years.
Kevin has two adopted sons, Cola (Nicolai) and Dmitriy. Colas was a five-year started for Simley High School and had 143 wins in his career. Dmitriy participated in football and swimming. Kevin has a step-daughter Carly and stepson Jarred Oftedahl, who wrestled at Benilde-St. Margaret and placed 4th in the Division II National tournament for St. Cloud State.
Kevin and his wife Karen currently reside in Florida.
Tom Lamphere (Contributor)
Tom Lamphere attended Robbinsdale Cooper High School, and later attended Robbinsdale Armstrong, graduating from there in 1971. Tom was a member of the Cooper 1969 State Championship Team. He placed third in the state as a senior at 112 lbs. Tom continued his wrestling at the University of Minnesota and also at the University of Minnesota-Duluth in pursuit of a degree in History Education. Tom taught for a year in International Falls, but left teaching to join Athletes in Action, a branch of Campus Crusades for Christ. The AIA had some of the best wrestlers in the country on their teams, and they would compete against colleges in the U.S. Halfway through the meet they would take a short intermission and AIA wrestlers would share their testimony. Tom competed in the 1980 Greco Nationals and placed 5th. Tom’s last competition was the 1980 Olympic Trials. Tom has continued to stay involved with wrestling through Athletes in Action. He is working with USA wrestling, Tony Dungy, James Brown of CBS Sports and others to bring back wrestling to historically black colleges and universities. He continues to mentor young athletes in all walks of their lives.
Tony Dungy, former NFL Coach wrote: “Thanks to Tom’s spiritual mentorship, I was ready for the responsibilities that came with that job and for what came down the road—becoming the first African-American head coach to win a Super Bowl.” Tom and his wife Jeannie have served as the Minnesota Vikings chaplain couple for the past 35 years. They have five kids: Annya, Jon, Drew, Krista, and Makenzie, along with 10 grandchildren. He and Jeannie currently reside in Shakopee.
Josh McLay (Athlete)
Josh McLay attended Hastings High School, graduating from there in 2000. He participated in football and wrestling (Josh, anything else?) Josh was a captain his senior year in football and was a 3-year captain for wrestling. The football team finished second that year, losing to Cretin-Durham Hall and Joe Mauer in the finals. Josh was a 5x (Metro East?) Conference Champion and a four-time state qualifier. Josh was a 4-time section champion. He won three AAA state titles, at 145 lbs. in 1998, 152 lbs. in 1999, and 160 lbs. in 2000. He helped his team reach the MN State Team Tournament in 1996 (State Champions), 1997 (5th), 1998 (2nd), 1999 (3rd), and 2000 (3rd) Josh never lost a match at state. Josh’s high school record was 180-30. He was named as an ASICS First Team All-American in 2000.
Josh was a 6-time finalist in Freestyle/Greco-Roman wrestling at the national level. He won Greco-Roman and Freestyle titles as a second year Cadet. He was a runner-up in Greco-Roman as a sophomore in the Junior age division. He was a champion at Greco-Roman his junior year, and as a senior Josh won both Greco-Roman and Freestyle honors.
Josh attended the University of Minnesota, where he earned a degree in Physical Education/DAPE/Health and also an administration degree. Josh’s college record was 63-52. He was a 4-year letter winner for the Gophers, and he was named a Big 10 Academic All-American. Josh was a 3-year starter for the Gophers. He placed 5th in the Big 10 Tournament as a junior, qualified for the NCAA Division 1 tournament, where he went 1-2. His senior year was cut short by injuries.
Josh began his teaching and coaching career at Woodbury High School in 2007. He then coached at Eagan High School in 2008, then at Hastings High School in 2009, and continued to serve as head coach there until 2019. Josh’s coaching record stands at 255-113. He guided five teams to the MN State Team Tournament, 2012 (4th), 2014 (4th), 2016 (5th), 2017(4th), and 2018 (6th). Josh helped 67 wrestlers qualify for the state tournament, had 23 state place winners, and had 2 state champions. Josh was an assistant coach at Hastings from 2019-2023, helping the team to four more state tournament appearances and a team state title in 2023. Josh’s head coach refers to Josh as “one of the most decorated high school wrestlers in Minnesota history. He has faithfully served both the sport of wrestling and his home community of Hastings for over a decade.” Josh’s high school principal commented “Josh is professional, caring, hard-working, experienced, positive, and incredibly student-focused. He is ‘that educator’ every school team needs that has a solid pulse of the school and presence within classrooms.”
Josh continues to teach and coach in Hastings. He and his wife Kasha have 3 kids: Emma, Addy, and Madden.
Robb Moser (Coach)
Robb Moser attended Frazee High School, graduating in 1990. Robb was a state entrant and MWCA All-Academic team member his senior year, competing at 160 lbs. He was also a member of the first two teams in Frazee wrestling history to go to state. He was coached by Hall of Famers Steve Carr and Clay Nagel while at Frazee. In addition to wrestling, Robb was an All-Conference football player for the Hornets. Robb continued his education and wrestling career at Concordia College, Moorhead, where he earned a degree in Social Studies Education. Robb obtained his Masters from Southwest State in Marshall, MN in 2001. Robb taught and coached at Perham High School from 1995-2019. He was the head coach from 2001-2019. His career coaching record stands at 425-99-1. He coached 126 state entrants, 49 of whom were place winners. He coached 16 finalists, and 6 were state champions. There were 3 Division 1 wrestlers and 7 NCAA All-American wrestlers that came out of Perham at that time. Robb’s teams were the first Perham teams to win a section wrestling title and compete at state. The Perham team had great consistency during his years as head coach–15 section finals appearances, 12 state tournament teams, and 9 teams that placed at the state tournament, all in AA. Two of his teams finished second (losses to St. Michael-Albertville and Simley). His teams were crowned Academic State Champs 3 times, and he had 14 MWCA All-State Academic team members. He was awarded Section Coach of the Year 8 different times, and he was named MN Coach of the Year both in 2007 and 2019. Robb’s colleagues acknowledge how Robb was a very hard worker that developed strong relationships with his wrestlers, fellow coaches, and fellow teachers. The “team first” concept was something that Robb and his assistants worked very hard to instill throughout their program.
When asked what his proudest moments were, Robb replied “Tough question. I am very proud that our program embraced the sport the right way—grades were important, high grades are honorable, giving people a second chance was necessary, having concern for others is essential, and being a part of many other activities is really healthy in a small town. On a personal level, I am very proud and fortunate to say that my very last match that I coached was my son Ty’s state championship match, capping off an undefeated season.”
Robb and his wife, Eryn, have three kids, Reid, Ty, and Drew. He is a retired teacher/coach and now works at KLN Family Brands in Perham. He continues to work in wrestling as the Section 8AA manager and as a radio commentator covering wrestling in lakes country.
Rich Pohlmeier (Contributor)
Rich Pohlmeier attended Hutchinson High School, graduating from there in 1972. He was active in football, wrestling, and baseball. Rich attended the University of Minnesota-Waseca where he played football and wrestled. Rich was also a long-time member of Gold Country Officials Association.
Rich has worn many hats over the years: Farmer, self-employed contractor, county commissioner, city council member, mayor, and sports official. He began his officiating in 1974. After taking some time off for family, he returned to officiating in 1993. He has officiated wrestling at all levels from kids through high school. Rich has worked regional, state, and national tournaments for NYWA, USA Wrestling, and MYAS associations, which took him to Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Nebraska, and North Dakota.
Rich’s excellence as an official has not gone unnoticed at the state level. His officiating career spans four different sports–football, volleyball, wrestling, and softball– with well over 130 “seasons” of service. Rich has officiated at least one state tournament in all four sports – this is incredibly unique and sets him apart. In 2024 Rich received an award from the Minnesota High School Coaches Association for Distinguished Service.
Even when not officiating, Rich finds other ways to help. He has worked tables for many years at the MSHSL State Wrestling Tournament, and continues to do so, always finding a way to give back. Over the past several years, Rich has provided support for girls wrestling in Minnesota by recruiting and mentoring female wrestling officials.
Rich’s peers have noticed and appreciated his impact, too. One of his colleagues from Gold Country commented “Rich was willing to drive anywhere to officiate. He was especially helpful in situations where we were short of officials.” Another colleague commented “Rich’s many years of service to develop wrestling officials as well as helping to mold young wrestlers into good humans is admirable.” A mentee of Rich noted that “Rich always makes me leave the mat feeling like I did more things right than wrong, and he always gives feedback constructively.” A coach commented “I appreciated Rich’s consistency and his ability to keep a cool head despite a lot of intense coaches like myself.”
Rich resides in Brownton with his wife Jackie. They have six kids: Heather DuFault, Kari Brecht, Shannon Cayler, Ryan Beich, Jaeme Pohlmeier, and Lukas Pohlmeier. They have eleven grandchildren.
Werner Family (Athlete)
The Werner wrestlers dominated the lightweights in Perham area from 1976-1985. Their overall record was 578-90-4. Together they have 12 state medals and went 44-9 at the state tournament.
Bruce: (1976 graduate) As a senior Bruce entered the 1976 State Class A 98 lbs. weight class with a 28-0 record, where he advanced to the semi-finals before getting upset. He then lost in the consolation semis. (History Lesson: the “trade-off” for going to the two-class system in 1975 was that the MSHSL would only medal four wrestlers per weight class. Bruce defeated the eventual state champion 12-4 a week earlier in the Region 6 finals. Bruce’s record was 68-19 with 30 pins). After graduation, Bruce moved back to Nebraska to farm. He has three kids (Heather, Melissa and Mike) and 4 grandkids.
Albert: (1978 graduate) Albert placed third in Region 6 as a senior at 126 lbs. The first and second place finishes in that weight class were Steve Carr (Battle Lake) and Joe Pilgrim (Verndale), and they finished first and second, respectively that year in state. Albert’s record was 64-24-4. He has been married to Lisa for 48 years and farms near Richville. They have 3 kids, Amy, Jackie and Joe and 14 grandchildren.
Steve: (1979 graduate) Steve was a state runner-up as a sophomore (98 lbs.) and a state champion as a junior (98 lbs.) and a senior (105 lbs.) Steve’s high school record was 120-3 with 60 pins. At the time, Steve held the highest winning percentage in MN state wrestling history (97.5 %). He was undefeated in his final two seasons of high school, winning 68 straight matches. Steve was selected to the U.S. All-Star team for the Pittsburgh Press Wrestling Classic in 1979. Amateur Wrestling News named Steve as a High School All-American as well as the number 9 ranked recruit in the nation in 1979. Steve competed on a MN Cultural Exchange team that traveled to Finland and was undefeated, pinning all of his opponents. Steve continued his wrestling at NSDU and was a 3-time NCC Conference Champion as well as a two-time All-American, finishing 7th at 118 lbs. as a junior and 5th as a senior. He was the one of the first members inducted in to the Perham School Hall of Fame. Steve has been working at the Good Samaritan Home for the last 32 years. He lives in Petersburg NE and is married to Brenda. He has two children, Denise and James, and has 3 grandkids.
John Jr: (Jack) (1980 graduate): Jack competed at the state tournament at 98 lbs., advancing to the semifinals before losing to eventual state champion Dave Goeb of Monticello. He placed third and finished his career with a record of 50-7 with 28 pins. Jack is married to Angie and farms near Perham. Jack and Angie have four kids, Leah, Sarah, Jacob and Joshua and 18 grandkids.
Dan: (1982 graduate) Dan was a four-time state place winner. He placed 4th as a freshman at 98 lbs. in 1979, state champ in 1980 at 105 lbs. as a sophomore, third as a junior at 105 lbs. in 1981, and won his second state title as a senior at 105 lbs. in 1982. Dan’s high school career record was 125-10 with 40 pins. Dan was chosen to be a member of the 1982 Pittsburgh Press U.S.A. Wrestling Team. Dan continued his wrestling in the U.S. Army, where he won the Army Tournament in 1984 and finished third in the All-Service Tournament. He wrestled for NDSCS after his time in the Army. Dan is an over-the-road truck driver. He lives in Richville and has one son, Benjamin.
Wayne: (1985 graduate) Wayne was a three-time state place winner, earning a runner-up medal at 98 lbs. in 1983, a state title in 1984 at 105 lbs., and a third-place finish as a senior at 112 lbs. Wayne continued his wrestling at NDSU and got his education degree. Wayne has coached in Moorhead, Perham, Aitkin and New York Mills, including Perham head coach from 1996-1998. Wayne was inducted into the NDSU Hall of Fame in 2013 and the Perham School Hall of Fame in 2025. Wayne has taught physical education and special education in Perham. He is married to Kristi and they have 4 kids, Isaac, Elliot, Annika and Owen.
Tom Youngblom (Coach)
Tom Youngblom’s journey began in Brook Park, Minnesota, in 1970, where he was raised on a modest hobby farm by his parents, LeRoy and Karen. The youngest of five siblings, Karla, Mary, Andrea, and David, Tom was characterized early on by a relentless energy that caught the attention of teacher Mrs. Olson, wife of the head wrestling coach. In the third grade, her intervention guided him to the wrestling mat. Tom wrestled for Paul Olson at Hinckley High School. He finished his time there with multiple subsection and conference titles, finishing with a record of 70-18-1, while also competing in football and track and field.
Initially underestimating his potential for collegiate wrestling, Tom began his post-secondary journey at Vermilion Community College as a decathlete. However, a chance encounter with a University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) wrestler reignited his competitive fire. Hall of Fame UMD Head Coach Neil Ladsten was glad to get “Youngnuts” on the team. Buoyed by elite practice partners like Shawn “Wonder Boy” Perkins, Cory Leopold, Tony Stenslund, Ron McClure, and Troy Haglund, he became a two-time individual NSIC Conference Champion at 150 pounds. He helped his team to consecutive conference titles. Tom placed at the national qualifier in his junior and senior years but did not qualify for D2 Nationals either year, finishing his college career with a record of 60-29 with 27 pins.
Tom got a job in Mora and began coaching/teaching in 1997. In a town of 3,000, Mora is easily one of the smallest AA schools in Minnesota, and with 4 winter sports, coaching wrestling in Mora was a formidable task. And it was trial by fire. In Tom’s first year, Mora would have the following coaches on their schedule: Randy Zimmer, Lyle Fruedenberg, Neil Jennissen, Gregg Greeno, Mark Jenson, Bob Adams, and Terry Sworsky. Rarely able to fill a full lineup, lessons were shared, but Mora would go 38-48-2 in his first 4 years. Then things started working, and Mora rattled off 23 seasons without a losing record, finishing with a coaching record of 454-257-2. During his 27 years at Mora he brought his team to the sections finals 11 times (qualifying 5 teams to the state championship), he coached 98 state entrants (30 placing), coached 3 individuals to the finals (2 state champs Jeff Ollestad and his son Andrew Youngblom), he had 5 Academic State Champions, Mora collected 16 academic team awards (6 Gold and in 2023 they were the AA Academic State Champions), and he was awarded 5 Section 7AA Coach of the Year Awards. One thing he is very proud of as a coach is being a pioneer/leader in the development of girls’ wrestling in Minnesota. In the fall of 2022, Mora vs Bemidji was one of, if not the first, all-girls dual in Minnesota.
Tom is extremely thankful for the following people; his wife Kris is the absolute most important reason he made it 27 years as a head coach; his kids Andrew (Kalli Jo), and Taylor (Hollie) for understanding how busy he was during the wrestling season; all of his assistant coaches over the years, Joel Foss, Dan Washburn, Tony Norlander, Dave Souba, Wade Lennox, Ben Presler, Chad Grahn, Brent D. Nelson, Brian Sjodin, Kristen Monkman, and long time assistant Ryan Sjodin; to Randy Zimmer and Neil Jennissen for going out of their way to share their knowledge on building wrestling programs in small towns and more importantly being great mentors; to Josh Hugley and Brady Hermel for being themselves! Finally, thank you to Jeff Ollestad for taking over the Mora wrestling program; it’s in good hands.
Paul Conrad (Kerkhoven)
Paul Conrad, a first year math instructor at Kerkhoven High School and recent graduate of Gustavus College, was approached in the fall of 1963 with the idea of starting a wrestling program by then-Superintendent E.W. Solyst. The foyer in the rear old high school auditorium (torn down in 1996), between the trophy case and the seating area became the team’s practice area. Tumbling mats were laid down and tied together. There is really no way of learning just how many boys showed up for early practices that November but 17 survived long enough for the team picture that appears in the 1964 year book ‘The Eagle.’ One of the famous Kerkhoven stories goes that Coach Conrad and Athletic Director Chuck Fering paid a visit to the Waldemar Haglund farm on a recruiting trip. That trip turned up huge dividends, although not evident right away. The boys that Paul and Chuck were after was Larry, a freshman, and Henry, an 8th grader. Waldemar was willing to allow the boys to give it a try, “but only one of them can practice at a time because I need them home to help with chores.”
One of the 17 boys on the first team joined wrestling after being in basketball for five-and-a-half years. It is likely that there are many KMS athletes that started a varsity basketball game and wrestled in the District tournament in the same season! There were 6 duel meets that first season, all considered exhibition. The first was at Cosmos before the Eagles would take on New London and Clara City twice each, and another with Bellingham. Anticipation ran high as those brand new three-piece Royal blue and white wrestling uniforms were passed out. The outer uniform consisted of leggings which were blue tights that went on first. Next came a sleeveless men’s underwear-type blue top that snapped in the crotch like a toddler’s ‘onesie’. This was topped off by white shorts.
The first wrestler up for Kerkhoven was 7th grader at 93 lbs. Dean Shuck. He lost by a decision. Gary Welch, a freshman at 112 lbs. got the team on the board with a forfeit. Gary Watkins recorded the Eagles first ever on-the-mat win with a decision. Sophomore Allen Lesteberg recorded Kerkhoven’s first-ever-pin, as well as seniors Dan Iverson and Paul Smith getting pins as well. Also in the lineup were seniors David Weimerskirch and Gene Quale, as well as Dale Erickson, a sophomore. Cosmos would go on to win the meet, 33-23. A pin was five points in those days, three for a decision and a tie was good for two points to each team. A huge crowd packed the Kerkhoven High School on Monday, February 23, 1964 for the Eagle’s first-ever-home wrestling meet. Jerry Slatery, the Willmar Junior College Wrestling Coach was the official that night. Kerkhoven avenged an earlier loss to New London, winning 27-19, and their record that first year was 3-3. They competed at the end of the season at the District 20 tournament in Cokato. No one advanced to the Region 5 tournament. The next season, Paul coached the wrestlers to a 12-10 record. Coach Conrad moved on after the 1965 season. He took a teaching job in Park-Cottage Grove, and his involvement with wrestling went dormant for two years. He then in 1967 took a job in Burnsville and was supposed to be the assistant coach, but that summer the head coach was killed in an accident and Paul was named the head coach. During his first year at Burnsville his record was 10-4, and they won the Eden Prairie Holiday Tournament. They were crowned Missota Conference Champions. The next year, they hired a new head coach, and Paul became the assistant. In 1973 Dennis Braaten became Kerkhoven’s first state entrant (along with Jerry Baker). Dennis made the state finals, as did Bob Shandle from Burnsville, whom Paul Conrad coached and became a state champion that year at 132 lbs. and he would win it again as a senior.
Paul is now living in Burnsville, MN. He and his wife Marcia (deceased) have 2 kids, son Steve and daughter Karen. He has five grandkids.