Hall of Famer Chuck Prunty passed away on January 13, 2023. He was 87 years old. Prunty was a long-time coach at Austin High School in Austin, Minn. He was inducted into the Minnesota Wrestling Coaches Association Dave Bartelma Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1979 and the Minnesota Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2007.
Death
WCAABE Wrestler loses his life in automobile accident
GRANT COUNTY – The name of a person who died in a head-on collision on Sunday, Sept. 11 in Grant County has been released.
He is Tyler David Stone of Hoffman, 18, according to a Minnesota State Patrol accident report.
The fatal crash happened at Highway 79 and County Road 21 near Sanford Township at 4:29 p.m. Continue reading at echopress.com →
Viktor Wilson 1936-2002
Hall of Famer Viktor Wilson passed away on August 8th. He was 86 years old. A native of Rochester, Minn., Wilson was a long-time coach at Stillwater High School in Stillwater, Minn.
He was inducted into the Minnesota Wrestling Coaches Association Dave Bartelma Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2010.
Tom Beyer 1958-2022
Hall of Famer Tom Beyer passed away on July 23, 2022. He was 64 years old. A native of Morris, Minn., Beyer was a long-time coach at Willmar High School in Willmar, Minn. He was inducted into the Minnesota Wrestling Coaches Association Dave Bartelma Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2010 and the Minnesota Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2020.
NDSU Athletics Mourns the Passing of Wrestling Signee Damian Mendez
FARGO, N.D. – On Tuesday, the North Dakota State Wrestling program and head coach Roger Kish announced the passing of incoming freshman Damian Mendez over the weekend.
“It is with sincere sorrow that we have to announce the loss of one of our Bison family members, as we learned of the tragic passing of Damian over the weekend,” said Kish.
Mendez signed with the Bison in March of 2022. He was set to join the Bison this fall and was intending to major in Sport Management at NDSU.
Chuck Jean 1949-2021
Hall of Famer Chuck Jean passed away on September 29, 2021. He was 72 years old. A native of Albert Lea, Minn., Jean was a Minnesota state champion and four-time college national champion. He was inducted into the Minnesota Wrestling Coaches Association Dave Bartelma Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1989.
Gerry Bakke 1950-2021
Hall of Famer Gerry Bakke passed away on September 25, 2021. He was 71 years old. A native of Albert Lea, Minn., Bakke was a long-time coach at Buffalo High School in Buffalo, Minn. He was inducted into the Minnesota Wrestling Coaches Association Dave Bartelma Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1999 and the Minnesota Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 20218.
Al DeLeon 1938-2020
Hall of Famer Al DeLeon passed away on December 16th. He was 82 years old. A three-time state champion for Blue Earth High School and a two-time All-American for Mankato State, DeLeon was inducted into the Minnesota Wrestling Coaches Association Dave Bartelma Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2006. He went on to coach wrestling at Britt High School in Iowa. DeLeon is a member of the Iowa High School Wrestling Hall of Fame, the Mankato State University Hall of Fame, and the National Wrestling Hall of Fame with a Lifetime Service Award.