The Glen Brand Wrestling Hall of Fame of Iowa is located inside the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum in Waterloo, Iowa.
The Class of 2016 is Stewart Carter (Iowa State), Justin Greenlee (Northern Iowa), T.J. Williams (Iowa), Mark Perry (Iowa), Art Holding (posthumously) and the 2003 Wartburg College wrestling team.
Willie Gadson will be presented with the Bob Siddens Iowa High School Coaching Excellence Award and Ryan Sallis will receive the Russ Smith Community Impact Award.
A banquet honoring all inductees and award winners will be held at the Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center in Waterloo on Saturday, June 11. For more information contact the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum at (319) 233-0745 or dgmstaff@nwhof.org.
The Glen Brand Wrestling Hall of Fame of Iowa was established in 2002 to honor the people who have made an impact on the sport on a national level, or who have done extraordinary work in the State of Iowa. The hall recognizes native-born Iowans, and those who achieved their fame while wrestling or coaching for an Iowa school.
Stewart Carter was an NCAA and Big Eight Conference champion at 158 pounds for Iowa State University in 1987 as a senior. Carter, who was named ISU Athlete of the Year for his accomplishments, was a crucial part of the Cyclones winning the NCAA team title, finishing 25 points ahead of runner-up Iowa. He wrestled in high school for Waterloo Columbus, and was the school's first four-time state qualifier, placing third in 1980 and 1982 and second in 1981.
Justin Greenlee was a three-time Division I All-American and a two-time NCAA tournament finalist at the University of Northern Iowa, and a Pan American Games champion in 1993. He reached the NCAA tournament finals at heavyweight as a junior in 1994 and again as a senior in 1995 after finishing eighth as a sophomore in 1993. Greenlee is one of 13 three-time Division I All-Americans in program history, and ranks third all-time in career victories (129) and second in career falls (57) at UNI. He wrestled in high school for Waverly-Shell Rock where he won a state championship at heavyweight in 1990.
T.J. Williams was a two-time NCAA champion, and a three-time All-American at the University of Iowa. He won NCAA titles as a sophomore at 149 pounds in 1999 and as a senior at 157 pounds while finishing third at 157 pounds as a junior. Williams was also a three-time Big Ten champion, and a finalist at the 1997 junior college national tournament for Lassen College. He holds the Hawkeye record for career winning percentage of .990 after finishing with a career record of 98-1. Williams was a four-time state wrestling champion for Mount Carmel High School in Chicago.
Mark Perry, Jr. was a two-time NCAA champion, and a four-time All-American at the University of Iowa. He won NCAA titles at 165 pounds as a junior and as a senior in 2007 and in 2008 after placing second as a freshman in 2005 and third as a sophomore in 2006 at 174 pounds. Perry reached the finals of the Big Ten tournament all four years, winning a title in 2007, and finished his career with a record of 96-16. A native of Stillwater, Oklahoma, Perry was a two-time national prep champion for Blair Academy (2002 and 2003) in New Jersey.
Art Holding was the first NCAA wrestling champion produced by the state of Iowa, winning the title for Iowa State at the first NCAA tournament in 1928 in Ames, Iowa. He won the 135-pound title with a win over Brice Moore of Oklahoma State. He was also a three-time Missouri Valley Conference champion (1927-29), and never lost a match during his collegiate career. Holding was also an alternate for the 1928 Olympics.
The 2003 Wartburg College wrestling team will be the fourth team inducted into the Glen Brand Wrestling Hall of Fame of Iowa. The Knights won the Division III NCAA tournament with a record-setting performance in Ada, Ohio. Wartburg set the record for points at the NCAA DIII tournament with 166.5 points. Every member of the team earned All-American honors, including three NCAA champions and three runner-ups. It was the third of 10 NCAA championships during Jim Miller's tenure as head wrestling coach.
The starting line-up was Heath Ropp (125 1st at 125), Ozzie Saxton (2nd at 133), Wil Kelly (1st at 141), Bart Mehlert (3rd at 149), Kevin Bratland (2nd at 157), Ryan Sturm (4th at 165), Mark Sturm (6th at 174), Sonny Alvarez (2nd at 184), Alain Djoumessi (3rd at 197), and LeRoy Gardner (1st at 285). Assistant coaches were Eric Keller, Dave Malecek, Nick Mitchell, Steve Walker, and Matt Walker.
Willie Gadson will receive the Bob Siddens High School Coaching Excellence Award posthumously. Gadson passed away in 2013 after a yearlong battle with cancer. The award is given to an Iowa high school wrestling coach who exhibits the high standards that Siddens set during his legendary coaching career. Siddens coached Waterloo West High School to 11 state team titles and a 327-26 dual record.
Gadson coached Waterloo East High School from 2004-12. He coached 16 state qualifiers and 10 state place winners, including his son Kyven, who did not lose a match while winning state championships in 2009 and 2010. Kyven Gadson went on to win an NCAA title at 197 pounds for Iowa State in 2015.
Willie Gadson won Big Eight championships and was an All-American for Iowa State in 1975 and 1976, and was an assistant coach for the Cyclones from 1979-82.
Ryan Sallis will receive the Russ Smith Community Impact Award, which is presented to individuals who have demonstrated exceptional local impact on wrestling in Iowa.
For the past six years Sallis has been coordinator and coach for the Future Trojans Wrestling Club in Waterloo, Iowa, as well as organizing the annual Willie Gadson Youth Tournament.
Sallis graduated from Waterloo East High School in 2001. He qualified for the state wrestling tournament twice, and finished fifth in 2001. Sallis attended Wartburg College before being deployed by the Army National Guard to Egypt and Iraq for three years. He was active duty with the Army National Guard for nine years from 2003-09.
The National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum is a not-for-profit organization based out of Waterloo, Iowa. The mission of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame is to preserve history, recognize excellence, and inspire future generations.
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