Glory days revisted

Three standouts from the dawn of Creston’s state tournament-level wrestling in the 1970s under coaches Jerome Hruska and Rich Downing, and a more recent history-making Panther were inducted into the Creston Wrestling Hall of Fame Saturday night.

In a dinner program held at Creston Eagles Club, the new inductees included three members of the Creston team that sent the most wrestlers to state in Class 2A three consecutive years beginning in 1972 — the late Mike Howard, Jeff Abel and John Walters. The fourth new inductee is Jake Marlin, who became the school’s and southwest Iowa’s first four-time state champion in 2013. He was also Creston’s first four-time conference champion.

History maker

After those wrestlers from the 1970s were inducted, with coach Hruska in attendance, Marlin congratulated them and expressed gratitude for growing up in a community with a strong wrestling tradition that was started by that group.

“I honestly wouldn’t have been able to do it without so many of the people in this room,” Marlin said, rattling off names of former youth coaches, team supporters and high school coaches who pushed him to the rare level of a four-time champ in Iowa.

The room broke out in a roar of laughter and applause when the son of Randy and Angie Marlin noted that maybe the committee should draw the line, however, on inducting a certain Panther state champion from 1986.

“There’s probably a plethora of people that should be inducted before me and I don’t know that I’m the most deserving of this,” Marlin said. “I just don’t want it to ever get so watered down that my dad ends up in it.”

After that “just kidding” jab at his father, who won a state title when fellow inductee Walters was the head coach, Marlin talked about his roots in the sport that included the Express Wrestling Club, the High Altitude Club of Chad Walker in Martensdale, and former University of Iowa wrestler Mario Galanakis serving as a workout partner when Galanakis was an assistant coach for Creston coach Darrell Frain.

Galanakis recalled meeting Marlin when Marlin was in middle school and challenged Galanakis after a home high school meet one night. Galanakis pinned him, and told him Marlin’s unconventional “butt lateral” move wouldn’t work against top high school wrestlers.

“All the way through high school, no matter what the score was if he lost in the room, he’d keep coming back for more,” Galanakis said. “That’s what it takes for what he accomplished. I’m proud of the wrestler he became, and the man he’s become. He’s married (to former SWCC athlete Molly Schimp) and they are expecting their first kid.”

Galanakis noted that in Marlin’s 204-6 high school career, he set a state record at the time with 147 career pins in 210 matches.

Galanakis recalled a speech by Iowa coach Tom Brands when he was on the Hawkeye team, encouraging team members to become a “household name” that people talk about when they gather for holidays and special events.

“That’s what Jake Marlin did for this community,” Galanakis said.

Chad Rieck of KSIB Radio, who broadcasted Marlin’s state championship drive along with Walters, noted a state semifinal overtime match that Marlin won by a major decision by securing Creston’s well-known tilt nearfall hold for several scoring moves. He noted how emotional he and Walters got when they realized they were broadcasting history as Marlin secured his fourth title.

First champion

In introducing Howard, who achieved the first of Creston individual championships in 1973, John Kawa also congratulated Vern Loudon from those 1970s teams, after Walters announced the photo of Loudon achieving All-American status at Iowa Central Community College had been made for hanging in the high school commons among other state championship and collegiate All-Americans.

“I went to all those meets in the 1970s and nobody could fly around the mat like Vern Loudon,” Kawa said. “He had some bad luck at state tournament times, but he was one of the best we ever had here.”

Kawa said he met Howard at St. Malachy School in 1965 and Howard became the first student of that school to participate in Creston public school sports.

“In 1973 as a junior Mike didn’t have the best record on the team, but when he had to he won and became Creston’s first state champion,” Kawa said. “Something inside of him got him going. He came back the next year and won it again.”

When Howard died of cancer in 2013, Kawa noted, the only three things on the wall of his apartment were a calendar and the two championship bracket charts from his state tournament runs.

“Wrestling always meant a lot to him,” Kawa said.

Four-time medalist

Terry Latham introduced his former teammate, Abel, mentioning the tough luck Abel encountered in trying to be a state champion. Abel placed fifth and third twice before his senior year.

“Jeff was expected to win it his senior year,” Latham said. “He went to Dowling High School to practice with some other kids before the tournament and got a shoulder injury. (District champions then received a first-round bye and often found a way to work out when other qualifiers were competing in first-round matches.) He ended up fourth that year. The kid who won it, Dan Owens of Adel, Jeff beat him in the district tournament. So that was hard luck. In his career Jeff beat five different state champions. That’s pretty good for a kid who never won the tournament!”

Abel went on to qualify for the national tournament twice while wrestling for Iowa Central Community College.

In accepting his award, Abel expressed gratitude to the Creston wrestling community. He and wife Chrissy are now residents of Arkansas.

“Growing up in the 70s, I think we kind of put wreslting on the map for Creston High School,” Abel said. “It was a lot of fun. Coach Hruska was very passionate about the sport. As a freshman, one night he gave a speech about sensing how much passion was developing in the school. I’d never been so moved by anything in my life. It made a burning impression on me to be the best that I could be.”

Abel, one of five wrestling Abel brothers including Mike, who died during the Christmas break in 1973, said his family was instrumental in his success, and credted Vern Loudon for teaching him his infamous “double leg standup.”

Versatile supporter

Walters’ name came up many times besides his induction Saturday night, because of the many ways he stays involved with the sport locally. He has been a high school assistant coach and head coach, been a certified official for more than 40 years, broadcasts the state tournament and some other meets for KSIB, and has written a book about the history of southwest Iowa wrestling.

Walters also invented a wrestling team scoreboard that kept team scoring current during tournaments. It was used less often when computerized trackwrestling.com online scoring became available, but at the time of its invention it was popular at tounaments in Corning and Creston and several other locations during each wrestling season.

Two of Walters’ boyhood neighbors from the south side of Creston, Craig Taylor and Dennis Smith, introduced Walters Saturday night. Smith succeeded Howard as Creston’s next two-time state champion during the 1975 and 1976 tournaments. He later served as a coach with Creston on the high school staff for both Walters and Rich Downing.

“John has so many talents,” Taylor said. “He can be a carpenter and build decks, he can write books, he can drive motor homes to California two or three times a month. He’s like the Energizer bunny. He just keeps on going. His memory is unbelievable, especially in writing the wrestling book.”

Walters said his wrestling career started one day in that south Creston neighborhood when he was shooting baskets in a neighbor’s driveway, ironically.

“I was playing basketball at my neighbor’s house. I think it was third grade year,” Walters related. “Danny Hayes lived a few houses away from me and Smitty (Dennis Smith) and Danny said, ‘Wrestling practice is Saturday.’ We all went to it and loved it. Dennis became a great workout partner. He was so strong, he made me better. Coach Hruska really got everybody going when he became head coach in the late 1960s.”

Walters said there were few youth tournaments then. He practiced in third through sixth grades without any tournament competition. After finishing as a state runner-up as a junior, Walters suffered a broken arm in sectionals his senior year and was sidelined from making a title run.

“I didn’t reach the goal that I wanted,” Walters said. “That’s probably why I went into coaching, and also why I wrote the book and broadcast on the radio. I am doing what I can to help the program in any way I can. I love wrestling and we have a great community here.”

Scholarship winners from the Creston Wrestling Hall of Fame were also announced. Recipients were college students Zach Hoffman, Cam Leith, Cade Vicker, Mitchell Swank, Alexis Baker and Carson Wheat.