LINFIELD COLLEGE INTERCOLLEGIATE WRESTLING TIMELINE STARTING IN 1969 … compiled by Wildcatville in 2013. Updated in 2022.
(1966-1967 Linfield wrestling team photo from 1967 Linfield Oak Leaves yearbook.)
HAL SMITH WAS HEAD WRESTLING
COACH
This was his final season as head wrestling coach, according to the 1970 Linfield Oak Leaves yearbook. During this season John Knight was assistant coach.
=1970-1971
TED HENRY WAS HEAD WRESTLING
COACH
Oregonian, May 7, 1970 – “Pair Named at Linfield”
McMinnville (Special) – John Knight
and Ted Henry, two assistant football coaches at Linfield College, have been
named to head coaching positions at the Northwest Conference school.
Knight, who has completed two
years with the football team, will take over the head track job, while Henry
will become head wrestling coach.
Knight is a 1961 NCAA college
division All-American football player from Valparaiso University and previously
taught and coached at Concordia High School in Portland.
Henry, a Linfield graduate, has
spent one year as a football assistant. Prior to that he was served as assistant
wresting coach at Hillsboro High School. Both will retain their football jobs.
They replace Hal Smith, who will
continue as cross-country coach and director of the Department of Physical
Education.
TOM NIELSEN WAS HEAD WRESTLING
COACH
TED HENRY WAS HEAD WRESTLING
COACH, Ad Rutschman told Wildcatville in 2020. Rutschman was Linfield athletic director in 1972-1973 and other years.
TED HENRY WAS HEAD WRESTLING
COACH, according to the 1974 Linfeld Oak Leaves yearbook.
TED HENRY WAS HEAD WRESTLING
COACH.
Note: Ted says 1975 was his last season coaching wrestling at Linfield.
=1975-1976
Story in Feb. 25, 1976, McMinnville News-Register about Linfield
wrestling identifies Tom Neilsen/quotes Tom Neilsen as Linfield wrestling
coach.
1976-1977
1977-1978
1978-1979
1979-1980
1980-1981
1981-1982
1982-1983
1983-1984
1985-1986
ALL THESE SEASONS BOB WALKER WAS
HEAD WRESTLING COACH
==Note: Article in Nov. 13, 1986 Oregonian says after Bob left Linfield that year to go to Roseburg High School, Linfield "has been forced to drop intercollegiate wrestling." The article quotes Ad Rutschman, athletic director. Article has Ad saying wrestling dropped … The 1985-1986 season was the final season of Linfield intercollegiate wrestling.
==Note: It appears there was a possibility John Knight was
going to become Linfield wrestling coach immediately after Hal Smith quit
coaching wrestling but it never happened. Instead, Ted Henry became head
wrestling coach.
::::::::::::::::
InterMatwrestle.com posted
“Linfield University adds wrestling club for men, women to compete in NCWA,”
Oct. 7, 2020, news release from Linfield Sports Info.
McMINNVILLE, ORE. -- The Associated Students of Linfield
University have approved the creation of a new men's and women's wrestling club
starting this fall. Linfield will join the Northwest Conference of the National
Collegiate Wrestling Association, and begin competition once it is safe to do
so.
Linfield is an NCAA Division III university in other sports,
and has a long history of athletic success. It had a varsity wrestling program
until the early 1980s, and can lay claim to many conference champions and
All-Americans. Russ Thurman '59 is a member of the National Wrestling Hall of
Fame, located in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
"We're proud of the Wildcat wrestling history, and hope
to rebuild and reconnect with that past," said Abram Nelson '24, president
of the Linfield Wrestling Club. "We hope to promote physical fitness and
good nutrition for all students, and we also hope to be competitive very soon
at the club-wrestling level regionally and nationally."
Wrestling is an Olympic sport for both men and women, and
the NCAA recently declared women's wrestling one of its "emerging
sports." No experience is required to participate at Linfield.
Linfield will be the 16th club team to join the NCWA's
Northwest Conference, which had 11 men's All-Americans and 27 women's
All-Americans at the 2020 National Championships in Allen, Texas.
Linfield is an independent, non-profit university with campuses in McMinnville and Portland, Oregon. Twenty-eight percent of Linfield students are first-generation college students, and more than one-third are U.S. students of color. The U.S. State Department has honored Linfield for being a top producer of Fulbright Scholars three years in a row.
::::::::
Story (see photo posted below) from Oct. 5, 2021, McMinnville N-R/News-Register headlined " “Linfield University to add men’s and women’s wrestling in 2022”
Linfield
University to add men’s and women’s wrestling in 2022
From Linfield Sports Info on 10/5/2021 McMinnville N-R/News-Register
Linfield University on Monday announced the addition of men’s and women’s wrestling teams, which will begin competition in the fall of 2022.
The university will hire a coach for the programs right away, and begin recruiting for next year. Men’s and women’s wrestling will become the 22nd and 23rd NCAA Division III sports at Linfield, which has a strong tradition of student athletics.
“This is a big moment in Linfield’s history, and in the history of Wildcat athletics,” Athletic Director Garry Killgore said. “It represents our first new varsity programs in almost 25 years, which is not a step we took lightly. Women’s wrestling is one of the fastest-growing sports in America, and we’re excited to offer new opportunities for those athletes.”
The last time the university added varsity sports was in 1996 with women’s golf and 1997 with women’s lacrosse. Linfield had a men’s wrestling team until 1986, which competed at the NAIA level at the time.
Linfield’s Office of Admission has consistently fielded a large number of questions in recent years from high school students wanting to wrestle in college. Wrestling is among the top NCAA sports in terms of attracting first-generation students and students from traditionally under-represented communities.
“Linfield right now is growing from a college into a university, opening a second campus, building a new $37 million science center and adding graduate programs, among other things,” said Miles K. Davis, Linfield president. “The addition of men’s and women’s wrestling fits right in with that growth trajectory. I look forward to sitting matside in Ted Wilson Gymnasium and cheering for Wildcat wrestlers in the years ahead.”
On their own, students started a new wrestling club this fall, which will compete against other college clubs during the 2021-22 season. The club will then fold and interested students can join the new NCAA men’s or women’s team.
The group Restore College Wrestling Oregon has been meeting with Linfield’s athletic department for three years, discussing plans, offering help and exploring opportunities together. Larry Bielenberg, a four-time NCAA All-American and the 1975 heavyweight national champion for Oregon State, has been a primary point of contact for RCWOR through that time.
“We are thrilled that Linfield is restarting its men’s program and initiating a new women’s program,” said Bielenberg, whose daughter graduated from Linfield in 2006. “It’s been a pleasure for Restore College Wrestling Oregon to work with Garry Kilgore and we appreciate the decision from President Davis to make it happen. This will be the fifth program RCWOR has helped start in the state of Oregon, which in turn helps train and educate a new generation of teachers, coaches and professionals. We’re happy to be a part of it.”
Linfield University is an independent, non-profit university with campuses in McMinnville and Portland, Oregon. Since 1858, Linfield has connected a traditional liberal arts experience with practical education through 56 majors, including wine studies, sport management and nursing.
For three years running, U.S. News & World Report magazine has named Linfield one of the top liberal arts colleges in the nation when it comes to social mobility. Thirty-two percent of Linfield students are first-generation college students, and more than one-third are U.S. students of color. Linfield competes in the NCAA Division III Northwest Conference. Learn more at www.linfield.edu
:::::::::::
LINFIELD TO RESUME MEN’S WRESTLING, ADDS WOMEN’S WRESTLING
…..
Chad Hanke to lead men's and women's wrestling programs
From Linfield Sports Information 11/3/2021. Appeared in 11/4/2021 McMinnville N-R online and 11/5/2021 in print with headline, “Linfield hires Dayton alum to revive wrestling program”
https://golinfieldwildcats.com/news/2021/11/3/mens-wrestling-chad-hanke-to-lead-mens-and-womens-wrestling-programs.aspx
Chad Hanke has been hired to lead the relaunch of collegiate wrestling at Linfield University.
Director of Athletics Dr. Garry Killgore announced the hiring of Hanke as new men's and women's wrestling coach on Wednesday, November 3. Linfield recently unveiled plans to revive its dormant men's wrestling program while also adding a new women's wrestling program.
"Chad is an excellent person to be our first head wrestling coach in years," said Killgore. "He has great street credibility, both as a competitor and as a coach. He is very well-connected on the West Coast and has good connections back East. His work ethic, positive attitude and his ability to connect well with his athletes will all serve him well in getting this program 'off to the races.'"
Hanke said he is "honored and excited to lead Linfield student-athletes into a new era with wrestling. Linfield already has a long and rich history of success in athletics. I'm looking forward to continuing that success with the men's and women's wrestling programs.
"I'd like to thank the leadership at Linfield University and the Athletics Department, especially President Miles Davis, Director of Athletics Garry Killgore and everyone associated with Restore College Wrestling," said Hanke. "It takes a tremendous amount of commitment and dedication to restore a wrestling program and I'm ready for the challenge."
Hanke brings seven years of coaching experience as well as an accomplished amateur wrestling career at Oregon State University and nearby Dayton High School.
His collegiate coaching experience includes two years as an assistant coach at Cal State-Bakersfield (2018-20) and three years in a similar role at American University (2005-18). He also spent one season as a volunteer assistant coach at Oregon State (2014-15).
During his time at Cal State-Bakersfield, Hanke coached five NCAA qualifiers and three conference champions. At American University, he tutored nine NCAA qualifiers, including university freestyle national champion Jeric Kasunic.
He also spent time working at the senior level at the USA Regional Training Center (2013-15). His most recent coaching position has been as a volunteer assistant with McMinnville High School.
As an amateur wrestler, Hanke was a four-year starter and twice competed at the NCAA Division I Championships. He piled up 113 career victories over his four seasons. As a senior in 2012-13, he compiled a 35-5 record that included a Pac-12 title in the 285-pound weight class.
Hanke also competed as a a senior-level athlete for four years at the National Regional Training Center, twice winning the FILA Junior national championship in 2008 and 2011. In 2012, he was invited to participate in the USA Wrestling Olympic Team Trials.
His most recent competitions came with the Titan Mercury Wrestling Club, where he was crowned a FILA University National Champion at the 97-kilogram weight class in 2014.
The Linfield men's wrestling program is expected to compete against regional colleges and universities such as Pacific (Ore.), Corban, Southern Oregon, Eastern Oregon, Warner Pacific, Simon Fraser and Simpson (Calif.).
In addition to the above-mentioned schools, the women's program will likely see action at the Oregon Classic at the Deschutes County Fairgrounds each January.
In the postseason, Linfield will compete at NCAA Division III regional and national championship tournaments.
Linfield fielded an intercollegiate varsity wrestling program up until 1985 but the program was disbanded. With Hanke as its new coach, Linfield has the opportunity to fill an underserved niche within the Pacific Northwest, according to Killgore.
"Chad's first goal is to recruit 20-plus student-athletes. From there, he will continue to grow both the women's and men's programs to 25-40 student-athletes in each program. I anticipate that our student-athletes will be highly competitive at the NCAA III level."
A handful of current
student-athletes are competing in wrestling currently as a university club
program. Linfield will begin competing on the intercollegiate level beginning
in the fall of 2022.
:::::
LINFIELD WRESTLING SCHEDULES 2022-2023
Men:
https://golinfieldwildcats.com/sports/mens-wrestling/schedule
Women:
https://golinfieldwildcats.com/sports/womens-wrestling/schedule
Source: October 2022 E-Cat via email Oct 19, 2022, 1:12 PM
