Others to be welcomed into the Hall during the IHSAA State Championships on Saturday, Feb. 20, at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines include Dan Cummings, Dave Ewing, Vance Light, and Doug Trees.
Steve BlackfordBuzzard was a two-time Iowa state champ at Waterloo East High School in 1958 and 1960. At Iowa State, Buzzard, in addition to twice winning conference crowns, was a two-time NCAA All-American for the Cyclones in the early 1960s, where he also was on the ISU 1963 NCAA runner-up team and 1965 team titlewinning squad. Buzzard was a 1969 World Champion in Greco-Roman, and earned a place on the 1972 US Olympic team. Later, Buzzard became a successful high school coach in Illinois and Oregon.
Cummings just completed 38 years at Mediapolis, with 36 as head coach, crafting an overall dual-meet mark of 460-167-3, fourth-best all-time in Iowa. In just the past three seasons, his teams have a 79-12 record, finishing third, second and first in the traditional tournament. Cummings has coached 31 wrestlers with 100 or more wins and 10 who have surpassed 150 victories; 131 of his wrestlers have qualified for the state tournament, with 56 medal winners, seven runners-up and eight champions.
Ewing earned NCAA All-American honors at Iowa State in 1985, then served as a grad assistant for the Cyclones for one season before joining the coaching staff at nearby Ankeny High School. In 26 seasons, Ewing led the Hawks to a 354-141 record before retiring in 2013, when he was named Coach of the Year in 3A. Ewing coached 105 state qualifiers of which four were champions and 32 were medal winners.
Light was a four-time state qualifier for Lisbon High, winning back-to-back Iowa titles in 1986 and 1987. At Drake University, Light was a four year letterwinner and NCAA qualifier. His 139 wins at Drake was best in the school's history. As coach at Mount Vernon High, Light is the school's winningest head coach, with a 332-127 record. He has coached 81 state qualifiers with 31 medal winners including four champions.
Trees was a four-time Iowa state finalist for Greene High, taking second in 1966 and 1967 before winning championships in 1968 and 1969, He had a 113-5 record as a prep. He was named twice to the high school All American squad. He went on to wrestle for North Iowa Area Community College where he was a national qualifier in 1970 with a 19-2 record before suffering a career-ending injury. Trees has volunteered hours and service to the North Butler wrestling program.
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