Dwight Hinson will be inducted into the Glen Brand Wrestling HOFThe Class of 2021 is Gary Steffensmeier, Mike DeAnna, Megan Black, Dwight Hinson, David Kjeldgaard, and the 1991 and 1992 University of Iowa national champion wrestling teams.
The Happel Family will be presented with the Bowlsby Family Legacy Award while Tom Hogan will receive the Bob Siddens High School Coaching Excellence Award and Bill Tate Sr. will be presented with the Russ Smith Community Impact Award.
A banquet honoring the Class of 2021 will be held at the Prairie Links Golf Club in Waverly, Iowa, on June 25, 2021. For more information, contact the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum at (319) 233-0745 or dgmstaff@nwhof.org.
Gary Steffensmeier, a native of Houghton, Iowa, wrestled at Fort Madison High School for coach Mick Pickford, recognized as a Meritorious Official by the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and recipient of the Lifetime Service to Wrestling Award from the Iowa Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Steffensmeier was the Bloodhounds first two-time state champion and their first four-time state tournament medalist. Steffensmeier finished fourth and fifth as a freshman and sophomore before winning titles in 1986 at 112 pounds and in 1987 at 119 pounds. He had a perfect 32-0 record as a senior and 103 career wins. Wrestling for Don Briggs at the University of Northern Iowa, Steffensmeier was a three-time Division I All-American with a runner-up and two fourth-place finishes. He had a career record of 115-29-3 and ranks fourth on the Panthers all-time win list. Steffensmeier was also named to the National Wrestling Coaches Association All-Academic team in 1991 and 1992.
Mike DeAnna, a native of Bay Village, Ohio, was a three-time Ohio state high school champion who was 83-0 from 1974 to 1976 and 104-5-1 for his prep career. He earned first-team high school All-America honors and also won two U.S. Wrestling Association National Freestyle titles. DeAnna was a two-time NCAA finalist, a four-time NCAA All-American and a four-time Big Ten Conference champion for the University of Iowa from 1977 to 1981. He won National AAU Freestyle titles in 1983 and 1984 and was the second alternate on the 1984 United States Olympic freestyle team. DeAnna was head wrestling coach at Edinboro University from 1984 to 1990 and led the Fighting Scots to five Top Ten finishes at the NCAA tournament, including each of the first three years after moving up to Division I in 1986-87. He was named NCAA Division II National Coach of the Year in 1986.
Megan Black, a native of Batavia, Iowa, wrestled for Eddyville High School and became the first female to win a match at the prestigious Iowa boys high school state wrestling tournament in 2012. After posting another victory to finish eighth, Black made history again as the first female to be a place-winner at the boys state tournament. She was a three-time All-American at the Fargo Nationals tournament, winning the championship in 2012 after finishing third in 2011 and seventh in 2010. Black won a gold medal at the Junior Pan American Games in 2014. After earning All-America honors with seventh-place finish as a freshman at King University, she transferred to McKendree University. Black earned All-America honors three more times, finishing second as a sophomore and junior and third as a senior. She is currently in the United States Army and training as part of its Army World Class Athlete Program in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Dwight Hinson, a native of Fort Still, Oklahoma, was a two-time state high school champion for Lawton Eisenhower High School. A three-time Junior Freestyle All-American and Junior Freestyle Nationals champion, Hinson wrestled for Iowa State University from 1994 to 1998. He was a four-time All-American for the Cyclones, finishing third as a freshman, second as a sophomore, fourth as a junior and third as a senior. A three-time Big Eight Conference champion and a Big 12 Conference champion, he ranks fourth on Iowa State's all-time career wins list and was ISU's Male Athlete of the Year in 1998. Hinson was a USA Senior Level All-American and two-time world team qualifier. He was a volunteer coach at his alma mater, serving as a resource for Bobby Douglas and then Cael Sanderson. Hinson has served as an Iowa State University police officer the past two decades while also working with the Central Iowa Wrestling Club and Team Intensity for 20 years.
David Kjeldgaard, a native of Council Bluffs, Iowa, wrestled at Louis Central High School for Keith Massey, who received the GBHOF Russ Smith Community Impact Award in 2018. A three-time Iowa state high school champion with a career record of 173-4, Kjeldgaard was the first national winner of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame's Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award in 1996. He won three Cadet National championships and five Junior National championships and placed seventh at the Junior World Championships in Russia in 1996. As a high school junior at Junior Nationals, he defeated T.J. Williams, a two-time national champion with a career record of 98-1 at the University of Iowa. In his senior year at Junior Nationals, he defeated NCAA champion and four-time Top Three finisher Joe Heskett to reach the finals, where he triumphed over a wrestler from Utah named Cael Sanderson. The eight combined national titles is a record that has been tied, but never broken. A true scholar athlete, Kjeldgaard was valedictorian of his class and graduated with a 4.0 GPA. His career at the University of Oklahoma was hampered and cut short by knee injuries, but he twice qualified for the NCAA tournament and was a Big 12 Conference runner-up in 2000.
Coached by wrestling legend Dan Gable, the 1991 and 1992 University of Iowa teams used identical starting lineups to win Big Ten Conference and NCAA championships. The 1991 team had a 21-1 dual meet record and qualified all 10 wrestlers for the national tournament, where nine were All-Americans. The 1992 team had a 16-0 dual meet record and qualified all 10 wrestlers for the national tournament, where nine were All-Americans. The 1991 starting lineup and their NCAA finish are: Chad Zaputil (2nd at 118), Terry Brands (2nd at 126), Tom Brands (1st at 134), Troy Steiner (2nd at 142), Terry Steiner (3rd at 150), Tom Ryan (2nd at 158), Mark Reiland (1st at 167), Bart Chelesvig (3rd at 177), Travis Fiser (6th at 190), and John Oostendorp (275). The 1992 starting lineup and their NCAA finish are: Chad Zaputil (2nd at 118), Terry Brands (1st at 126), Tom Brands (1st at 134), Troy Steiner (1st at 142), Terry Steiner (5th at 150), Tom Ryan (3rd at 158), Mark Reiland (167), Bart Chelesvig (3rd at 177), Travis Fiser (5th at 190), and John Oostendorp (5th at 275).
The Happel Family will receive the Bowlsby Family Legacy Award, named in honor of the Bowlsby family from Waterloo. The Happels all wrestled for Lisbon (Iowa) High School, beginning with father Dean, who had a 114-13 career record while winning state high school titles in 1982, 1983 and 1984 and being a member of two state championship teams. Carter Happel, who currently wrestles for the University of Iowa, had a 209-1 career record while winning state titles in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 and being a member of a state runner-up team. Cael Happel, who currently wrestles for the University of Northern Iowa, had a career record of 218-5 while winning state titles in 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 and being a member of four state championship teams. Carter was a three-time recipient of the Fareway Dan Gable Wrestler of the Year Award while Cael was a two-time recipient. Carter and Cael were both recipients of the GBHOF's Bob Steenlage Iowa High School Wrestler of the Year award. Quincy Happel is currently a high school junior who has qualified for the state tournament twice and been a member of a state championship team. Cade Happel is a seventh grader and a member of the junior high team while Kyler Happel is a sixth grader and a member of the Mat Pack Wrestling Club. John Bowlsby and Bob Bowlsby wrestled for legendary coach Bob Siddens at Waterloo West High School while their parents, Bob and Pat, and sisters, Ann, Sarah and Jane, were instrumental in their careers.
Bill Tate Sr. will receive the Russ Smith Community Impact Award, presented to individuals who demonstrate exceptional local impact on wrestling in Iowa. A native of Waterloo, he wrestled for East Waterloo High School and placed third in the state high school tournament in 1961. Tate founded the Waterloo Boys Club wrestling program in 1972 and served as the head coach for 10 years, positively impacting the youth in Waterloo and surrounding communities. Tate's assistant coaches were Larry Sallis, Aaron Roberts and Phillip Caldwell. Several wrestlers coached by Tate became Iowa state champions, including West Waterloo High School's John DeGiacoma, Tim Kinghammer, Mike Van Arsdale, Taras Stevenson, and Tony Hanson; East Waterloo High School's Darnell Sallis, Chuck Pearson and Maurice Morehead; Denver High School's Todd Smith; and Central High School's Wayne Love. He also coached Stewart Carter and Mike Van Arsdale, who became NCAA champions for Iowa State.
Tom Hogan will receive the Bob Siddens High School Coaching Excellence Award, presented to an active Iowa high school wrestling coach who exemplifies the high standards that Siddens set during his coaching career at Waterloo West. A native of Gilbertville, Iowa, Hogan was a state champion for Don Bosco High School and an NCAA champion and three-time NCAA Division III All-American for Wartburg College. He was twice named Wartburg's Most Valuable Wrestler and was inducted into the Wartburg Hall of Fame in 2012. The head wrestling coach at his high school alma mater since 2012, Hogan has led the Dons to traditional team state championships in 2012, 2019 and 2020 and dual team state championships in 2018 and 2019 while posting five Top Four finishes and coaching four individual state champions. Siddens was inducted into the Glen Brand Hall of Fame in 2003 and was the inaugural recipient of the coaching award that bears his name in 2012.
National Wrestling Hall of Fame & Museum
America's shrine to the sport of wrestling, the National Wrestling Hall of Fame & Museum was founded as a nonprofit organization in 1976 to honor the sport of wrestling, preserve its history, recognize extraordinary individual achievements, and inspire future generations. The National Wrestling Hall of Fame has museums in Stillwater, Oklahoma, and Waterloo, Iowa. The Stillwater, Oklahoma, location reopened in June 2016 following a $3.8 million renovation while the Waterloo, Iowa, location reopened in March 2019 after undergoing a $1.4 million renovation. Both museums now feature interactive exhibits and electronic kiosks, as well as the opportunity to watch NCAA Championship matches from the 1930s to present day. Stillwater also has the John T. Vaughan Hall of Honors where the greatest names in wrestling are recognized, including iconic granite plaques presented to Distinguished Members since the Hall of Fame opened in 1976. The museum has the largest collection of wrestling artifacts and memorabilia in the world, including the most collegiate and Olympic wrestling uniforms. Wrestling truly is for everyone and the diversity and accessibility of the sport continues to be highlighted through exhibits featuring females, African-Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and Latino Americans. There is also a library featuring historical documents, including NCAA guides and results, as well as books on the sport.
For more information about the Hall of Fame, please visit www.NWHOF.org.
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