(STILLWATER, Oklahoma - July 24, 2019) - Seven individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the sport of wrestling have been selected for induction into the Oklahoma Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Rick Bollenbach, Mitch Brown, Greg Evans, Todd Goolsby, Tony May and Malcolm Wade were chosen for Lifetime Service to Wrestling, while Nick Mauldin 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 Medal of Courage is given to former wrestlers who are highly successful and use the disciplines learned in wrestling in their profession.
The seven new honorees will be inducted during a banquet set for Sunday, Oct. 13 at what was formerly the Jim Thorpe Museum and Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame at 4040 North 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.
2019 HONOREE BIOS:
Rick Bollenbach never qualified for the state tournament while at Altus High School, but he was a four-year letterman and two-year starter at Central Oklahoma who capped his college career by winning the 142-pound NAIA national championship in 1985. He started his coaching career the following year as head coach at Edmond North Junior High School and had a 50-23-1 dual record in six seasons there. Bollenbach then went to Edmond Memorial High School as an assistant before starting the program at Edmond North High School in 1993. He guided the Huskies to a 107-61-2 dual record from 1993-2009 before spending his last four years in the coaching profession as an assistant at North. He was the Oklahoma Wrestling Coaches Association Coach of the year in 2001-02 when North won the regional title and finished as state runner-up. Bollenbach coached 15 individual state champions and seven high school All-Americans, including two national champions. Several of his wrestlers went on to earn collegiate All-America honors, with two (Teyon Ware and Kyle Evans) winning national titles.
Mitch Brown was a state high school champion in 1982 and starting his coaching career in 1988 as a Mustang youth coach, leading his teams to four state titles while coaching 30 youth state champions. He went to Mustang High School as an assistant coach in 1996 and then spend 10 years as an assistant at El Reno High School. Brown helped coach 10 state champion teams and 53 individual champions during that time while earning Oklahoma Wrestling Coaches Association Assistant Coach of the Year honors seven times. He was named the National Wrestling Coaches Association National Assistant Coach of the Year in 1998. Brown also served on the coaching staff of Oklahoma’s cadet and junior freestyle teams from 1995-06 in addition to working as a high school and college official. He also served as assistant coach at Shawnee High School and Oklahoma City University.
Gregg Evans wrestled in high school and college in New Jersey, putting together a 102-12-1 career record at Upsala College and earning All-America honors in 1981. He came to Oklahoma in 1994 as assistant coach at Broken Arrow High School and played a key role in leading the Tigers to nine dual and state tournament titles during an 11-year tenure. Evans then went to Tulsa Union High School and helped the Redskins capture nine district titles and three state championships. He moved to his current role as assistant coach at Bixby High School in 2014. Brown has helped coach 35 individual state champions, including one four-time winner and seven three-time champs.
Todd Goolsby competed at Del City High School and graduate from Central Oklahoma in 1995 before beginning a 20-year coaching career as assistant coach at Jarman Middle School. He spent one year there and then took over as head coach at Del Crest Middle School, staying there for 10 years. Goolsby went on to serve as assistant coach at his alma mater in Del City from 2005-11 and as assistant at Choctaw High School from 2011-15 before moving to the Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association. He serves as assistant director of the OSSAA and is in charge of administering wrestling, volleyball and soccer. Goolsby is also on the education committee of the National Federation of State High School Coaches Association.
Tony May wrestled at Derby (Kan.) High School, then spent a year competing at Kansas State before the Wildcats closed the program in the early 1970s and transferred to Central Oklahoma to finish out his career. He started his coaching career as assistant coach at Derby in 1987 and took over as head wrestling and golf coach at Southeast High School in Wichita, Kan. in 1990. May spent nine seasons, there, earning Kansas Wrestling Coach of the Year honors in 1996, then returned to Derby as assistant coach for two more years before retiring from coaching. He also served as co-Director for USA Wrestling and Cultural Exchange Director for the state of Kansas. May served as a high school wrestling official in Oklahoma for 16 years, calling the high school state tournament the last 13, before retiring in 2019.
Malcolm Wade competed for Midwest City High School in the mid-1960s and graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1971 before embarking on a lengthy coaching career. His first coaching job was as head coach at Jarman Junior High School and he was there for two years before spending two years as head coach at Carl Albert Junior High. Wade took over as head coach at Carl Albert High School in 1980 and served in that capacity until 1998. He guided the Titans to six district championships, four regional titles and back-to-back state crowns in 1991 and ’92, earning Class 4A Coach of the Year honors both season. Wade coached 11 state champions and eight All-Staters. He also coached Oklahoma’s junior and cadet teams for three years. Wade, who passed away in 2014, had the Carl Albert Malcom Wade Tournament is named in his honor in 2013.
Nick Mauldin was a three-time state placer who capped his career with a state championship as a senior in 1986 in leading Shawnee High School to the team title. He went on to enjoy a stellar career at the United State Military Academy at West Point, putting together a 110-29-5 record. Mauldin was a two-time EIWA champion in qualifying for the national tournament and was the Outstanding Wrestler at the 1990 EIWA Championships. He received his commission in the field artillery as a second lieutenant upon graduated from West Point in 1991 and went on to a distinguished military career. Mauldin served in various leadership roles on a number of U.S. Army bases around the country and world before retiring in 2017 as a Colonel. His many awards include the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star, the National Defense Service medal, the Iraq Campaign medal and the Global War on Terrorism Service medal.
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