Gary Wallman - Inducted 2010
The patriarch of the most famous wrestling family in South Dakota, Wallman was the state's first four-time high school wrestling champion and the state's first NCAA Division I wrestling All-American. And he was an exceptional coach and boxer as well.
At Miller High, he won state titles from 1961-64 (at 95-112-127-133 pounds), compiling a 65-1 record. He placed fourth at state as a seventh-grader and was runner-up as an eighth-grader.
At Iowa State, he was a two-time All-American, placing fourth in 1967 and sixth in '68 and going 94-11. He was a two-time Midlands champ and he also won the UCLA and SCI tourneys. One of his teammates was the legendary Dan Gable.
Wallman wrestled two years with Athletes in Action, competing against colleges from across the nation, then was a graduate assistant under Vern Tate at Huron College in 1974. That year he was South Dakota's first national USA freestyle place winner, finishing fourth.
He began his high school coaching career at Webster. He coached the Bearcats four years - winning state Class B titles in 1975 and '78 and finishing second and third the other two years. As coach at Freeman, Wallman?s Flyers were runners-up in 1986 and state champs in 1987 and '88 (he was selected the '88 S.D. Wrestling Coach of the Year). He also coached Marion-Freeman to the 1993 state title. In all, he coached 12 years at Freeman and four at Marion-Freeman. He coached sons Kirk, Troy and Cory - three of the most decorated wrestlers in state history (father and sons together have 18 state titles). He also coached two years at Harrisburg. In 22 years, he coached 34 individual state champions and seven wrestlers who received the Outstanding Wrestler Award at the state tourney.
Wallman won his first state Golden Gloves boxing title as a seventh-grader in the junior flyweight (98 pounds) division. He went on to win five state Golden Gloves titles. In 1966 he won the U.S. National regional Golden Gloves title but was unable to attend nationals due to mid-terms at Iowa State. At Webster, he started a boxing team that placed second in the state tourney in 1978.
He is a member of the S.D. Wrestling Hall of Fame, the S.D. High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame and the Miller High Hall of Fame.
