Celebrating 50 years of Clear Lake wrestling

Fifty years of Clear Lake wrestling was celebrated off the mat Friday, Nov. 28, by past and present coaches, grapplers and the community at-large.

Gary Weber, who has led the program for more than half of its existence, said he wanted to honor the program’s rich history and thank everyone-- from statisticians, to parents, cheerleader chaperones, youth wrestling volunteers and countless others who have helped to make Clear Lake wrestling among the most successful in the state.

Several state champions returned to Clear Lake for a 50th anniversary gathering held at the V.F.W. Friday night.  Among them was Dean Phinney, who won his title in 1977 and went on to place third in the NCAA.

“This town has meant a lot to me and this program taught me a lot,” said Phinney, who today lives in Iowa City.  “A lot of people don’t have the opportunity to learn the lessons we learned in a small town and on the mat.”  Calling himself “a realist,” Phinney said he knows school programs, especially extra-curricular ones, continue to be cut.  He presented Coach Weber with a $500 donation to the program and challenged others to do the same-- matching them dollar for dollar.

Another CLHS state champion (1979), Dr. Tom Bieber, said wrestling was also an important part of his life and his wrestling memories included sharing mat time with Phinney.  Bieber told the packed room that Phinney often complained of stiffness in his back after workouts and would ask Bieber, who wrestled at 105-pounds, to walk on his back.  Since he was always trying to cut weight, Bieber said the back walks usually turned into sprints.  Despite the good natured fun which was part of his wrestling days, Bieber said the older he becomes he is increasingly aware of the life lessons he learned in the wrestling room.   “It’s not the wins and losses, it’s what it teaches you.  Wrestling gives you the basic tools you need-- work hard, don’t give up,” he said.

State champions Andy Thompson (1998), Mike Lester (1999), Nick Weber (2004) and Jacob Colon (2011) said the Clear Lake wrestlers that came before them were their idols and they credit coaches, family and the community with helping them to reach success both on the mat and off.  

“Clear Lake wrestling means big crowds and fan support-- any one will tell you that,” said Thompson.  Weber agreed, saying one of his fondest memories was looking up into the stands at the State Meet and seeing a sea of green T-shirts worn by the Clear Lake contingency.  

Colon, who was also speaking on behalf of his brother, Joe, a state champion in 2007 and 2009, said he loved running out onto the mat in front of the cheering Clear Lake crowd.  He noted Joe is currently in Iran, still pursuing his wrestling dreams.  The junior college champion and All-American hopes to qualify for the Olympics.

Lester credits the wrestling program for where he is today-- a teacher and coach at CLHS. “State champions isn’t what built this program-- the community built this program and we are all very grateful for that.”

Jodi Holck said she has no doubt her father, John Klaudt, who started the wrestling program at Clear Lake, would be proud to see how far it has come in 50 years.  John Klaudt came to Clear Lake from the Riceville school system in 1964, where he also started a wrestling program.  “For 11 years dad did what he loved at Clear Lake-- coach wrestling,” said Jodi, speaking on behalf of her mother, Sandy, and brothers, Jason and Jeff.  “The record doesn’t necessarily show success, but if you look closely, it’s there,” she said.  The number of participants grew from 42 in 1964-65 to more than 70 within five years and Rick Schuler became the school’s first State qualifier in 1968-69.  Rick Ott followed a year later as the first conference champion and in 1971 the team had its first winning season, posting a record of 6-5.  With Parkinson’s disease taking a toll, Klaudt was unable to continue coaching.  He passed the reins of the program to Nelson Crabb, who had been coaching at the junior high.  

Crabb shared memories of workouts in a space near the boiler room at Central School.  Team warm-ups were green World War II underwear and no head gear was worn at that time.  

“Wrestling has continued to change and grow and our community celebrates that,” said Crabb, who today is the community’s mayor.