Mike Duroe coaching Brent Metcalf at the World Championships in 2015 (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)Mike Duroe, long-time head wrestling coach at Iowa's Cornell College who has served on the U.S. freestyle squad at six Olympics, is battling brain cancer, Craig Sesker reported for The Predicament, a wrestling publication/website focused on wrestling in the state of Iowa.
"When I recently learned that Mike is battling brain cancer, I was floored by the news," Sesker wrote in his Sesker's Slant column Sunday.
"There aren't many people on the planet healthier or more physically fit for their age than Mike Duroe."
Sesker added, "The news of his illness has been kept relatively quiet until recently in the wrestling community." However, that hasn't stopped others within that community from expressing their support for Duroe.
For example, when Cornell hosted cross-state rival Wartburg College in a dual meet Friday night, the visiting Knights wore t-shirts in support of coach Duroe, who posed for a photo with the wrestlers and coaches from the Waverly, Iowa team.
This weekend, Wartburg head coach Eric Keller posted this message on Twitter: "We talk about fighting every day in our program. That mindset is more than just trying to be the best wrestler, it's about setting guys up for the fights of life. @mduroewrestling IS fighting for his life. He's attacking it straight on and I admire his bravery. Praying 4 U Coach."
Team USA women's freestyle member Kelsey Campbell tweeted, "One of the best and toughest people I've been blessed to know and learn from. Some extra prayers to this guy."
Next weekend, Duroe will be honored with a celebration in Cedar Rapids, just down the road from the Cornell campus in Mt. Vernon, Iowa.
Duroe has had a long and impressive career in wrestling and coaching. The Charles City, Iowa native was a three-time team captain and four-time letterwinner for the now-defunct wrestling team at Drake University, graduating from the Des Moines school in 1978. In his thirteen years at the helm of the Cornell Rams wrestling program, Duroe has built a dual-meet record of 139-92-2 to become the storied program's winningest coach. Under Duroe, the Rams can claim 44 national qualifiers, 19 NCAA Division III All-Americans, five NCAA finalists, and one national champion. The Rams have reached 10 wins in nine of the past 12 seasons with Duroe at the helm.
Prior to coming to Cornell of Iowa in 2005, Duroe had been coach at Northern Michigan University from 1980-1985. He had also served as head coach at New Trier (Ill.) High School, an assistant at the University of Pennsylvania and head coach of the Northwestern University Wildcat Wrestling Club.
Duroe has long been a fixture as a USA Wrestling freestyle coach. He has served on the Team USA coaching staff for the Senior World and/or Junior World Championships every year since 1993. Duroe been an assistant on the U.S. Men's Freestyle coaching staff in six Olympic Games from 1996 through 2016. He remains an assistant coach for the Hawkeye Wrestling Club in Iowa City.
Dick Simmons, a long-time member of the Cornell athletic department who keeps in close contact with Duroe, told Craig Sesker that Duroe "has kept his spirits high and maintained a positive attitude despite the daily challenges and struggles he now faces in the battle of his life."
Sesker concluded his column with this message: "Mike Duroe is a class act all the way. And someone who is going to fight this with everything he has."
"You can count on that."
UPDATE 12/13/17
A GoFundMe page has been established to help raise funds for Mike Duroe's medical expenses. http://intermatwrestle.com/articles/19093
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