Dale Estep, Tony Macias, Greg Newell, Darren Peaster and Nick Williams were chosen for Lifetime Service to Wrestling, while John Henry Ward will receive the Outstanding American award and Larry Tettleton will be presented the Medal of Courage honor.
The Lifetime Service to Wrestling award is awarded annually to coaches, officials and contributors who have given a minimum of 20 years of service to wrestling. The Outstanding American honor is given to former wrestlers who are highly successful and use the disciplines learned in wrestling in their profession and the Medal of Courage is presented to a wrestler or former wrestler who has overcome what appear to be insurmountable obstacles.
Meet the honorees
Dale Estep was a two-time state champion wrestler at Geary High School and competed collegiately at Colorado's Adams State for two years before returning to the state to attend Southwestern Oklahoma, where he graduated. He took over as head coach at Noble High School in 1968 and held that post for 22 years, racking up an impressive 223-38 dual record. Estep's teams had 15 top-10 state tournament finishes and he coached 12 state champions along with 21 All-Staters. In all, he spent 34 years at Noble as a coach, teacher and athletic director. Estep also served a long stint as a state coordinator for the International Wrestling Exchange program that brought teams from Japan, New Zealand, Germany and Poland to Oklahoma.
Tony MaciasGreg Newell, a Kansas native, graduated from Bethany College in his home state before launching a 25-year coaching career. His first seven years as coach were at Larned, Kan. before moving to Durant, Okla. in 1980. Newell started the school's physical education program in 1982 and worked as a wrestling official for four years before returning to coaching in 1986 when he began both the junior high and high school wrestling programs at Durant. He went on to coach in Durant for 18 years before his retirement, building a competitive program that resulted in dozens of former wrestlers going on to become coaches themselves. Newell still works closely with Durant wrestling, serving as radio broadcaster for the team's events.
Darren Peaster was a three-time state placer at Claremore High School before going on to earn All-America honors at both Northeastern Oklahoma A&M and Central Oklahoma. Peaster graduated from UCO in 1987 and spent three years as an assistant coach with the Bronchos before going into the high school ranks. He was an assistant for two years at Ponca City and four at Choctaw, then became Putnam City High School's head coach for two years before going to Catoosa High School in 1998. In eleven seasons at Catoosa, he guided the team to two dual state crowns and a like number of state tournament championships. Peaster racked up 254 career wins, coaching one four-time state champion and several three-time winners before retiring from coaching in 2013.
Nick Williams was a three-time state placer in high school (becoming state champ as a senior), then became a three-year letterman at Oklahoma State in the mid-1990s before embarking on a lengthy coaching career that continues today. He spent one year at Mangum and six at Madill before taking over the Altus High School program in 2004. Williams' teams have won 14 district titles and five regional championships and he's had seven top-four state tournament teams, including a pair of runners-up. He has coached 20 state champions, 19 All-State participants and 11 high school All-Americans in compiling a 223-78 dual record. Williams has served as vice president of the Oklahoma Wrestling Coaches Association in addition to coaching in the All-State dual.
John Henry WardLarry Tettleton was born with limited physical abilities on his right side and saw very limited action on the mat, but his contributions to the sport are substantial. Larry's disability hasn't affected his positive attitude, his enthusiasm for teaching and coaching or his motivational skills. Tettleton got involved in wrestling as a junior high manager and continued in that role throughout high school and college, where he helped Central Oklahoma to the 1992 NCAA Division II national championship. Tettleton spent a dozen years as an assistant coach at Edmond North High School, and 11 years as head junior high coach in Edmond, having compiled an impressive 130-23 dual record with eight conference championships, two state titles and one Oklahoma Junior High Coach of the Year award. Tettleton has coached 15 individual state champions, and two collegiate national champions. In 2012 he became a mat official.
Induction in October
These 2018 Oklahoma Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame honorees will be inducted during a banquet Oct. 14 at the former Jim Thorpe Museum and Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame, 4040 N. Lincoln, in Oklahoma City. A reception begins at 3 p.m., with dinner at 4 p.m. and the induction ceremony at 5 p.m.
Reservations are $55 per person and can be purchased online at www.ok-nwhof.ticketleap.com or by contacting Howard Seay at c4dcowboys@aol.com or 918-639-8868.
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