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    Mark Palmer •

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    Wrestling room named to honor Oklahoma HS coach battling ALS

    The wrestling room at Altus High School has been renamed in honor of Nick Williams, former Oklahoma State wrestler and head wrestling coach at the southwestern Oklahoma school for the past dozen years who is now battling ALS.

    A dedication ceremony for Nick Williams took place on Tuesday
    The dedication ceremony took place Tuesday night at the school. Former Altus assistant wrestling coach Brandon Benson, along with the Altus School Board, presented Williams with the dedication. In addition, a video, featuring tributes from two dozen former and current wrestlers, friends and family, was shown. Other highlights of the event: Williams' stepson presented the coach with his three Oklahoma state championship medals ... and there were guest speakers from the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association, and the Oklahoma Wrestling Coaches Association.

    Williams was recently diagnosed with ALS -- Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis -- also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, and the subject of ice-bucket challenge fundraisers. According to the Mayo Clinic, ALS is a progressive nervous system (neurological) disease that destroys nerve cells and causes disability. It slowly robs the person of their muscle function, ability to walk, ability to talk, and eventually the ability to breathe.

    Since becoming head coach at Altus in 2004, Nick Williams has led the Bulldogs to nine consecutive district titles, and have placed among the top four team finishers at the state championships. Under Williams, Altus can claim 62 state tournament qualifiers, 21 state placers, and 15 state champs, including a trio of three-time titlewinners and two two-time champs. Williams was named All-State coach in 2010, and was twice selected as 5A Coach of the Year (2010, 2016).

    Prior to taking the helm at Altus, Williams served as coach at Mangum and Madill high schools.

    As a wrestler, Williams was a three-time Oklahoma state champ for Geary High School. He then wrestled at Oklahoma State in the early 1990s, mostly at heavyweight. Among the opponents Williams wrestled as a Cowboy: two-time NCAA heavyweight champ Kerry McCoy of Penn State; Nebraska's 2005 NCAA heavyweight titlist Tolly Thompson; and Minnesota NCAA All-American Billy Pierce.

    This week's wrestling room dedication isn't the only honor for Nick Williams. On Saturday, June 10, there will be a fundraising golf tournament for Williams -- who also is golf coach at Altus High -- at The Greens of Altus. There will be a shotgun start at 7:30 a.m. using a four-person scramble format. There will be a $200 entry fee per team, with all proceeds going to coach Williams. Sponsorship opportunities are also available. For more information, contact Bryce Sellers at bsellers@redriverfcu.com.
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