Wrestler, coach Kinyon dead at 80

Jim Kinyon, Oklahoma State wrestler who later coached at Colorado State University until the program's demise, passed away in February at age 80, Amateur Wrestling News reported in its April 15 issue.

Jim Kinyon

Although born in Lovington, New Mexico on December 1, 1936, Jimmy Floyd Kinyon is long associated with wrestling in the states of Oklahoma, then Colorado. Kinyon grew up in Stillwater, Oklahoma, where he was a two-time state champion at Stillwater High School in the early 1950s. He stayed in town for his college education, attending what was then called Oklahoma A&M (Agricultural and Mechanical) College (now Oklahoma State), where he was a multi-sport athlete, competing in football, track and wrestling until he was drafted into the Navy in March 1957. As a Cowboy wrestler, Jim Kinyon compiled a 68-2-1 record, according to the Oklahoma State student newspaper, the Daily O'Colly, in its announcement of Kinyon's passing.

After completing his service in the Navy as a sports specialist, Jim Kinyon earned his bachelor's degree at Oklahoma State in 1962, then his Master's at Central State College in Edmond, Oklahoma.

Kinyon began his teaching and coaching career as a classroom teacher and head wrestling coach in Oberlin, Kansas where his teams won two consecutive state championships before he returned to Oklahoma. At Sapulpa High School, Kinyon became a teacher and head wrestling coach, claiming back-to-back Oklahoma state championships, according to his obituary in The Coloradan. Later he was the wrestling coach, classroom teacher, and counselor at Midwest City High School in suburban Oklahoma City where his teams again won two consecutive state championships. He was named Rookie Coach of the Year and Wresting Coach of the Year while in the Sooner State.

Jim Kinyon's success in high school coaching propelled him into the collegiate coaching ranks at Colorado State University in Fort Collins in 1972. In addition to being named head wrestling coach, Kinyon was also a physical education instructor. In his first season at CSU, Kinyon took the Rams to a 13-2 season â€“ the best record in the history of the program, according to the 1973 Silver Spruce yearbook. For those efforts, Kinyon was named NCAA Rookie Coach of the Year. He took the Rams to their first Western Athletic Conference title in the 72-year history of wrestling at the school, and guided his wrestlers to an overall record of 73-62.

When the wrestling program was eliminated at Colorado State in 1984 because of Title IX, Jim Kinyon become a dean of students and head wrestling coach at Smokey Hill High School outside of Denver.

Jim Kinyon was past President of Mountain Intercollegiate Wrestling Association and past President of the Western Athlete Conference Coaches Association. He was also a certified NCAA and high school wrestling official as well as serving on the National High School Wrestling Rules Committee.

Kinyon is survived by a son, Jay and daughter, Jennifer. He has two granddaughters and a great-granddaughter, as well as a brother Phil, a three-time NCAA finalist at Oklahoma State in the early 1960s who won the 157-pound title at the 1961 NCAAs.

A memorial service for Jim Kinyon was held in Fort Collins, Colorado on February 24.
Contributions in Jim Kinyon's memory may be made to National Wresting Hall of Fame and Museum at 405 Hall of Fame Ave, Stillwater, OK 74075 or National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum at 303 Jefferson St, Waterloo, IA 50701.

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Wrestler, coach Kinyon dead at 80

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